It seems that there is a new patent suit between device manufacturers every day with Apple leading the charge. Now a company called Intellectual Ventures is suing AT&T Sprint and T-Mobile for infringing on several of their collection of patents. Verizon is not in the suit because they are in liscensing argeements with Intellectual Ventures.
This quote from their cheif litigation counsel is very generalized and I'm not sure if it is purposely simplified or if it speaks to the frivilous nature of the suit.
“The carriers have wireless communication networks that are vast and are integrated,” said Melissa Finocchio, chief litigation counsel for Intellectual Ventures, in an interview. “We have many patents that cover various aspects of that telecommunications system.”
http://allthingsd.com/20120216/patent-collector-intellectual-ventures-sues-att-sprint-and-t-mobile-for-infringement/