Report: Verizon closer to AT&T affront

There are new rumblings that Verizon Communications will go head-to-head against AT&T in North Texas as some industry observers have been predicting. Light Reading has a story claiming Verizon will offer FiOS in some neighborhoods currently served by AT&T, possibly as soon as next month, but at this point it doesn't seem that Verizon has announced anything official. The carrier has a statewide video franchise in Texas which it uses to serve customers in markets it acquired as part of the acquisition of GTE, and much has previously been made of its FiOS build-out in those areas, though Verizon has denied a move into new markets before. The LR story suggests that it is now ready to stretch into new markets.

If it happens, much will be made of the telco-on-telco action, though as a broader competitive policy, it doesn't seem like Verizon and AT&T competing with one another would be good for either of them. Still, as industry folks increasingly say, everyone's a competitor (and maybe a partner, too).

For more:
- Light Reading has this report [1]

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AT&T and Verizon may compete, but don't call them rivals [2]
Verizon amended its Texas video franchise last year [3]