Whoa boy, this could get nasty. Cable giant Time Warner Cable has brought out the legal team against rival AT&T in Western Texas, where it alleges that the latter company "destroyed and misappropriated cable company equipment when it rolled out its U-verse video service." By way of "sheer acts of vandalism, trespass, conversion and misappropriation of Time Warner's property," TWC says that AT&T actually marred some of its network, though spokespeople for both outfits didn't really have anything juicy to say on the matter. Analysts in the space have been quick to point out that these type lawsuits have been common for the better part of a decade, and in 2006, AT&T actually sued Time Warner Cable as it alleged that "its technicians illegally damaged its network when hooking up phone customers in apartment buildings." Wouldn't the world be a better place without this litigation and with lower prices for all? We say "yes." [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family]

[Via Broadband Reports, thanks Anthony]

While residents of the Triangle / Triad patiently await the rumored launch of U-verse in their respective areas, citizens of the Queen City are casually sticking their tongue out and grinning all the while. Out of nowhere, AT&T announced its U-verse TV / high-speed internet / digital phone debut in the great state of North Carolina with delivery in Charlotte, with Bob Sellman, general manager, Home Solutions, for AT&T in the Carolinas, accurately proclaiming that "cable has been the only game in town for too long." In related news, U-verse services have also claimed yet another Ohio city, and this time it's the home of the Rockets. Toledo, Ohio residents can now phone up the provider to see if their domicile is within a serviceable range, though anyone who watched last month's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition should have seen this one coming.

[Thanks, Marc]

Read - Charlotte expansion
Read - Toledo expansion

Now that AT&T is finally finished rolling out its Total Home DVR software, it's back to adding in interactivity. As Weather On Demand continues to make the rounds, Houston, Texas has become the newest locale to become acquainted. Hard to say if you'll really be compelled to check the forecast on your HDTV versus, say, your cellphone, but it's there if you're into it.

It's impossible to say just how legitimate all of this is right now, but the writing has been on the wall for months. We already knew that AT&T was laying down hundreds of millions of dollars for fiber improvements in the Carolinas, and we've already seen dodgy job ads and U-verse cabinets in the central region of NC. Now, we're really beginning to feel it. A number of locals in the Triangle have spotted AT&T trucks casually passing through, and upon asking, were told that U-verse services were planned for certain areas as early as December. More specifically, we're hearing that Cary, NC could be serviced first, though there's no word on when the Triangle / Triad at large would have the option to switch. And maybe it's completely coincidental, but TWC managed to go a lifetime without adding a substantial amount of high-def stations in these very areas -- now that competition's (possibly) rolling into town, we're finally seeing some effort put forth.

[Via The Wolf Web]

Regardless of his age or win total, Oscar De La Hoya is a preeminent eminence grise in the sport of boxing. That said, we understand that not everyone will be able to jet off to Las Vegas to see his December 6th matchup with Manny Pacquia, but those with AT&T's U-verse will be treated to The Dream Match in glistening high-def. 'Course, the pricing is apt to make you consider just visiting a bar ($65 for the HD PPV, $55 for the SD PPV), but who knows how inflated that tab could be by the end of the night. Decisions, decisions.

[Image courtesy of PFW, thanks Anthony]

We know AT&T just unloaded 30 new high-def channels, but we're seeing reports from all across U-verse nation that even more premiums are popping up. We're hearing that some folks now have a Coming Soon screen for a variety of HBO and Cinemax feeds, mostly derived from the west coast. Some of the mentions include 5MaxHD, WMaxHD, HBOFHW, HBOSHW, HBOCHW, HBOZHW, HBOLHW, MMAXHW, ACTMHW and TMAXHW. Anyone else seeing the same? Different?

[Via U-Talk Forums, thanks Anthony]

AT&T and Texas are already BFFs, so it's no shock to see the carrier proudly recognizing its 1-year U-verse anniversary in the Central region. While most Americans wait patiently for the fiber-based services to roll around to their neck of the woods, some 275,000 living units in Central Texas can now dial up AT&T for their digital phone, high-speed internet and HDTV programming needs. As of today, the service is available in parts of Austin, Cedar Park, Leander, Pflugerville, Round Rock, Sunset Valley and West Lake Hills, and of course, there are always plans to expand that in the future. Sorry to wear our envy on our sleeves, but just take your victory and enjoy it quietly, okay Texas?

Now here's a promotion we can really bang our heads to. Forget those free HDTVs and 1-year promotional rates -- AT&T is offering something you really want for subscribing to its high-speed internet or qualifying U-verse TV plans. Starting on November 14th, consumers ready to make the switch to fiber will be gifted with Guitar Hero World Tour, complete with the game itself (on your console of choice, we presume) and a guitar. On second thought, we'd actually prefer a service discount.

Chalk up another major service provider of MGM HD, earlier this week bringing it's 4,100 title library to bear on U-Verse's $5/month HD Premium Package. Already signed up across the country on other lineups, sliding into the space recently vacated by MOJO HD on some. Executive VP Doug Lee told Multichannel News the network is is up to twice its original projections, with launches in New York and LA possibly on deck and talks underway with Cox, Charter, Cablevision and the NCTC. If he gets his way, you'll be able to grab MGM HD no matter how you get your television, as long as you're willing to pay a little extra.

[Via Multichannel News]

Got U-Verse? Then you should have the Total Home DVR record on one box / stream to all functionality now that AT&T's rollout has finished ahead of schedule. Up in all 69 markets where the IPTV service has a foothold, the final ten markets launched today were: Bakersfield, Dayton, Green Bay, Jacksonville, Little Rock, Miami, South Bend, Tulsa, West Palm Beach and Wichita. Honestly, we're not sure what AT&T (or us for that matter) will do now that it's over, the leading candidates are a "Remember the Rollout" reunion tour in early '09, or the somewhat less likely possibility that confused AT&T techs start adding the functionality to random areas without U-Verse service.

Just as it did in nearby Milwaukee, AT&T has activated its Total Home DVR software in Green Bay, Wisconsin without even telling a soul. As of now, fanatics gearing up for tomorrow's showdown in Minnesota can check out the spoils of watching any recorded SD / HD material on any connected TV anywhere in the house. Give it a go on your box and see just how magical network streaming can be.

[Thanks, Matthew]

AT&T may be looking into the merits of capping bandwidth on its DSL users, but those currently tapping into U-verse services now have yet another option for sucking down files at a snappier rate. Beginning on November 9th, new and current U-verse TV users will be able to upgrade to Max 18, a new high-speed internet tier that provides up to 18Mbps down; curiously, AT&T fails to mention the theoretical upload speed that surely corresponds. At any rate, U-verse TV users purchasing high-speed internet as part of a bundle can replace their current level of service with Max 18 for $65 per month (total, not an upgrade fee). No word on any caps just yet, but you know some suit way up high in AT&T's ivory tower is mulling it over.

AT&T isn't kidding around with its intentions to get U-verse into Mississippi as soon as humanly possible, and now we've got the provider making an even stronger push in Hancock County. More specifically, it recently asked the Hancock County Board of Supervisors to allow its fiber-based services to be "marketed in unincorporated areas of the county." Spokeswoman Kathleen Shaughnessy noted that AT&T would charge "whatever the market would bear, but that it would be very competitive." Of course, we've been hearing these type things for months now with no apparent forward progress, so we're beginning to wonder if AT&T's sentiments aren't falling on dear ears.

[Thanks, Robby]

During an age where unlimited bandwidth has never been more useful for perfectly legal and entertaining reasons, carriers everywhere are looking to harsh our collective mellow. Following in the frowned-upon footsteps of Comcast, AT&T is gearing up to trial monthly bandwidth caps in Nevada. Starting this month, Reno-area subscribers using the carrier's least expensive DSL service (768k) will be forced to download less than 20GB in a month; the cap amount increases with the speed of the service, topping out at 150GB for the 10Mbps level of service. A USA Today report on the matter even admits that "streaming video services like the one Netflix offers" could indeed push users over the limit without any illegal transfers to speak of. Of note, customers involved in the trial will be able to track their usage via the web, and AT&T will contact them if they surpass 80% of their limit. Should they exceed the threshold even after a grace period, they'll be dinged $1 per gigabyte in overage charges. Awesome.

It should come as no surprise that AT&T is hard at work expanding its U-verse network in the state of Illinois. After all, the carrier agreed to provide U-verse to "all areas of the state" in exchange for a license that covered Chicago. At any rate, a new report in The State Journal-Register asserts that AT&T is "well along with construction of a fiber-optic network on the north side of Springfield," and construction was affirmed to be in progress by an unnamed company spokeswoman. Sadly, no estimated launch date was talked about, but we suppose it's hard to grumble about progress.