It is possible to do dry pair runs. Verizon does it all the time if you have the sdsl equipment on both ends. They just dont want to do it for ppl not using their other services. Just like comcast.
you would think that telcos would want to do dry pair installs. I can only imagine that they would see more business as a result, but then again I can't see the projected bottom line for that particular service. As far as I can tell it would improve their image as well. Time will tell if this has been a smart move for the telcos.