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Cablevision Systems Corp. and Verizon Communications Inc. are engaged in a nasty war of words in federal district court in New York.
The main question: Which company has misrepresented the facts about Cablevision's Internet speeds?
Cablevision sued Verizon earlier this month, asking the court for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against Verizon, prohibiting the telecommunications giant from distributing false advertisements in connection with the speed of Cablevision's Internet services.
In a filing Monday with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Verizon asserted the court doesn't need to consider Cablevision's requests any longer because Verizon plans to revise its advertisements and therefore Cablevision "cannot show any likelihood of irreparable injury without the preliminary injunction." Verizon intends to omit some references to an August Federal Communications Commission report that it claims found Cablevision was advertising speeds that were significantly higher than those actually delivered.
Despite plans to change its ads, Verizon stood by its declarations that Cablevision – not Verizon – has been spreading lies about the speed of Cablevision's Internet services.
"Cablevision's advertised Internet speeds have been and continue to be false," Verizon wrote in its court filing opposing Cablevision's request for a temporary restraining order. "To try to compete with Verizon's state-of-the-art FiOS services, Cablevision has concealed its inferior broadband performance from consumers for years."
Bethpage, N.Y.-based Cablevision responded in kind: "The bottom line is Verizon is again changing their ads because they were false and misleading, just like they had to last month when they weren't telling the truth about picture quality," Sarah Chaikin, a Cablevision spokeswoman, said in a brief statement.
Asked whether Cablevision planned to dismiss its lawsuit given Verizon's plans to revise its ads, Chaikin declined further comment.
In a court filing Dec. 6, Cablevision noted the FCC report that Verizon cites in its ads relate to the results of tests performed in March 2011.
"Cablevision has made significant upgrades to its broadband network in 2011 that render these March 2011 test results obsolete," the company said. "More recent FCC tests conducted in September and October 2011 using the same methodology show that Cablevision delivers internet speeds that are very close to, and often above, the speeds that Cablevision advertises, even at so-called "peak hours" when internet usage is high."
The case appears to be scheduled for a hearing on Dec. 19.
