It seems like they are making the right things happen.  HD-N would be preferred.  He does not mind AT&T, also. 

In a taxable account you recover the withholding tax when you file your Canadian a tax return.  You do not get a dividend tax credit, however.  He owns VS-N, which he thinks may be a marginally better pick.  They are taking a divergent route.  AT&T is more of a direct route to the home in terms of their streaming capabilities.  Verizon is more of a wireless play.  Both pay good dividends.

Sell now for the FX benefit and move into a Canadian stock? Their intent now is to capture distribution. He doesn’t see any problem with continuing to Hold this. It is probably underpriced and a little bit misunderstood in terms of what they are intending to be in the future. Yield of 5.6%.

AT&T (T-N) or BCE (BCE-T) for dividends? Although they are both mega names in the telco space, they are quite different, primarily because the telco space in the US is much more competitive, which means price wars. Margins are much thinner in the US. This company’s share price, since about mid-2012, has really done nothing. He would sell this and buy BCE.

The US telecom space is a lot more competitive than in Canada.  The Canadian telecoms have great positioning since there is a lack of competition and they pay a good dividend which you get a tax credit for.

AT&T (T-N) or Verizon (VZ-N)? He tends to err on the side of caution, so he would prefer this one. It is the more stable side of the business. Also, pays a higher dividend.

If looking for safety and stability, this is not a bad place to go. If looking for growth, he is not convinced that you are going to see it in this. Looking at the large US telcos, it is so darn competitive and there are major price wars between this company and Verizon (VZ-N), and what they are doing is cutting costs and fees on the various plans to remain competitive. A very challenging environment. The good news is you are getting a fat dividend, but if you are looking for share price appreciation he would prefer Canadian names. (See Top Picks.)

This one and Verizon dominate the US market.  He used to be there but got out.  Lots of money has to be spent where the company may or may not get a return on it.  The big dividend stocks are vulnerable if and when rates start to go up.  It is okay but he would not rush out to buy it.