Dish Network Corporation
EchoStar Communications Corporation (Nasdaq: DISH) is the parent company of DISH Network and the maintainer of the satellite fleet that provides the signal that DISH Network markets. The company also designs and manufactures set-top boxes to receive the Freeview (DVB-T) broadcasts in the United Kingdom, as well as generic DVB-S receivers.
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 dollars. 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 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].
Satellite Fleet
Orbital Locations Vary
Since EchoStar frequently moves satellites among its many orbiting slots this list is not immediately accurate.
Refer to Lyngsat.com for detailed satellite information.
| Satellite | Orbital Location | Launch Date | Satellite Manufacturer/Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EchoStar I | 148°W | 28 December 1995 | Lockheed Martin Astro Space Series 7000 (AS-7000) | |
| EchoStar II | 148°W | 10 September 1996 | Lockheed Martin Astro Space Series 7000 (AS-7000) | |
| EchoStar III | 61.50°W | 5 October 1997 | Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space A2100AX | |
| EchoStar IV | 77°W (incline) | 8 May 1998 | Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space A2100AX | Note (1) |
| EchoStar V | 129°W | 23 September 1999 | Space Systems/Loral FS-1300 | |
| EchoStar VI | 119°W | 14 July 2000 | Space Systems/Loral FS-1300 | |
| EchoStar VII | 119°W | 21 February 2002 | Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space A2100AX | |
| EchoStar VIII | 110°W | 21 August 2002 | Space Systems/Loral FS-1300 | |
| EchoStar X | 110°W | 15 February 2006 | Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space A2100AX | |
| EchoStar IX/IA-13 | 121°W | 7 August 2003 | Space Systems/Loral FS-1300 | Note (2) Non-DBS |
| Echostar 12/Rainbow 1 | 61.5°W | 17 July 2003 | Lockheed-Martin AS-2100 | Note (3) |
| AMC-15 | 105°W | 14 October 2004 | Lockheed-Martin AS-2100 | Note (4) Non-DBS |
| AMC-16 | 118.75°W | 17 December 2004 | Lockheed-Martin A2100AX | Note (5) Non-DBS |
| EchoStar XI | TBD | TDB 2007 | Space Systems/Loral FS-1300 | Announced 9 May 2006 |
Notes:
(1) 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.
(2) Customers use SuperDISH 121 to receive this signal. Satellite is jointly owned by EchoStar and Intelsat. Non-DBS, medium-power Ku band owned by EchoStar. Ka band payload owned by EchoStar and not currently in use. C band payload owned by Intelsat and is known as IA-13.
(3) 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.
(4) 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.
(5) Non-DBS, medium-power AMC-16 is also leased from SES Americom. It broadcasts on non-DBS FSS frequencies using circular polarity (the only satellite serving the United States in this mode). AMC-16 is temporarily placed at 118.75°W and will eventually move back to 85°W when Anik F1 is launched. Customers use a 26-centimeter DISH 500+ or 1000+ system to receive AMC-16's lower power signal.