First, let’s set the scene: In one corner, you have Verizon (VZ). The company recently launched a series of ads attacking AT&T’s (T) 3G network. The spots, revolving around the phrase “there’s a map for that,” show side-by-side maps of AT&T’s and Verizon’s networks and claim Verizon has five times more 3G coverage. Combine those with the ongoing series of iPhone-bashing Droid commercials, and you’ve got a powerful one-two punch heading straight toward AT&T’s kisser.

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Verizon (VZ) began advertising its 3G coverage against AT&T’s (T) in a series of ads poking fun at Apple’s (AAPL) “there’s an app for that” iPhone commercials, presenting coverage maps of its own 3G CDMA/EVDO network in red against much more limited 3G service coverage maps for AT&T’s 3G network presented in blue.

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On a slow news day, The Wall Street Journal has dusted off the old telco-buys-sat TV company rumors.

In a Heard on the Street piece, The Journal says that the odds of Verizon (VZ) buying DirecTV (DTV) could be shortening. The theory is based on Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg’s recent remark that he wants to make video the company’s core product for its fixed-line business; the story asserts that the best way to do that would be to buy a satellite TV company–and that the best one to buy would be DTV.

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IRex Technologies threw its hat into the increasingly crowded U.S. e-reader market Wednesday with the launch of its new device, the DR800SG.

The DR800SG will cost $400 and features an 8.1-inch screen and 3G wireless connectivity with carrier Verizon (VZ). In a retro move reminiscent of the Palm (PALM) Pilot, the e-reader comes with a stylus pen to navigate the on-screen menus. The company said it will roll out a touch-screen version in the second quarter of 2010.

IRex said it will partner with electronics retailer Best Buy (BBY) to offer the device in U.S. stores in late October 2009.

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Top U.S. telecommunications executives Thursday gave a mixed outlook on the economy, saying business conditions have stabilized but they don’t see signs of a quick recovery.

The telecom industry has been relatively shielded from the worst effects of the downturn thanks to the growing need for wireless and Internet services. But it isn’t completely immune, as carriers face continued landline losses, weak demand from businesses and pricing pressure in wireless.

“Stabilization” was the key buzzword for the heads of AT&T Inc. (T), Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ), Sprint Nextel Corp (S). and Qwest Communications International Inc. (Q), all of whom spoke Thursday at an investor conference hosted by Goldman Sachs.

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At a time when most newspapers are hungry for any ads they can sell, Newsday has turned away a steady, lucrative customer that is also a direct competitor of the paper’s parent company, Cablevision (CVC).

Verizon (VZ) Communications bought full-page ads in Newsday several times a month for its FiOS Internet and television service until a few months ago, when the paper said it would no longer take them, according to a Verizon executive and ad buyers who work with the company.

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Comcast (CMCS) is now on the iPhone bandwagon. On Thursday, Comcast, the largest cable operator in the U.S. by subscribers, announced a free application for the Apple (AAPL) device that lets customers check their Comcast email and home voice mail as well as surf their TV schedules.

Still to come: the ability to program DVRs at home from mobile devices, the way that rivals like DirecTV (DTV), Verizon (VZ) and AT&T (T) do.

But the application has gotten largely positive reviews in the blogosphere. Gizmodo calls it a “surprisingly nice little app,” while MobileCrunch says it’s “a good, solid offering that’s a no-brainer for iPhone owners who subscribe to and use Comcast’s voice, internet, and cable services.”

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On 18 July 2001, a freight train derailed in the Howard Street tunnel running beneath downtown Baltimore, spilling 20,000 litres of hydrochloric acid. The resulting chemical fire destroyed fibre-optic cables owned by eight major US internet carriers. Moments later, Verizon Communications (VZ), which operates key portions of the internet’s physical infrastructure in the US, lost links to two operations buildings and several other carriers’ networks.

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Last night’s “Charlie Rose” featured an interview with Ivan Seidenberg, chief executive of Verizon (VZ), who talked about communications in Iran, the company’s prospects for carrying Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone and the recent news that Verizon Wireless will carry a Google (GOOG) Android-powered cellphone.

Mr. Seidenberg called Iranian citizens’ use of technology and wireless communications “a great thing,” saying “for us as a network operator, it’s the network effect. The more people on a network, the more valuable the entire network becomes. There’s no question in my mind that that model will get repeated over and over and over again.”

He also said that efforts to block Internet use in China, Iran and other countries will only work for a short time. “It can’t work long term. The power of the people will override that without any question. And it’ll happen sooner than they think because the technology is just too pervasive.”

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For many quarters now, telco giants Verizon (VZ) and AT&T (T) have suffered sharp declines in the residential wireline business, but have been bailed out the by rapid growth of their wireless businesses. But J.P. Morgan analyst Mike McCormack this morning warns that fundamentals in wireless are now deteriorating. As a result, he downgraded both stocks today to Neutral from Overweight. McCormack cut his target to $28 from $30 for AT&T; for Verizon he goes to $32, from $36.

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Given the buzz surrounding Verizon’s (VZ) smart-phone efforts lately, it’s useful to review all the recent reporting and size up what looks most likely.

The CDMA iPhone: Some publications have suggested that Verizon is discussing with Apple the possibility of making a version of the iPhone to run on the carrier’s existing CDMA network. USA Today reported this in a story earlier this week, and the New York Times (NYT) echoed it, even as it noted why this idea makes no sense. CDMA is essentially a U.S. technology used by Verizon and Sprint (S). The rest of the world operates on a standard called GSM. That’s partly why Apple (AAPL) chose to work with AT&T (T) (a GSM provider) in the first place.

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Apple (AAPL) and Verizon (VZ) are in talks for the carrier to distribute an “iPhone-lite” device and a “media pad,” with one of the devices to be launched sometime this summer, BusinessWeek is reporting. As a Verizon subscriber, I wish I could believe this story, but we have several reasons to think it’s just a negotiating ploy aimed at getting more concessions from AT&T (T) as it tries to hold onto its iPhone exclusive.

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Telecom equipment maker Ericsson says the unthinkable is now the possible: 500Mbps transmission speeds over ordinary copper wiring. Looking at the details, though, it’s not clear that the news will give Verizon (VZ) any reason to rethink its hugely expensive fiber-to-the-home strategy… or that such speeds will be coming to a DSL line near you anytime soon.

DSL, which relies on twisted-pair copper wiring in common usage around the world, suffers from a host of problems as distance increases between the home and the central office with the DSLAM. Crosstalk, the interference that one wire causes on the other wire, increases along with distance, for one thing. Using crosstalk cancellation technology and a short line length of 500m, Ericsson was able to see sustained data transfer rates of just over 0.5Gbps. It’s the latest telecom maker to report the potential for huge speed increases on copper wiring.

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Before it settled on AT&T (T) as the carrier for the iPhone in the United States, Apple (AAPL) shopped the phone to Verizon Wireless and was shot down. It’s thought that Verizon (VZ) didn’t want to make the concessions (including ceding a lot of control) to Apple, which AT&T ended up doing. Of course, the mobile landscape was very different at the time, and now it’s hard to argue that the iPhone hasn’t changed things significantly. So it wouldn’t be a surprise if Verizon wanted another shot at the iPhone. And if a new rumor coming out of Italy is true, it may get that shot.

The report, by ITExaminer.com, claims to have “deep throats” in Apple saying that iPhones for Verizon Wireless will be announced “soon.” It goes on to say the deal is so secret that Apple isn’t talking about it at all and has been trying to hide job postings for EVDO and CDMA engineers–two cellular technologies that Verizon Wireless uses but AT&T does not.

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Last week, President-elect Barack Obama’s call for a delay in the Digital TV transition, long scheduled for February, sent tech and telecom firms into a tizzy. Both Verizon (VZ) and the Consumer Electronics Association have been pushing back hard against any postponement of the move from analog to digital broadcasting, while AT&T (T) has joined the Consumers Union and several prominent Democratic legislators in supporting the call to give the troubled transition more time. Among those with a vested interest in the debate over a DTV delay is Clearwire (CLWR), which has been racing to deploy its 4G WiMAX networks ahead of competitors wedded to the LTE standard. And Ars has learned that Clearwire Executive Vice President R. Gerard Salemme has been playing a key advisory role on the DTV changeover within the Obama transition team. 

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