Sprint sues AT&T for lying to consumers with fake 5GE branding

AT&T is so desperate to get ahead in 5G that it’s prematurely displaying “5GE” icons on phones that absolutely do not support faster 5G cellular speeds.

The blatant false advertising has been frustrating techies since the wireless carrier announced the plan in late December, but now Sprint’s hitting back… with a lawsuit.

In a lawsuit first discovered by Engadget, Sprint accuses AT&T of employing “numerous deceptive tactics to mislead consumers into believing that it currently offers a coveted and highly anticipated fifth generation wireless network, known as 5G.”

And Sprint’s 100 percent correct. What AT&T’s doing is wrong. The “5GE” icon, which stands for “5G Evolution,” and is showing up on some phones in select areas of coverage is not in fact 5G at all.

5G Evolution is AT&T’s bullshit branding for existing 4G LTE Advanced, which as Sprint notes in its lawsuit is “offered by all other major wireless carriers.”

By rolling out these phony “5GE” icons, Sprint says AT&T’s distorted the definition of actual 5G to “secure an unfair advantage in the saturated wireless market.” 

Per the case document:

“AT&T’s advertisements are a transparent attempt to influence consumers’ purchasing decisions by deceiving them into believing that AT&T’s network—because it claims to be a 5G wireless network—is more technologically advanced and of higher quality than those of other wireless service providers, including Sprint.”

As “proof” non-savvy consumers are being fooled, Sprint claims a company-commissioned survey found 54 percent of consumers thought AT&T’s 5GE was the same as a real 5G network. More damning is that 43 percent of consumers surveyed “wrongly believed that if they were to purchase an AT&T phone today it would be capable of running on a 5G network.”

AT&T, for its part, doesn’t seem worried. After receiving harsh criticism from rivals T-Mobile, Sprint, and Verizon — T-Mobile threw major shade at AT&T with a video showing how it magically upgraded a 4G LTE phone to “9G” by slapping a sticker on it — AT&T Communications CEO John Donovan (not to be confused with AT&T Inc. CEO Randall Stephenson) defiantly clapped back at CES.

“If I’ve occupied beachfront properties in my competitor’s head, that makes me smile,” Donovan said during his CES keynote. “I’m proud that we broke our industry’s narrative two days ago.”

Donavan further expressed pleasure with how 5GE frustrated competing carriers.

Stephenson similarly doesn’t seem concerned at Sprint’s lawsuit. Speaking on CNBC, he “‘we’ve done our [homework] around how we characterize this,’ calling 5G E a critical step to achieving 5G” according to Washington Post Tech Reporter Brian Fung.

Fung also reports Sprint asked AT&T to end its 5GE marketing, “but was rebuffed.” A Sprint spokesperson reportedly told Fung the company “didn’t approach the FTC as it believes the lawsuit is the quickest way to get relief.”

As it stands, Sprint’s the only carrier taking legal action against AT&T for it’s fake 5G network. The carrier is currently in the process of trying to merge with rival T-Mobile.

Merging with T-Mobile would allow the fourth-largest U.S. carrier to more aggressively compete with AT&T and Verizon, especially as the 5G war heats up later this year.

In a plea to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)’s chairman Ajit Pai, T-Mobile CEO John Legere promised not to increase prices for three years if the government agency approves its $26 billion merger with Sprint.