Dish Network Corporation
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Information on EchoStar Corp, manufacture of Cable, Satellite receivers and former parent visit Echostar Corporation
DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ: DISH) is the parent company of DISH Network. The company was formerly known as EchoStar Communications Corporation.
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[edit] History
EchoStar was formed in 1980 by its chairman and CEO Charlie Ergen as a distributor of C band TV systems. In 1987, EchoStar applied for a direct broadcast satellite (DBS) license with the Federal Communications Commission and was granted access to orbital slot 119° west longitude in 1992.
On December 28, 1995, EchoStar successfully launched its first satellite, EchoStar I. That same year, EchoStar established the DISH Network brand name to market its home satellite TV system.
In 1998, EchoStar purchased the broadcasting assets of a satellite broadcasting joint venture of News Corporation's ASkyB and MCI Worldcom. With this purchase EchoStar obtained 28 of the 32 transponder licenses in the 110° W orbital slot, more than doubling existing CONUS broadcasting capacity at a value of $682.5 million. The acquisition inspired the company to introduce a multi-satellite system called DISH 500, theoretically capable of receiving more than 500 channels on one dish. In the same year, Echostar - in association with Bell Canada - launched Dish Network Canada.
In January 2005, EchoStar bought the broadcasting assets of the troubled HDTV DBS company Voom, including its Rainbow 1 satellite co-located with EchoStar 3 at 61.5° W. On April 29, EchoStar announced that it would expand its HDTV programming by adding the first 10 of 21 original Voom channels and mirror the channels on a CONUS slot [1].
On September 25, 2007, EchoStar announced it had agreed to acquire Sling Media Inc.
In December 2007 EchoStar demerged into two separate businesses. The Dish Network business was demerged from the technology and infrastructure side of the business. The larger side, owning the DISH Network satellite TV provider buisiness became known as DISH Network Corporation while the spun off company is now called Echostar Corporation.
[edit] Satellite Fleet
Orbital Locations Vary
Most of the satellites used by DISH Network are owned and operated by Echostar Corporation. Since EchoStar frequently moves satellites among its many orbiting slots this list may not be immediately accurate.
Refer to Lyngsat.com and Dish Channel Chart for detailed satellite information.
| Satllite | Location | Launched | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EchoStar I | 148° W | 1995, 28 December | Lockheed Martin Astro Space Series 7000 (AS-7000) | Dish Network appears to be in the process of moving international programming from this satellite to Anik F3 (118.75°), potentially as a precursor to discontinuing use of this satellite. |
| EchoStar II | 148° W | 1996, 10 September | Lockheed Martin Astro Space Series 7000 (AS-7000) | |
| EchoStar III | 61.50° W | 1997, 5 October | Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space A2100AX | |
| EchoStar IV | 77° W (incline) |
1998, 8 May | Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space A2100AX | EchoStar IV at 77° W is not licensed to serve customers in the United States. EchoStar has placed the satellite in this Mexican controlled orbital slot to serve future DBS customers in Mexico. |
| EchoStar V | 129° W | 1999, 23 September | Space Systems/Loral FS-1300 | EchoStar V was moved from 110 to 129 and is currently providing HD national and HD and SD local stations |
| EchoStar VI | 110° W | 2000, 14 July | Space Systems/Loral FS-1300 | Currently deactivated and awaiting move to new location |
| EchoStar VII | 119° W | 2002, 21 February | Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space A2100AX | |
| EchoStar VIII | 110° W | 2002, 21 August | Space Systems/Loral FS-1300 | |
| EchoStar IX/ Galaxy 23 | 121° W | 2003, 7 August | Space Systems/Loral FS-1300 | Customers use SuperDISH 121 to receive this non-DBS, medium-powered signal. Satellite is jointly owned by EchoStar and Intelsat. The Ku band is owned by EchoStar. Ka band payload owned by EchoStar and not currently in use. C band payload owned by Intelsat and is known as Galaxy 23. Non-DBS Programming has now been removed from EchoStar IX and is being provided from 118.7 |
| EchoStar X | 110° W | 2006, 15 February | Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space A2100AX | |
| Echostar XII/ Rainbow 1 | 61.5° W | 2003, 17 July | Lockheed-Martin AS-2100 | Rainbow 1 was launched by Cablevision/Rainbow DBS and used for the Voom DBS service at 61.5° W until the satellite and transponder licenses were sold to EchoStar in 2005. March 2006 saw DISH Network rename it to EchoStar 12. It is co-located with EchoStar III at 61.5° W. |
| AMC-15 | 105 °W | 2004, 14 October | Lockheed-Martin AS-2100 | Customers use SuperDISH 105 to receive this signal. Non-DBS, medium-power AMC-15 is owned by SES Americom and replaced AMC-2 at the 105° W orbital location. EchoStar leases the entire bandwidth of the AMC-15 satellite. Non-DBS Programming has now been removed from AMC-15 and is being provided from 118.7 |
| Anik F3[1] | 118.75° W | 2007, 12 April | Astrium Eurostar 3000 | Customers use the 26-centimeter DISH 500+ or DISH 1000+ to receive this non-DBS, medium-powered signal. Anik F3 is leased by EchoStar from Telesat Canada to serve CONUS customers. It broadcasts on non-DBS FSS frequencies using circular polarity (the only satellite serving the United States in this mode). It permanently replaces AMC-16 which was temporarily placed at 118.75° W due to delays in Anik F3 production. AMC-16 moved back to 85° W when Anik F3 was fully operational. |
| AMC-14 (satellite) | 61.5° | 2008, March 14 | Lockheed-Martin A2100AX | Satellite Launch Failure, not in intended orbit |
| EchoStar 11 | TBD | TBD | unknown | Announced 2008 |
| EchoStar 15 | TBD | TBD | unknown | Announced 2008 |
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.satnews.com/stories2007/4281/ Satnews.com launch of Anik F3
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- EchoStar homepage
- EchoStar Europe
- ASkyB/MCI Worldcom litigation
- SkyREPORT.com history of DTH broadcasting
- Lyngsat.com Satellite Data
- SatelliteGuys.US - Satellite Discussion Forum
- Sat-Index.com Satellite Failure Reports
- Frequently updated unaffiliated definitive Dish Network channel and satellite chart
