Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location. The signals are received via an outdoor parabolic antenna commonly referred to as a satellite dish and a low-noise block downconverter .
144-568: DISH Network L.L.C. , often referred to as DISH , an abbreviation for Digital Sky Highway , is an American provider of satellite television and IPTV services and wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation . The company was originally established as EchoStar Communications , and first launched its satellite television services under the DISH Network brand in 1996, utilizing its EchoStar I satellite. In 2007, EchoStar spun off its television business as DISH Network Corporation, with
288-489: A low-noise amplifier (LNA) connected to the feedhorn at the focal point of the dish. The amplified signal, still at the higher microwave frequencies, had to be fed via very expensive low-loss 50-ohm impedance gas filled hardline coaxial cable with relatively complex N-connectors to an indoor receiver or, in other designs, a downconverter (a mixer and a voltage-tuned oscillator with some filter circuitry) for downconversion to an intermediate frequency. The channel selection
432-555: A $ 129 billion merger agreement between the two companies. The deal would have been the largest corporate merger in history at the time. However, due to pressure from the United States Department of Justice and the European Union on concerns of it creating a monopoly, the deal did not go through. In 1999, Sprint began recombining its local telecom, long-distance, wireline, and wireless business units into
576-660: A $ 25 billion bid for Sprint Corporation . In 2011, Dish petitioned the Federal Communications Commission to combine the S-Band spectrum it acquired from DBSD and Terrestar, and combine this spectrum with LTE . Unlike LightSquared , Dish's spectrum has minimal risk of disrupting Global Positioning Systems . At the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show , DISH Network announced it would shorten its trade name to "DISH", to emphasize new developments such as its Hopper DVR and broadband services. After changing
720-523: A 33 percent stake in the music streaming service Tidal . Sprint derives revenue as a wireline IP network operator and as a long-distance telephony provider. Sprint is the United States' fourth largest long-distance provider by subscribers. In 2006, Sprint Nextel exited the local landline telephone business, spinning those assets off into a newly created company named Embarq , which CenturyTel acquired in 2008 to form CenturyLink . SprintLink
864-477: A DBS service, but are received in approximately 18 million homes, as well as in any home using the Sky Deutschland commercial DBS system. All German analogue satellite broadcasts ceased on 30 April 2012. The United Kingdom has approximately 160 digital channels (including the regional variations of BBC channels, ITV channels, Channel 4 and Channel 5 ) that are broadcast without encryption from
1008-414: A few key Nextel executives remained, with many former Nextel middle- and upper-level managers having left, citing reasons including the unbridgeable cultural difference between the two companies. In 2006, Sprint spun off its local telephone operations, including the former United Telephone companies and Centel , as Embarq . Sprint's acquisition of Nextel was a disaster from a fiscal standpoint in 2008,
1152-497: A fourth major carrier. In 2023, DISH Network was merged back into EchoStar in an all-stock transaction. The company was formed in 1980 as EchoStar Communications by Charlie Ergen , Candy Ergen, and Jim DeFranco, as a distributor of C-band satellite television systems. In 1987, EchoStar applied for a satellite television broadcast license with the FCC and was granted access to orbital slot 119° west longitude in 1992. A year after
1296-524: A library that has over 80,000 movies and shows. As of late 2018, HBO and Cinemax were no longer available for DISH customers due to Contract disputes. However, Dish returned HBO and Cinemax programming as of August 2021. In May 2012, DISH launched DISHWorld, a subscription-based over-the-top streaming IPTV service, as an app on Roku devices, offering access to over 50 international television channels via broadband streaming. In 2014, DISH Network began to reach carriage deals with broadcasters for
1440-424: A nationwide network to provide wireless personal communications service (PCS), and also affirm their support for a single integrated offering of wireless, local telephone and long distance services in a package with cable television service In 1995, Sprint and its cable television associates entered into a partnership with American Personal Communications (APC) to create a digital wireless network. In November 1995,
1584-480: A new company, in an initiative known internally as "One Sprint". In April 2004, the separately traded wireless tracking stock PCS was absorbed into the New York Stock Exchange FON ticker symbol, Sprint's former ticker symbol (FON stood for "Fiber Optic Network", but was also a homophone of the word "phone"). This was challenged in many lawsuits by Sprint PCS shareholders who felt their stock
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#17327881232071728-795: A new logo. In 2013, following the shutdown of the Nextel network and concurrent with the acquisition by SoftBank, the company resumed using the name Sprint Corporation. In July 2013, as part of the SoftBank transactions, Sprint acquired the remaining shares of the wireless broadband carrier Clearwire Corporation that it did not already own. In August 2014, CEO Dan Hesse was replaced by Marcelo Claure . In May 2018, Michel Combes replaced Claure, and had been working to get Sprint's acquisition by its rival T-Mobile through regulatory proceedings. On April 1, 2020, Sprint Corporation completed their acquisition by T-Mobile US , which effectively made Sprint
1872-559: A new over-the-top service that would be aimed towards cord cutters as a low-cost alternative to traditional pay television. On January 5, 2015, DISH Network officially unveiled Sling TV , an over-the-top IPTV service designed to complement subscription video on-demand services such as Hulu and Netflix. Some broadcasters have been hesitant about over-the-top services such as Sling TV, showing concern that they may undermine their carriage deals with larger conventional cable , satellite and Internet TV providers. Time Warner initially noted that
2016-580: A normal parabolic satellite antenna means it can only receive signals from a single satellite at a time. Simulsat or the Vertex-RSI TORUS, is a quasi-parabolic satellite earthstation antenna that is capable of receiving satellite transmissions from 35 or more C - and K u -band satellites simultaneously. In 1945 British science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke proposed a worldwide communications system which would function by means of three satellites equally spaced apart in earth orbit. This
2160-704: A partnership with Input Output Global (formerly known as IOHK) to build subscription services based on the Cardano blockchain. The following month it set up a system to expand 5G mobile network through customers using the Citizens Broadband Radio Service with rewards paid in cryptocurrency. DISH Cares was launched in 2014 and focuses on community engagement , sustainability , and providing services following disasters. The company has engaged in disaster relief efforts, including after Hurricanes Katrina , Harvey , Irma , and Maria . Both
2304-414: A rooftop parabolic receiving dish (" satellite dish "), which reflects the weak signal to the dish's focal point. Mounted on brackets at the dish's focal point is a feedhorn which passes the signals through a waveguide to a device called a low-noise block converter (LNB) or low noise converter (LNC) attached to the horn. The LNB amplifies the weak signals, filters the block of frequencies in which
2448-620: A satellite broadband service called DishNET, aimed at rural areas where cable is often not available. DISH launched the direct-to-consumer smart home technology brand OnTech Smart Services in 2019; initially available in 11 metropolitan areas, the brand offers smart home devices and installation services. DISH has been described as the first large company to accept cryptocurrency and being “comfortable with cryptocurrency”. The company has accepted Bitcoin since 2014. Four years later it began accepting Bitcoin Cash . In September 2021, it announced
2592-421: A secondary box on TV2. DISH Network's first satellite antenna was simply called the "DISH Network" dish. It was retroactively named the "DISH 300" when legal and satellite problems forced delays of the forthcoming DISH 500 systems. It uses one LNB to obtain signals from the 119°W orbital location, and was commonly used as a second dish to receive additional high-definition or international programming from either
2736-417: A separate entity, and will remain a CDMA carrier until it is an all-LTE carrier. On April 15, 2013, Dish Network announced a higher bid for Sprint Nextel than the offer placed by SoftBank, with a $ 25.5 billion offer. On June 18, 2013, Dish retracted its bid and decided that it would instead focus on its intent to purchase Clearwire , however on June 26, 2013, Dish also retracted its bid for Clearwire, leaving
2880-697: A series of Soviet geostationary satellites to carry direct-to-home television, Ekran 1, was launched on 26 October 1976. It used a 714 MHz UHF downlink frequency so that the transmissions could be received with existing UHF television technology rather than microwave technology. The satellite television industry developed in the US from the cable television industry as communication satellites were being used to distribute television programming to remote cable television headends . Home Box Office (HBO), Turner Broadcasting System (TBS), and Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN, later The Family Channel ) were among
3024-515: A series of service bundles, paying more money for more channels. A la carte programming is available, however limited to premium channels such as HBO or Showtime . The company is currently working on diversifying its offerings. With its purchase of Blockbuster LLC , DISH owns the Blockbuster trademarks and has used its intellectual property agreement to offer streaming and mail-order video services. On September 27, 2012, DISH Network announced
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#17327881232073168-487: A single dish) pointing to different satellites. A common solution for consumers wanting to access multiple satellites is to deploy a single dish with a single LNB and to rotate the dish using an electric motor. The axis of rotation has to be set up in the north–south direction and, depending on the geographical location of the dish, have a specific vertical tilt. Set up properly the motorized dish when turned will sweep across all possible positions for satellites lined up along
3312-445: A smaller dish antenna because of the higher power transmissions and greater antenna gain. TVRO systems tend to use larger rather than smaller satellite dish antennas, since it is more likely that the owner of a TVRO system would have a C-band -only setup rather than a K u band -only setup. Additional receiver boxes allow for different types of digital satellite signal reception, such as DVB/MPEG-2 and 4DTV . The narrow beam width of
3456-402: A special type of LNB. There are also LNBs available with a multi-switch already integrated. This problem becomes more complicated when several receivers use several dishes or several LNBs mounted in a single dish are aimed at different satellites. The set-top box selects the channel desired by the user by filtering that channel from the multiple channels received from the satellite, converts
3600-420: A specific frequency range, so as to be received by one of the transponders tuned to that frequency range aboard that satellite. The transponder then converts the signals to K u band , a process known as "translation," and transmits them back to earth to be received by home satellite stations. The downlinked satellite signal, weaker after traveling the great distance (see path loss ), is collected by using
3744-468: A standard receiver and a receiver with built-in digital video recorder (DVR) were available to subscribers. The DISH Network ViP722 HD DVR replacement for the ViP622 received generally positive reviews. It could record up to 350 hours of standard-definition (SD) broadcasts, or 55 hours of high-definition (HD). These set-top boxes (STBs) allow for HD on the primary TV and SD on the secondary TV (TV2) without
3888-425: A strategic alliance with Call-Net Enterprises, a Canadian long-distance service provider, and bought 25 percent of the company. Call-Net's long-distance service was renamed "Sprint Canada" and expanded to include landline and internet services. In 2005, Call-Net and Sprint Canada's 600,000 customers were acquired by Rogers Communications . In March 1993, Sprint merged with Chicago's Centel Corp. Centel remained in
4032-518: A subsidiary of T-Mobile until the Sprint brand officially discontinued in the beginning of August. Leadership, background, and stock changes happened immediately, with customer-side changes happening over time. The Sprint brand officially discontinued on August 2, 2020. Billing was already showing the T-Mobile brand, and on this date all retail, customer service, and all other company branding switched to
4176-412: A tracking system to turn to follow a moving satellite. A few satellite TV systems use satellites in a Molniya orbit , a highly elliptical orbit with inclination of +/-63.4 degrees and an orbital period of about twelve hours. Satellite television, like other communications relayed by satellite, starts with a transmitting antenna located at an uplink facility. Uplink facilities transmit the signal to
4320-536: A transponder is transmitting at and on what polarisation it is using, the satellite receiver has to switch the LNB into one of four different modes in order to receive a specific desired program on a specific transponder. The receiver uses the DiSEqC protocol to control the LNB mode, which handles this. If several satellite receivers are to be attached to a single dish a so-called multiswitch must be used in conjunction with
4464-457: A wider frequency range of 2–2150 MHz. The satellite receiver or set-top box demodulates and converts the signals to the desired form (outputs for television, audio, data, etc.). Often, the receiver includes the capability to selectively unscramble or decrypt the received signal to provide premium services to some subscribers; the receiver is then called an integrated receiver/decoder or IRD. Low-loss cable (e.g. RG-6 , RG-11 , etc.)
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4608-410: Is a global Tier 1 Internet service provider network, operating an 100G Internet backbone . Customers include large multinational corporations , government agencies, retail and restaurant chains, Tier 2 and Tier 3 ISPs, and medium-to-small businesses. SprintLink has physical presence in 155 countries, including the United States, Western Europe, East Asia, Australia, and India. The network wraps all
4752-414: Is because the LNB is translating two different circular polarizations (right-hand and left-hand) and, in the case of K-band, two different frequency bands (lower and upper) to the same frequency range on the cable. Depending on which frequency and polarization a transponder is using, the satellite receiver has to switch the LNB into one of four different modes in order to receive a specific "channel". This
4896-441: Is even more adversely affected by ice crystals in thunder clouds. On occasion, sun outage will occur when the sun lines up directly behind the geostationary satellite to which the receiving antenna is pointed. The downlink satellite signal, quite weak after traveling the great distance (see path loss ), is collected with a parabolic receiving dish, which reflects the weak signal to the dish's focal point. Mounted on brackets at
5040-425: Is handled by the receiver using the DiSEqC protocol to control the LNB mode. If several satellite receivers are to be attached to a single dish, a so-called multiswitch will have to be used in conjunction with a special type of LNB. There are also LNBs available with a multi-switch already integrated. This problem becomes more complicated when several receivers are to use several dishes (or several LNBs mounted in
5184-773: Is referred to as baseband . This baseband comprises the video signal and the audio subcarrier(s). The audio subcarrier is further demodulated to provide a raw audio signal. Later signals were digitized television signals or multiplex of signals, typically QPSK . In general, digital television, including that transmitted via satellites, is based on open standards such as MPEG and DVB-S / DVB-S2 or ISDB-S . The conditional access encryption/scrambling methods include NDS , BISS , Conax , Digicipher , Irdeto, Cryptoworks , DG Crypt , Beta digital , SECA Mediaguard , Logiways , Nagravision , PowerVu , Viaccess , Videocipher , and VideoGuard . Many conditional access systems have been compromised. An event called sun outage occurs when
5328-477: Is the only remaining satellite broadcasting in analog signals. The satellites used for broadcasting television are usually in a geostationary orbit 36,000 km (22,000 mi) above the earth's equator . The advantage of this orbit is that the satellite's orbital period equals the rotation rate of the Earth, so the satellite appears at a fixed position in the sky. Thus the satellite dish antenna which receives
5472-468: Is used to connect the receiver to the LNBF or LNB. RG-59 is not recommended for this application as it is not technically designed to carry frequencies above 950 MHz, but may work in some circumstances, depending on the quality of the coaxial wire, signal levels, cable length, etc. A practical problem relating to home satellite reception is that an LNB can basically only handle a single receiver. This
5616-671: The Relay 1 satellite was the first satellite to transmit television signals from the US to Japan. The first geosynchronous communication satellite , Syncom 2 , was launched on 26 July 1963. The subsequent first geostationary Syncom 3 , orbiting near the International Date Line , was used to telecast the 1964 Olympic Games from Tokyo to the United States . The world's first commercial communications satellite, called Intelsat I and nicknamed "Early Bird",
5760-578: The Astra 28.2°E satellite constellation, and receivable on any DVB-S receiver (a DVB-S2 receiver is required for certain high definition television services). Most of these channels are included within the Sky EPG , and an increasing number within the Freesat EPG. India 's national broadcaster, Doordarshan , promotes a free-to-air DBS package as " DD Free Dish ", which is provided as in-fill for
5904-541: The C-band (4–8 GHz) from FSS type satellites, requiring the use of large 2–3-meter dishes. Consequently, these systems were nicknamed "big dish" systems, and were more expensive and less popular. Early systems used analog signals , but modern ones use digital signals which allow transmission of the modern television standard high-definition television , due to the significantly improved spectral efficiency of digital broadcasting. As of 2022, Star One D2 from Brazil
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6048-481: The C-band frequencies and the dishes required were large; typically over 3 meters (10 ft) in diameter. Consequently, TVRO is often referred to as "big dish" or "Big Ugly Dish" (BUD) satellite television. TVRO systems were designed to receive analog and digital satellite feeds of both television or audio from both C-band and K u -band transponders on FSS -type satellites. The higher frequency K u -band systems tend to resemble DBS systems and can use
6192-503: The Gorizont communication satellites later that same year. These satellites used geostationary orbits . They were equipped with powerful on-board transponders, so the size of receiving parabolic antennas of downlink stations was reduced to 4 and 2.5 metres. On October 18, 1979, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) began allowing people to have home satellite earth stations without a federal government license. The front cover of
6336-489: The Mid-Atlantic Sports Network . Dish Network president Brian Neylon commented that "The current RSN model is fundamentally broken,” stating that he was in favor of offering the networks as an a la carte service. Six months later on October 1, 2021, Dish removed the entire AT&T SportsNet network of channels. In 2022, Dish, alongside Sling made The Walt Disney Company pull their programming from
6480-440: The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), although a fax service (called SpeedFAX) was permitted. In the mid-1970s, SPC held a contest to select a new name for the company. The winning entry was "SPRINT", an acronym for "Southern Pacific Railroad Internal Networking Telephony". In 1982, it was announced that GTE Corp. had reached an agreement to buy SPC's long-distance telephone operation, including Sprint. The deal
6624-575: The attack on HBO's transponder Galaxy 1 by John R. MacDougall in April 1986. One by one, all commercial channels followed HBO's lead and began scrambling their channels. The Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association (SBCA) was founded on December 2, 1986, as the result of a merger between SPACE and the Direct Broadcast Satellite Association (DBSA). Sprint Corporation Sprint Corporation
6768-405: The geostationary orbit directly above the equator. The dish will then be capable of receiving any geostationary satellite that is visible at the specific location, i.e. that is above the horizon. The DiSEqC protocol has been extended to encompass commands for steering dish rotors. There are five major components in a satellite system: the programming source, the broadcast center, the satellite,
6912-466: The intermediate frequency ranges of 950–2150 MHz to carry the signal from the LNBF at the dish down to the receiver. This allows for the transmission of UHF signals along the same span of coaxial wire at the same time. In some applications ( DirecTV AU9-S and AT-9), ranges of the lower B-band and 2250–3000 MHz, are used. Newer LNBFs in use by DirecTV, called SWM (Single Wire Multiswitch), are used to implement single cable distribution and use
7056-610: The local landline telephone business and spun those assets off into a new company named Embarq , which later became a part of Lumen Technologies under the CenturyLink brand, which remains one of the largest long-distance providers in the United States. Until 2005, the company was also known as the Sprint Corporation, but took the name Sprint Nextel Corporation when it merged with Nextel Communications and adopted its black and yellow color scheme, along with
7200-483: The merger of Sprint Corporation and T-Mobile US , DISH reached an agreement to acquire Sprint's prepaid wireless businesses, including Boost Mobile , in order to quell antitrust concerns. After the merger was approved by the Justice Department , DISH stated that it intended to supplant Sprint as a fourth major national wireless carrier, and had committed to building out a 5G network serving at least 70% of
7344-469: The satellite dish , and the receiver . "Direct broadcast" satellites used for transmission of satellite television signals are generally in geostationary orbit 37,000 km (23,000 mi) above the earth's equator . The reason for using this orbit is that the satellite circles the Earth at the same rate as the Earth rotates, so the satellite appears at a fixed point in the sky. Thus satellite dishes can be aimed permanently at that point, and do not need
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#17327881232077488-496: The 10.7-12.7 GHz band, but some still transmit in the C-band (4–8 GHz), K u -band (12–18 GHz), or both. The leg of the signal path from the satellite to the receiving Earth station is called the downlink. A typical satellite has up to 32 K u -band or 24 C-band transponders, or more for K u / C hybrid satellites. Typical transponders each have a bandwidth between 27 and 50 MHz. Each geostationary C-band satellite needs to be spaced 2° longitude from
7632-457: The 148°W or 61.5°W orbital locations. The 119°W slot is one of two primary orbital locations, the other being 110°W, that provide core services. The Tailgater is a portable satellite antenna; the tailgater can be purchased as a standalone device for $ 350. The Tailgater is compatible with the Wally and VIP211 receivers. Customers only need to pay for the period of time where the receiver is active on
7776-424: The 1979 Neiman-Marcus Christmas catalogue featured the first home satellite TV stations on sale for $ 36,500. The dishes were nearly 20 feet (6.1 m) in diameter and were remote controlled. The price went down by half soon after that, but there were only eight more channels. The Society for Private and Commercial Earth Stations (SPACE), an organisation which represented consumers and satellite TV system owners,
7920-544: The April 6, 2011, purchase of Blockbuster in a bankruptcy auction for $ 322 million in cash and the assumption of $ 87 million in liabilities. DISH Network also acquired DBSD and TerreStar Corporation . In September 2011, DISH would leverage Blockbuster's existing video on-demand and DVD-by-mail services as part of a new offering known as "Blockbuster Movie Pass"—an add-on for DISH Network television service incorporating movie channels, access to Blockbuster On Demand, and DVD-by-mail with unlimited in-store exchanges. The offering
8064-570: The Brown Telephone Company and Southern Pacific Railroad . Brown Telephone Company was founded in 1899 by Cleyson Brown , to deploy the first telephone service to the rural area around Abilene, Kansas . The Browns installed their first long-distance circuit in 1900 and became an alternative to the Bell Telephone Company , the most popular telephone service at the time. In 1911, C. L. Brown consolidated
8208-541: The Brown Telephone Company with three other independents to form the United Telephone Company . C. L. Brown formed United Telephone and Electric (UT&E) in 1925. In 1939, at the end of the Great Depression , UT&E reorganized to form United Utilities . In 1964, Paul H. Henson became president of United Utilities; two years later, he was named chairman. When Henson began working at
8352-570: The Chicago area and was renamed Sprint Cellular Co. In 1994, Sprint spun off their existing cellular operations as 360° Communications to comply with an FCC regulatory mandate. In 1998, 360 Communications was acquired by Alltel , which was in turn acquired by Verizon in 2009. In 1994, Sprint announces plans for a powerful new venture with three of the nation's major cable television companies, Tele-Communications Inc. (TCI), Comcast Corp. and Cox Cable . The four companies outline plans to build
8496-628: The Connected Officer program for the Los Angeles Police Department in partnership with Samsung , VMware , and Prodapt. Sprint wireline is also responsible for traditional telecommunications relay service (TRS), speech to speech relay service (STS), and captioned telephone service (CTS). Sprint is in the process of upgrading these services from a TDM network to an IP-based network Sprint Corporation offered postpaid wireless voice and data services primarily under
8640-540: The DISH Wireless brand. On September 30, 2024, DirecTV announced its intent to acquire DISH Network, under an arrangement under which TPG Inc. will acquire the remaining stake of DirecTV it does not already own from AT&T , and then acquire DISH Network's video business from Echostar for $ 1 while assuming its net debt . The combined company will have a total of approximately 20 million television subscribers. DirecTV stated that it had no plans for any changes to
8784-463: The DISH or SlingTV services following the purchase. The sale comes amid declines in both services' customer bases amid cord-cutting and other factors. EchoStar CEO Hamid Akhavan stated that the agreement would allow the company to place a larger focus on expanding its wireless Boost Mobile network. EchoStar and DirecTV expect the deal to close in the fourth quarter of 2025. In November, DirecTV abandoned
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#17327881232078928-628: The Hopper, including Hopper with Sling (which adds integrated placeshifting capabilities), the Hopper 3, and the Hopper Plus which features 4K support and 16 tuners. Hopper supports a voice-activated remote, as well as Amazon Echo and Google Home integration. DISH Anywhere DISH Anywhere is DISH's subscriber-only streaming video service. The DISH Anywhere app combines Sling broadcast technology and internet to bring subscribers DISH content wherever they are. It also pairs with DISH On Demand,
9072-587: The Nextel brand to set up networks in many Latin American countries. Following Sprint's purchase of Nextel, Nextel sold all of its investment in NII Holdings. The integration process was difficult due to disparate network technologies. Sprint tried to address this with the advent of PowerSource phones. These phones routed voice call and data services over Sprint's PCS spectrum while maintaining DirectConnect services over 800 MHz spectrum. However, this
9216-561: The Sprint brand. The Sprint Prepaid Group was a division of the company formed in May 2010 that is responsible for the operations of Sprint's pre-pay subsidiaries. SPG's branded products and services are sold via web and available at retailers nationwide, including Best Buy , Walmart , Target and other independent dealers. Boost Worldwide, Inc. was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sprint that provides nationwide, prepaid wireless voice, messaging and broadband data products and services to customers in
9360-450: The T-Mobile brand. New rate plans were also introduced as well for all new and existing customers from both companies, though all will be grandfathered into their current plan for at least 3 years should they choose not to switch to a new T-Mobile plan. Customers with Sprint accounts were fully migrated to T-Mobile in the summer of 2023 officially discontinuing the Sprint brand. The Sprint Corporation traces its origins to two companies,
9504-415: The U.S. population by June 14, 2023. In August 2023, EchoStar announced that it would acquire DISH Network in an all-stock purchase, undoing their previous split. The acquisition, which was completed December 31, 2023, was part of an effort to bolster the company's wireless business, with Ergen stating that it would allow them to offer "an enhanced consumer connectivity business". As Ergen already held 90% of
9648-505: The U.S. population by June 2023. As part of the agreement, DISH would receive access to the T-Mobile network for seven years while it builds out its 5G-specific network. The $ 1.4 billion sale was completed on July 1, 2020. With this purchase it officially launched its wireless business, DISH Wireless, offering prepaid service through the Boost brand as an MVNO on the T-Mobile network. DISH stated intentions to offer branded postpaid service in
9792-591: The US most condominiums, neighborhoods, and other homeowner associations tightly restricted their use, except in areas where such restrictions were illegal. These restrictions were altered in 1986 when the Federal Communications Commission ruled all of them illegal. A municipality could require a property owner to relocate the dish if it violated other zoning restrictions, such as a setback requirement, but could not outlaw their use. The necessity of these restrictions would slowly decline as
9936-694: The account, the monthly cost for a Vip211 or Wally is $ 7 per month, if the receiver is the only one on the account, there is no charge. It weighs ten pounds, is protected from weather, and automatically searches for a signal. The only satellites that are currently compatible with the Tailgater are at DISH's 119 (SD/HD TV), 110 (SD/HD TV), and 129 (SD/HD TV) orbital slots. Hopper is a line of multi-tuner set-top boxes first introduced in 2012; they are digital video recorders that can be networked with accompanying "Joey" set-top boxes for multi-room access to recordings. DISH Network subsequently introduced updated versions of
10080-477: The carriage of its channels on the service was only for a "trial" basis, while both Time Warner's CEO Jeffrey Bewkes and an analyst from the firm Macquarie Capital disclosed that current contract language in DISH's OTT carriage deals with the service's content distributors would cap the number of subscribers that the service is allowed to have at any given time to 5 million. Neither DISH Network or its content providers have confirmed any such cap. As of January 2022,
10224-484: The channels. The signal is then sent to the uplink where it is transmitted to the satellite. With some broadcast centers, the studios, administration and up-link are all part of the same campus. The satellite then translates and broadcasts the channels. Most systems use the DVB-S standard for transmission. With pay television services, the data stream is encrypted and requires proprietary reception equipment. While
10368-406: The company wrote down $ 29.7 billion of the $ 36 billion sum it had paid for Nextel in 2005, wiping out 80 percent of the value of Nextel at the time it had been acquired. The write down reflected the depreciation in Nextel's goodwill since the date of acquisition. Prior to their merger, Sprint and Nextel were dependent on a network of affiliated companies. Following the announcement of
10512-595: The company began to offer wireless service under the Sprint Spectrum brand in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area . This was the first commercial Personal Communications Service (PCS) network in the United States. Although the Sprint PCS service was CDMA , the original Washington-area network used GSM . Eventually, Sprint launched its new nationwide CDMA network, then in 1999 sold
10656-576: The company for the first time. In 1990, Henson retired from United Telecommunications; by this time the company's revenues had grown to $ 8 billion. Sprint also traces its roots back to the Southern Pacific Railroad (SPR), which was founded in the 1860s as a subsidiary of the Southern Pacific Company (SPC). The company operated thousands of miles of track as well as telegraph wire that ran along those tracks. In
10800-498: The company in 1959, it had 575,000 telephones in 15 states and revenues of $ 65 million. Henson is credited with creating the first major fiber optic network, having recognized it as a way to handle more calls and provide better quality sound. In 1972, United Utilities changed its name to United Telecommunications . In 1980, United Telecommunications began working on a 23,000 mile fiber optic network for long-distance calls. In 1989, this long-distance business became profitable for
10944-461: The company reactivates it. Some receivers are capable of decrypting the received signal itself. These receivers are called integrated receiver/decoders or IRDs. Analog television which was distributed via satellite was usually sent scrambled or unscrambled in NTSC , PAL , or SECAM television broadcast standards. The analog signal is frequency modulated and is converted from an FM signal to what
11088-471: The company stated that it planned to serve at least 120 cities by the June 2023 deadline. In June 2022, DISH announced it had met a milestone requiring it to provide coverage to 20% of the U.S. population by June 2022. In December 2022, DISH Wireless launched a postpaid service under the spin-off brand Boost Infinite . In June 2023, the company announced that it had met the requirement to provide coverage to 70% of
11232-551: The company to 80%. On November 7, 2012, Sprint Nextel announced the acquisition of 20 MHz of spectrum and 585,000 customers from U.S. Cellular in Chicago, St. Louis, central Illinois and three other Midwest markets. The deal was expected to close in mid-2013. Prior to July 9, 2013, Sprint Nextel only owned a 50.8% equity interest in Clearwire Corporation ; On December 17, 2012, Sprint Nextel agreed to pay US$ 2.97 per share, US$ 2.2 billion in total, to purchase
11376-524: The company was purchased by the Japanese telecommunications company SoftBank Group . Sprint used CDMA , EvDO and 4G LTE networks, and formerly operated iDEN , WiMAX , and 5G NR networks. Sprint was incorporated in Kansas. Sprint traced its origins to the Brown Telephone Company, which was founded in 1899 to bring telephone service to the rural area around Abilene , Kansas . In 2006, Sprint left
11520-550: The company. United Telecom announced it would complete its acquisition of US Sprint on April 18, 1990. United Telecom later officially changed its name to Sprint Corporation to capitalize on its brand recognition. Sprint Corporation entered the Canadian market in the early 1990s as a reseller of bulk long-distance telephone lines that it bought from domestic companies. Under Canadian foreign ownership regulations, Sprint could not open its own network. In 1993, Sprint entered into
11664-417: The controversial ability to automatically skip commercials in recordings. In 2015, the company launched over-the-top IPTV services via the new subsidiary Sling TV . In 2020, the company acquired the mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) Boost Mobile from Sprint Corporation as part of its merger with T-Mobile US , announcing an intent to develop a national 5G network in order to supplant Sprint as
11808-547: The country's terrestrial transmission network. It is broadcast from GSAT-15 at 93.5°E and contains about 80 FTA channels. While originally launched as backhaul for their digital terrestrial television service, a large number of French channels are free-to-air on satellites at 5°W, and have recently been announced as being official in-fill for the DTT network. In North America (United States, Canada and Mexico ) there are over 80 FTA digital channels available on Galaxy 19 (with
11952-576: The deal due to opposition from its bondholders. DISH and its subsidiaries have faced legal action for some of its questionable practices, including fines for telemarketing tactics such as failure to disclose fees with full transparency. In 2012, DISH and a group of the United States' major television networks filed lawsuits over "AutoHop", a feature in its recently-released Hopper set-top boxes that allowed users to detect and automatically skip commercials in their recordings. DISH later reached agreements with ABC, CBS, and Fox, under which it agreed to disable
12096-489: The deal, the company entered into a partnership with Sprint to serve as co-tenants in 1,435 of its locations, beginning on April 10, 2015. Roughly a third of the retail space in each location is dedicated to Sprint products and services, and the stores will ultimately adopt Sprint as their primary brand in place of RadioShack. Sprint stated that this deal would increase the company's retail footprint by more than double. On January 23, 2017, Sprint announced that they were buying
12240-439: The decommissioned GSM infrastructure to Omnipoint which re-launched in May 2000. Omnipoint was later acquired by VoiceStream Wireless, which like Sprint would eventually be acquired by T-Mobile. In September 1996, Sprint announced a deal with RadioShack , and in 1997, Sprint stores opened at RadioShack to offer communications services and products across the United States. On October 5, 1999, Sprint and MCI WorldCom announced
12384-632: The desired television program for viewing on a television set . Receivers can be external set-top boxes , or a built-in television tuner . Satellite television provides a wide range of channels and services. It is usually the only television available in many remote geographic areas without terrestrial television or cable television service. Different receivers are required for the two types. Some transmissions and channels are unencrypted and therefore free-to-air , while many other channels are transmitted with encryption. Free-to-view channels are encrypted but not charged-for, while pay television requires
12528-523: The dish's focal point is a device called a feedhorn or collector. The feedhorn is a section of waveguide with a flared front-end that gathers the signals at or near the focal point and conducts them to a probe or pickup connected to a low-noise block downconverter (LNB). The LNB amplifies the signals and downconverts them to a lower block of intermediate frequencies (IF), usually in the L-band . The original C-band satellite television systems used
12672-539: The dishes got smaller. Originally, all channels were broadcast in the clear (ITC) because the equipment necessary to receive the programming was too expensive for consumers. With the growing number of TVRO systems, the program providers and broadcasters had to scramble their signal and develop subscription systems. In October 1984, the U.S. Congress passed the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984 , which gave those using TVRO systems
12816-636: The early 1970s, the company began looking for ways to use its existing communications lines for long-distance calling. This division of the business was named the Southern Pacific Communications Company. By the mid 1970s, SPC was beginning to take business away from AT&T , which held a monopoly at the time. A number of lawsuits between SPC and AT&T took place throughout the 1970s; the majority were decided in favor of increased competition. Prior attempts at offering long-distance voice services had not been approved by
12960-691: The early days of satellite television reception to differentiate it from commercial satellite television uplink and downlink operations (transmit and receive). This was the primary method of satellite television transmissions before the satellite television industry shifted, with the launch of higher powered DBS satellites in the early 1990s which transmitted their signals on the K u band frequencies. Satellite television channels at that time were intended to be used by cable television networks rather than received by home viewers. Early satellite television receiver systems were largely constructed by hobbyists and engineers. These early TVRO systems operated mainly on
13104-554: The entire MSG Network had ended on October 1, 2010, early; CSN New England was dropped on August 6, 2014. In July 2019, Dish removed the entire slate of Fox Sports Networks channels (which have since been re-branded as Bally Sports ). This was the beginning of a trend with Altitude being removed in August and NBC Sports Chicago in October of that year. On April 1, 2021, Dish removed the remaining NBC Sports Regional Networks and
13248-535: The feature for a certain window of time after a program's first airing. In 2023 DISH was fined $ 150,000 by the FCC for failing to de-orbit its EchoStar VII satellite according to the terms of its license; this was the first fine ever issued to a company over the matter of " space debris ". Dish Network has always refused to carry some of the higher-priced regional sports networks , most notably AT&T SportsNet Southwest , YES Network , and Spectrum SportsNet , which have never been available on Dish. The contract of
13392-582: The first satellite in history. The first public satellite television signals from Europe to North America were relayed via the Telstar satellite over the Atlantic ocean on 23 July 1962, although a test broadcast had taken place almost two weeks earlier on 11 July. The signals were received and broadcast in North American and European countries and watched by over 100 million. Launched in 1962,
13536-538: The first to use satellite television to deliver programming. Taylor Howard of San Andreas , California , became the first person to receive C-band satellite signals with his home-built system in 1976. In the US, PBS , a non-profit public broadcasting service, began to distribute its television programming by satellite in 1978. In 1979, Soviet engineers developed the Moskva (or Moscow ) system of broadcasting and delivering of TV signals via satellites. They launched
13680-629: The future with the build-out of their own network. DISH purchased Ting Mobile from Tucows on August 1, 2020, Republic Wireless on March 8, 2021, and Gen Mobile on September 1, 2021. On July 19, 2021, DISH announced a 10-year, non-exclusive agreement with AT&T Mobility for 4G and 5G roaming on its network, accompanying the existing T-Mobile agreement. The $ 5 billion deal also includes sharing of DISH wireless spectrum with AT&T. In May 2022, DISH Wireless began to launch its self-developed 5G network, codenamed "Project Genesis", in Las Vegas ;
13824-488: The indoor receiver to the satellite television dish and LNB, and that the technology for handling the signal at L-band and UHF was far cheaper than that for handling the signal at C-band frequencies. The shift to cheaper technology from the hardline and N-connectors of the early C-band systems to the cheaper and simpler 75-ohm cable and F-connectors allowed the early satellite television receivers to use, what were in reality, modified UHF television tuners which selected
13968-498: The issue, and the news caused a slide in the company's share price to a 14-year-low. Service outages lasted for more than a month, with customers reporting wait times for customer service stretching to more than 14 hours. In the aftermath of the ransomware attack, Dish Network was criticized for lack of transparency or communication with its customers. DISH's main service is satellite television and its offerings are comparable to other satellite and cable companies. Viewers can choose from
14112-469: The launch of its first satellite, EchoStar I , EchoStar launched its DBS broadcast services under the DISH Network name on March 4, 1996. That launch marked the beginning of its television services under a subscription business model . In January 2007, EchoStar Communications completed the corporate spin-off of its technology and infrastructure assets into a separate company under the EchoStar name, and
14256-471: The majority being ethnic or religious in nature). Other FTA satellites include AMC-4 , AMC-6 , Galaxy 18 , and Satmex 5. A company called GloryStar promotes FTA religious broadcasters on Galaxy 19 . Satellite TV has seen a decline in consumers since the 2010s due to the cord-cutting trend where people are shifting towards internet-based streaming television and free over-the-air television . The term television receive-only , or TVRO, arose during
14400-417: The market. Some countries operate satellite television services which can be received for free, without paying a subscription fee. This is called free-to-air satellite television. Germany is likely the leader in free-to-air with approximately 250 digital channels (including 83 HDTV channels and various regional channels) broadcast from the Astra 19.2°E satellite constellation. These are not marketed as
14544-491: The merger agreement, some of these affiliates came forward with strong opposition to the Sprint-Nextel merger on the grounds that the merged company might violate existing agreements or significantly undercut earnings to these affiliates. In order for Sprint Nextel to allay some of this opposition, they initiated discussions of either acquiring some of these affiliates or renegotiating existing agreements. In several cases,
14688-470: The newly formed company was forced to acquire affiliated companies in exchange for their dropping their opposition to the merger. Forsee said that the company would likely have to acquire all of its remaining affiliates. In 2005, Sprint Nextel acquired three of its ten wireless affiliates: US Unwired, acquired in August; Gulf Coast Wireless, acquired in October; and IWO Holdings, acquired in October. Alamosa PCS, which Sprint Nextel acquired on February 2, 2006,
14832-432: The next satellite to avoid interference; for K u the spacing can be 1°. This means that there is an upper limit of 360/2 = 180 geostationary C-band satellites or 360/1 = 360 geostationary K u -band satellites. C-band transmission is susceptible to terrestrial interference while K u -band transmission is affected by rain (as water is an excellent absorber of microwaves at this particular frequency). The latter
14976-514: The portion of Clearwire shares that Sprint Nextel did not already own. On June 20, 2013, Sprint Nextel increased its offer to $ 5 per share, the transaction was approved by regulators on July 5, 2013, and closed on July 9, 2013, and Sprint Nextel became the complete owner of Clearwire and its assets. On March 31, 2015, the U.S. bankruptcy court approved a $ 160 million takeover of electronics store chain RadioShack by Standard General . As part of
15120-551: The position of a satellite orbital position from being over Mexico to Brazil in 2011, DISH sought companies that could make a deal, among them Telefónica . However, nothing ever came of this, and DISH decided to enter the country itself. According to the Brazilian Agency of Telecommunications (Anatel), they awaited the authorization of the application. In June 2019, nonetheless, DISH TV accepted to resign its satellite exploration rights assigned to EchoStar and thus ending
15264-557: The possibility of entering the Brazilian market. In January 2015, the company launched a subsidiary, Sling TV —an IPTV service distributed as an over-the-top media service . In 2019, EchoStar transferred the portion of its business which managed and provided broadcast satellite services, referred to as the BSS (Broadcast Satellite Services) business, to DISH to concentrate on broadband services and other initiatives. In 2019, as part of
15408-475: The quality of the coaxial wire. The shift to more affordable technology from the 50 ohm impedance cable and N-connectors of the early C-band systems to the cheaper 75 ohm technology and F-connectors allowed the early satellite television receivers to use, what were in reality, modified UHF television tuners which selected the satellite television channel for down conversion to another lower intermediate frequency centered on 70 MHz where it
15552-465: The remainder of the company was renamed DISH Network Corporation. Joseph Clayton became president and chief executive officer of the company in June 2011, while Charlie Ergen remained chairman. Clayton remained in the position until March 31, 2015, when he retired, leaving Ergen to resume the post. In December 2017, Ergen was replaced by Erik Carlson. That same year, DISH Network spent over $ 3 billion in acquisitions of companies in bankruptcy, This included
15696-493: The residence using cheap coaxial cable . To transport the signal into the house at its original K u band microwave frequency would require an expensive waveguide , a metal pipe to carry the radio waves. The cable connecting the receiver to the LNB are of the low loss type RG-6 , quad shield RG-6, or RG-11. RG-59 is not recommended for this application as it is not technically designed to carry frequencies above 950 MHz, but will work in many circumstances, depending on
15840-466: The right to receive signals for free unless they were scrambled, and required those who did scramble to make their signals available for a reasonable fee. Since cable channels could prevent reception by big dishes, other companies had an incentive to offer competition. In January 1986, HBO began using the now-obsolete VideoCipher II system to encrypt their channels . Other channels used less secure television encryption systems. The scrambling of HBO
15984-517: The road clear for SoftBank to acquire the company. The United States Federal Communications Commission approved SoftBank's acquisition of a stake in Sprint. The FCC's acting chairwoman Mignon Clyburn and commissioner Ajit Pai both gave statements vociferously supporting the acquisition, saying the deal "serve[s] the public interest". The acquisition was completed on July 10, 2013. On August 6, 2013, SoftBank purchased approximately 2% more shares of Sprint Corporation, increasing its ownership stake in
16128-434: The satellite over a narrow beam of microwaves , typically in the C-band frequency range due to its resistance to rain fade . Uplink satellite dishes are very large, often as much as 9 to 12 metres (30 to 40 feet) in diameter to achieve accurate aiming and increased signal strength at the satellite, to improve reliability. The uplink dish is pointed toward a specific satellite and the uplinked signals are transmitted within
16272-470: The satellite technology and infrastructural assets remaining under EchoStar. Both companies would remain under the control of EchoStar's co-founder Charlie Ergen . After the spin-off, the company pursued further acquisitions and business initiatives, including acquiring video rental chain Blockbuster in an attempt to compete with Netflix , releasing a new set-top digital video recorder (DVR) with
16416-419: The satellite television channel for down conversion to a lower intermediate frequency centered on 70 MHz, where it was demodulated. This shift allowed the satellite television DTH industry to change from being a largely hobbyist one where only small numbers of systems costing thousands of US dollars were built, to a far more commercial one of mass production. In the United States, service providers use
16560-404: The satellite television signals are transmitted, and converts the block of frequencies to a lower frequency range in the L-band range. The signal is then passed through a coaxial cable into the residence to the satellite television receiver, a set-top box next to the television. The reason for using the LNB to do the frequency translation at the dish is so that the signal can be carried into
16704-718: The satellite's transponders drowns out reception. Direct-to-home (DTH) can either refer to the communications satellites themselves that deliver service or the actual television service. Most satellite television customers in developed television markets get their programming through a direct broadcast satellite (DBS) provider. Signals are transmitted using K u band (12 to 18 GHz) and are completely digital which means it has high picture and stereo sound quality. Programming for satellite television channels comes from multiple sources and may include live studio feeds. The broadcast center assembles and packages programming into channels for transmission and, where necessary, encrypts
16848-428: The satellite. The uplink dish is pointed toward a specific satellite and the uplinked signals are transmitted within a specific frequency range, so as to be received by one of the transponders tuned to that frequency range aboard that satellite. The transponder re-transmits the signals back to Earth at a different frequency (a process known as translation, used to avoid interference with the uplink signal), typically in
16992-429: The service has reached 2.49 million subscribers. Until 2019, most of the satellites used by DISH Network were owned and operated by EchoStar Corporation. DISH frequently moves satellites among its many orbiting slots so this list may not be accurate. Refer to Lyngsat and DISH Channel Chart for detailed satellite information. A CONUS only satellite. Source: Satellite television A satellite receiver decodes
17136-536: The services. This was only temporary, as they got brought back later. They had previously been pulled from YouTube TV in 2021, and were pulled from Spectrum for ten days in early-September 2023. The last remaining regional sports network, NESN , was removed from DISH on December 20, 2021. In February 2023, Dish Network suffered a major ransomware attack which resulted in internal outages, loss of service at subsidiary companies such as Boost Mobile , and data theft. The company had to retain outside experts to resolve
17280-603: The signal can be aimed permanently at the location of the satellite and does not have to track a moving satellite. A few systems instead use a highly elliptical orbit with inclination of +/−63.4 degrees and an orbital period of about twelve hours, known as a Molniya orbit . Satellite television, like other communications relayed by satellite, starts with a transmitting antenna located at an uplink facility. Uplink satellite dishes are very large, as much as 9 to 12 meters (30 to 40 feet) in diameter. The increased diameter results in more accurate aiming and increased signal strength at
17424-409: The signal to a lower intermediate frequency , decrypts the encrypted signal, demodulates the radio signal and sends the resulting video signal to the television through a cable. To decrypt the signal the receiver box must be "activated" by the satellite company. If the customer fails to pay their monthly bill the box is "deactivated" by a signal from the company, and the system will not work until
17568-418: The sun lines up directly behind the satellite in the field of view of the receiving satellite dish. This happens for about a 10-minute period daily around midday, twice every year for a two-week period in the spring and fall around the equinox . During this period, the sun is within the main lobe of the dish's reception pattern, so the strong microwave noise emitted by the sun on the same frequencies used by
17712-401: The time of the merger announcement, Sprint and Nextel were the third and fifth leading providers in the U.S. mobile phone industry, respectively. Sprint shareholders approved the merger on July 13, 2005. The merger deal was approved by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and U.S. Department of Justice on August 3, 2005. Sprint Nextel was formed on August 13, 2005, when the deal
17856-417: The underlying reception technology is similar, the pay television technology is proprietary, often consisting of a conditional-access module and smart card . This measure assures satellite television providers that only authorized, paying subscribers have access to pay television content but at the same time can allow free-to-air channels to be viewed even by the people with standard equipment available in
18000-471: The use of gallium arsenide FET technology enabled the use of smaller dishes. Five hundred thousand systems, some costing as little as $ 2000, were sold in the US in 1984. Dishes pointing to one satellite were even cheaper. People in areas without local broadcast stations or cable television service could obtain good-quality reception with no monthly fees. The large dishes were a subject of much consternation, as many people considered them eyesores , and in
18144-433: The viewer to subscribe and pay a monthly fee to receive the programming. Modern systems signals are relayed from a communications satellite on the X band (8–12 GHz) or K u band (12–18 GHz) frequencies requiring only a small dish less than a meter in diameter. The first satellite TV systems were a now-obsolete type known as television receive-only . These systems received weaker analog signals transmitted in
18288-514: The voting stock in both companies, the FCC considered the "acquisition" to be a reorganization of assets with no change in effective control. In July 2024, amid declines in subscribers, Boost Mobile underwent a relaunch with an updated brand identity, and Boost Infinite merged into the Boost Mobile business as part of a new plan lineup. EchoStar began referring to its 5G wireless network as the "Boost Mobile Network" and discontinued its usage of
18432-1135: The way around the world with buried fiber optics in the United States and Europe, and undersea fiber in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans. SprintLink is responsible for cable maintenance and administration in the TAT-14 Consortium . In 2008, Sprint was upgrading its SprintLink core to 100 Gbit/s lines to offer increased bandwidth. As of June 2012, Sprint picked Ciena for upgrading its Sprintlink core to 400 Gbit/s speeds. In 2007, Sprint launched Ethernet services over its IP/MPLS network to an initial 40-markets. Sprint later expanded their Ethernet services to 65 markets in September 2011. Sprint then launched Ethernet over copper and Ethernet over DOCSIS in 2016 to complement its Fiber Ethernet offerings. Sprint offers its enterprise customers managed web-based services through its Sprint Web Services program. It allows enterprise customers to create managed web-based applications In 2015, Sprint powered
18576-644: Was Canada 's geostationary Anik 1 , which was launched on 9 November 1972. ATS-6 , the world's first experimental educational and direct broadcast satellite (DBS), was launched on 30 May 1974. It transmitted at 860 MHz using wideband FM modulation and had two sound channels. The transmissions were focused on the Indian subcontinent but experimenters were able to receive the signal in Western Europe using home constructed equipment that drew on UHF television design techniques already in use. The first in
18720-576: Was an American telecommunications company . Before being acquired by T-Mobile US on April 1, 2020, it was the fourth-largest mobile network operator in the United States, serving 54.3 million customers as of June 30, 2019. The company also offered wireless voice, messaging, and broadband services through its various subsidiaries under the Boost Mobile and Open Mobile brands and wholesale access to its wireless networks to mobile virtual network operators . In July 2013, majority ownership of
18864-493: Was completed. Sprint and Nextel faced opposition to the merger, mostly from regional affiliates that provided wireless services on behalf of the companies. These regional affiliates felt that the new company would hinder competition. On September 1, 2005, Sprint Nextel combined plan offerings of its Sprint and Nextel brands to bring uniformity across the company's offerings. Nextel has licensed its identity to NII Holdings, Inc. , of which Sprint Nextel owned 18%. NII has used
19008-473: Was controlled typically by a voltage tuned oscillator with the tuning voltage being fed via a separate cable to the headend, but this design evolved. Designs for microstrip -based converters for amateur radio frequencies were adapted for the 4 GHz C-band . Central to these designs was concept of block downconversion of a range of frequencies to a lower, more easily handled IF. The advantages of using an LNB are that cheaper cable can be used to connect
19152-399: Was demodulated. An LNB can only handle a single receiver. This is due to the fact that the LNB is mapping two different circular polarisations – right hand and left hand – and in the case of the K u -band two different reception bands – lower and upper – to one and the same frequency band on the cable, and is a practical problem for home satellite reception. Depending on which frequency
19296-460: Was devalued because it was trading at the ratio of 1 share of PCS stock for 1/2 share of FON stock. The PCS shareholders claimed a loss of 1.3 billion to 3.4 billion dollars. On December 15, 2004, Sprint Corporation and Nextel Communications announced they would merge to form Sprint Nextel Corporation . The merger was transacted as a purchase of Nextel Communications by Sprint Corporation for tax reasons; Sprint purchased 50.1 percent of Nextel. At
19440-432: Was established in 1980. Early satellite television systems were not very popular due to their expense and large dish size. The satellite television dishes of the systems in the late 1970s and early 1980s were 10 to 16 feet (3.0 to 4.9 m) in diameter, made of fibreglass or solid aluminum or steel , and in the United States cost more than $ 5,000, sometimes as much as $ 10,000. Programming sent from ground stations
19584-534: Was later finalized in 1983. In 1986, GTE Sprint merged with the United Telecommunications Inc. property, US Telecom. The joint venture was to be co-owned by GTE and United Telecom named US Sprint Communications. The new entity also included communications firm GTE Telenet, and United Telecom Data communications Co., (formerly known as Uninet). In 1988, GTE sold more of Sprint to United Telecom, giving United Telecom operational control of
19728-475: Was launched into geosynchronous orbit on April 6, 1965. The first national network of television satellites, called Orbita , was created by the Soviet Union in October 1967, and was based on the principle of using the highly elliptical Molniya satellite for rebroadcasting and delivering of television signals to ground downlink stations. The first domestic satellite to carry television transmissions
19872-445: Was met with much protest from owners of big-dish systems, most of which had no other option at the time for receiving such channels, claiming that clear signals from cable channels would be difficult to receive. Eventually HBO allowed dish owners to subscribe directly to their service for $ 12.95 per month, a price equal to or higher than what cable subscribers were paying, and required a descrambler to be purchased for $ 395. This led to
20016-741: Was not helping the merger effort, sent the wrong message to employees and contributed to the post-merger cultural clash. To resolve the problem, Hesse decided to consolidate all headquarters operations in the Sprint World Headquarters Campus located in Overland Park, Kansas , a suburb in the Kansas City metropolitan area . On October 14, 2012, the Japanese telecommunications company SoftBank announced it intended to purchase 70% of Sprint Nextel Corporation for $ 20.1 billion. SoftBank stated that Sprint will remain
20160-464: Was not sufficient in coverage, due to the inability to roam on a non-PCS spectrum. Top Nextel Executives began leaving the company immediately after the merger closed. Tim Donahue, the Nextel CEO, stayed on as executive chairman, but ceded decision-making authority to Gary D. Forsee . Tom Kelly, COO of Nextel, took an interim staff position as Chief Strategy Officer. Two years after the merger, only
20304-464: Was positioned as a competitor to Netflix , and Redbox , with Blockbuster having touted that it received new releases for rental sooner than its competitors due to agreements they had reached requiring a 28-day delay. DISH Network also made a bid to purchase Hulu in October 2011, but Hulu's owners chose not to sell the company. In January 2013, DISH bid $ 5 billion for Clearwire to add wireless internet and mobile video services. In April 2013, it made
20448-534: Was published in the October 1945 issue of the Wireless World magazine and won him the Franklin Institute 's Stuart Ballantine Medal in 1963. The first satellite relayed communication was achieved early on in the space age, after the first relay test was conducted by Pioneer 1 and the first radio broadcast by SCORE at the end of 1958, after at the beginning of the year Sputnik I became
20592-640: Was relayed from eighteen satellites in geostationary orbit located 22,300 miles (35,900 km) above the Earth. By 1980, satellite television was well established in the US and Europe. On 26 April 1982, the first satellite channel in the UK, Satellite Television Ltd. (later Sky One ), was launched. Its signals were transmitted from the ESA 's Orbital Test Satellites . Between 1981 and 1985, TVRO systems' sales rates increased as prices fell. Advances in receiver technology and
20736-603: Was the largest of its affiliate carriers. Other acquired affiliates include Ubiquitel, iPCS, Enterprise, and Northern. In 2021, after merging with Sprint in 2020, T-Mobile acquired the remaining two of Sprint's original ten affiliates, Shentel and Swiftel. Below are companies which Sprint Corporation has acquired: After the Sprint-Nextel merger, the company maintained an executive headquarters in Reston, Virginia and operational headquarters in Overland Park, Kansas . Sprint CEO Dan Hesse recognized that having two headquarters
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