As someone who invests in dividend growth stocks, I've stayed away from T and VZ for now, simply because their dividend increases don't really keep up with inflation. Because they pay out so much FCF in dividends, there's not all that much room to increase the dividend appropriately. If I want to retire on my dividend stream, I want it to exceed inflation, so I don't sacrifice my standard of living over time. I just don't really see that happening with phone companies. Maybe when I'm really old (65+), the high income will be more appealing. But for now, I want those solid dividend increases. Maybe JNJ or PM are better choices.
As an aside, of the two, I like VZ over T. T hasn't done squat for a while, especially in terms of capital appreciation. VZ at least has some growth and FIOS. Conversely, T has been paying an increasing dividend nearly 3 times as long as VZ. Either way, both their Chowder numbers are terrible, so I'm passing.