Cablevision Systems is suing Verizon for false advertising claims again, this time charging its rival with misleading and deceptive advertising claims about Wi-Fi service.
Verizon and Cablevision go head to head in and around New York City, and have been suing and countersuing each other on a semi-regular basis.
This time, Cablevision said Verizon is claiming its Wi-Fi access is faster, which it says is simply untrue, and so it is filing a lawsuit against Verizon in federal court for the Eastern District of New York.
Cablevision is objecting to Verizon’s promotions of its new FiOS Quantum gateway. Verizon is touting that the product has dual mode 802.11ac Wi-Fi, which provides faster Wi-Fi in the home. In some of its materials, the company is explicit about comparing the new router to routers it has been offering, but it also acknowledged citing third-party claims (supporting its own such claims) that the router provides the fastest Wi-Fi connectivity available.
In a statement, Verizon countered that Cablevisions suit “…is a boldface ploy to promote Cablevision’s latest wireless gambit. A third party has tested and validated the FiOS Quantum Gateway router. It offers the fastest in-home Wi-Fi available from any provider.”
But according to Cablevision, “Verizon’s claim that it has faster WiFi than Cablevision is false, deceptive and designed to mislead consumers. Verizon has no public WiFi network. In addition, Verizon’s in-home routers are not faster than Optimum Smart Routers and cost Verizon customers hundreds of dollars while Optimum’s are free. It is not a coincidence that Verizon is making false WiFi claims just as Cablevision is introducing its all-WiFi Freewheel phone, which will allow consumers to avoid Verizon’s data caps and excessive data overage fees.”
Cablevision recently announced plans to launch Freewheel, an all-Wi-Fi phone service. The company is positioning it as a lower-cost alternative to cellular service from companies such as, for example, Verizon Wireless.
