AT&T defended itself against accusations its 5G Evolution (5GE) branding is misleading to consumers, after Sprint filed a lawsuit seeking to ban its use of the term.

In a statement to Mobile World Live, an AT&T representative argued it clearly defined 5GE technology, which comprises LTE-Advanced techniques to boost network performance, as “an evolutionary step to standards-based 5G” when it introduced the term two years ago.

“We understand why our competitors don’t like what we are doing, but our customers love it…Customers want and deserve to know when they are getting better speeds.”

The statement also included a shot at Sprint’s own claims around 5G, noting assertions it made in the lawsuit appear to contradict statements made to officials reviewing its proposed merger with T-Mobile US.

“Sprint will have to reconcile its arguments to the FCC [Federal Communications Commission] that it cannot deploy a widespread 5G network without T-Mobile while simultaneously claiming in this suit to be launching ‘legitimate 5G technology imminently.’”

AT&T said it will fight the lawsuit while “continuing to deploy 5G Evolution in addition to standards-based mobile 5G.”

5G update
Separately, AT&T announced it achieved speeds of over 1.5Gb/s in a field trial of a new 5G software update for its network.

The operator said it tested the software on its live 5G network using a prototype mobile device and plans to roll out the upgrade across its next generation network “as quickly as possible”.