Dish entering Brazil TV market?
April 25, 2012
By Chris Forrester
Charlie Ergen’s EchoStar intends moving the SES-owned QuetzSat-1 satellite from its current 67 degrees West position to 45 degrees W. EchoStar leases capacity on the satellite from SES. It had been thought that the craft would be re-located to 77 degrees West, a Mexico-licensed slot. EchoStar already operates two satellites from 77 degrees West (one for the USA and the other for Mexico). The news emerged in an FCC filing made by EchoStar.
However, an EchoStar subsidiary was last August awarded the 45 degrees West slot in an auction in Brazil (along with certain transmission rights from 68.5 degrees W). It is understood that EchoStar will use the new slots to launch its own DTH services for Brazil.