Dish Network to offer national broadband
August 16, 2012
Dish Network, the USA’s second-largest satellite pay-TV operator, is to roll out a national broadband-by-satellite service.
EchoStar-17 is the orbiting vehicle which will provide the service, and between EchoStar, Hughes (an EchoStar subsidiary) and the portfolio of satellites could handle up to 2 million customers. Service is said to be likely to start this autumn, around September/October.
Dish already has an agreement in place to offer broadband-by-satellite through ViaSat. However, ViaSat’s service is not USA-wide, and the new Dish offering is seen as being a national competitor to the broadband services offered by cable companies.