Earlier this year, Verizon began laying new plant (not overbuilding) in select AT&T territories in Texas, putting FiOS in rare direct competition with U-Verse. Verizon's interest in taking FiOS outside of where they've traditionally offered copper-based services piqued plenty of people's interest. Seeing Verizon and AT&T do battle would certainly be appealing to consumers, given it would add a competitive dimension to an all-too-frequently stale duopoly system.

Many believe it's simply wishful thinking. Verizon also repeatedly says their incursion into AT&T territory is very limited in scope. "I wouldn't call this a major attack on AT&T or anything like that," Verizon's Eric Rabe said when Verizon began offering FiOS in some AT&T neighborhoods in the Dalls area. "This is just taking advantage of an opportunity to sell to the rest of the town." Verizon does admits there could be other such "opportunities."

At least one analysis firm thinks it could be the opening salvo in a broader war. Clifford Holliday, an analyst with Information Gatekeepers, is publishing a new report that claims Verizon will be very successful in the 10-12 Dallas communities where they're doing battle with AT&T, and will want to move on from there. In an interview with Telephony Online, Holliday predicts California will be next:Verizon continues to deny that this is the birth of a new broadband trend. Holliday, meanwhile, thinks the success Verizon has pitching its FTTH service against VDSL will change that tune. "I think they’ll beat the pants off Time Warner [Cable] and AT&T U-verse,' he says. "That’s my opinion. They have a superior service, and it’s cheaper."