AT&T drops ‘fewest dropped calls’ ad claim: Carrier to rely on ‘more bars in more places’ instead

Um, you know that fewest-dropped-calls claim? Never mind.
After spending a big chunk of its massive $1 billion budget bludgeoning the American public with the message that it has the “fewest dropped calls,” the nation’s No. 1 carrier is changing tack. AT&T Inc. will still run its humorous ads showing hapless callers trying to wiggle out of embarrassing situations after their phone call cuts off in midconversation, but it will quit making the claim.
The billion-dollar question is: Why, after lavishing so much time and money on the message, would AT&T move away from it? Could it have anything to do with unconfirmed reports that competitor Verizon Wireless pressured it to change following independent studies that showed the claim wasn’t exactly accurate? Or a Consumer Reports expos