Verizon slams AT&T in new TV ad; '5X coverage'

A new advertising campaign from Verizon Wireless that began last night during Monday Night Football takes a direct swipe at AT&T and its network.

The "nation's most reliable network" took on "the nation's fastest 3G network" in a No. 1 vs. No. 2 war of words.

Here's a look:

TechFlash notes that the fine print is even backhanded: "Browse the Web and download music and apps, at 3G speed, in five times more places than the nation's number two wireless carrier. Before you pick a phone, pick a network."

Verizon has been taking heat recently for focusing too much on its network at the expense of its hardware offerings. (AT&T, after all, offers the No. 1 smartphone on the planet: Apple's iPhone.)

On the other hand, AT&T can hardly claim reliability. A recent New York Times article pinned the carrier for tempting urban customers with the iPhone and then dropping the ball when it came to ensuring that its network could support that kind of usage.