Charter Files Counterclaim in Frontier Advertising Row

Charter Communications -- being sued by Frontier Communications over an advertising campaign making allegedly false claims about the robustness of its video, data and voice services (see 1606210013) -- is suing Frontier back. In a counterclaim (in Pacer) filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the cable ISP said that under the Lanham Act, which governs unfair competition, and various state laws, it seeks a court order stopping "any further false advertising" and any profit Frontier made from the ad campaign. In the 18-page complaint, Charter compared itself with Frontier, alleging the telco "has not made the same kind of network investment that cable operators like Charter have." It also pointed to the FCC annual Measuring Broadband America report as proof of its advertised broadband speeds and that Frontier's broadband offering is inferior. Frontier in a statement Tuesday said, "Charter’s recent ad campaign is false and misleading and does not accurately portray the competitive, high quality products and services that we provide our customers. We owe it to our customers, employees, and shareholders to defend ourselves against false attacks such as this and to ensure that our products and services are honestly and fairly represented at all times by all parties.”