2Wire HQ is right around the corner from where I live. I can't tell you how tempted I am to just burst right in and demand to know what's going on!
I'll bet SBC was waiting for the recent re-negotiations with Dish to conclude. But, I wouldn't be surprised if Dish put the kabosh on the whole thing. I'm sure they wanted a $5 DVR charge from it (even though they had nothing to do with it), and probably wouldn't enjoy seeing a non-Dish box work better with Dish Network than a Dish box.