Things have been heating up between carriers, with T-Mobile ushering in a new era with its new CEO. The brand has clearly made huge strides, becoming one of the best wireless carriers in the US. That’s saying a lot considering that just a decade ago, it wasn’t even considered a threat by carriers like Verizon and AT&T.

The wireless carriers have had numerous battles over the years, with shifting strategies and even advertisements aimed at competitors. Apparently, one of T-Mobile’s advertisements takes things a bit too far, with Verizon even making formal complaints. Now, the carrier is taking things to court, suing T-Mobile in order to get things corrected.

A small price to pay

A T-Mobile coverage map on a smartphone.

The report comes from Reuters, sharing that T-Mobile advertisements made claims of exaggerated savings when switching from Verizon. As you can imagine, with ads like these, there’s a pretty good chance that T-Mobile saw some huge benefits during this push, potentially driving in new customers, while at the same time hurting its competitors.

Because of this and the inaccuracies of the ads, Verizon is seeking damages in the matter, and, well, we’ll just have to see how far this all progresses. We’ve seen T-Mobile fined in the past, and the amounts can vary. But when it comes to deceptive advertising, the fines seem to be less severe in the grand scheme of things, feeling more of life a slap on the wrist if anything.

While I can’t speak for any of the parties involved, when all is said and done, T-Mobile got what it wanted out of its advertisements. The brand was able to bring awareness to its services, and how customers could potentially save by switching. There’s no telling how many customers made the switch, but if it worked, it’s probably worth paying whatever fines that may come.

T-Mobile is heading in a new direction

Mike Sievert with T-Mobile's New CEO, Srini Gopalan
Credit: T-Mobile

Despite its wireless services being its main revenue stream, T-Mobile has made some big moves to diversify its portfolio over the past few years. Not only does it provide cellular service, but it also leverages that same network for home internet. Furthermore, the brand has been investing in fiber home internet service as well.

While there’s no telling what the company’s next move will be, it’s pretty clear that wireless carriers need to be more agile in this day and age in order to stay competitive. T-Mobile delivered huge innovations in the space just ten years ago, so it will be interesting to see whether it can do it again.