After a complaint from T-Mobile, an advertising board says Verizon isn’t doing enough to disclose the limitations of its satellite messaging services.
The National Advertising Division recommends that Verizon discontinue or modify claims about the satellite carrier’s text messages.
The company produced three commercials about how users can “text anywhere via satellite,” including in the most remote places, and they showed Verizon users sending text messages from the sea and the hills, without traditional cell towers in horizon. Thanks to satellites in orbit, customers can still communicate with their loved ones via text, the clips suggest.
However, T-Mobile argued that the ads falsely implied that the satellite messaging feature is available to all customers, regardless of their smartphone model. That’s because satellite capability is currently only available on the iPhone 14 and higher, thanks to Apple’s investment in satellite messaging. This includes bringing satellite connectivity to iMessage with iOS 18.
In August, Verizon also announced a partnership with a company called Skylo to bring satellite emergency messaging to its phones, including Android devices. It’s supposed to arrive this fall and complement Apple’s satellite services, but it doesn’t appear to have launched yet.
In its defense, Verizon told the ad board that it placed a disclaimer in its ads that said: “Satellite connection requires select smartphones. It must be outside the line of sight to the satellite; may not work in parts of Alaska.”
But in the end, the National Advertising Division sided with T-Mobile and essentially ruled that the disclosure is too small to be easily read. “The NAD determined that the disclosure in Verizon’s advertising is not clear and conspicuous and is unlikely to be read and understood by consumers,” the regulator said.
The ad board also flagged the operator’s website for the same issue. “The Verizon website provides some details about the material terms of this text from the satellite service, however, NAD concluded that the disclosures on the website are not clear and obvious,” he said.
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Verizon did not respond to a request for comment. Nor did he provide an update on his partnership with Skylo. But the carrier told the ad board it plans to abide by the ruling.
The ad dispute coincides with greater competition between T-Mobile and Verizon over satellite services. T-Mobile is preparing to use SpaceX’s Starlink cellular technology to provide satellite connectivity to customers. Meanwhile, Verizon is betting on Skylo and another satellite provider called AST SpaceMobile.
Earlier this year, T-Mobile also announced an AT&T commercial featuring actor Ben Stiller that promoted the company’s upcoming satellite services, also featuring AST SpaceMobile. The problem is that AT&T’s advertising implied that satellite services were already available when it could take months or more to officially appear. In August, the National Advertising Review Board panel asked AT&T to modify the ad, which it did.
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About Michael Kahn
Senior reporter
