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94-621: EchoStar Corporation is an American company providing satellite communication , Wireless telecommunications, and Internet services. Its Hughes Network Systems and EchoStar Satellite Services business are operated from its headquarters in Arapahoe County, Colorado . The company also provides television services under the Dish and Sling brands as well as mobile services under the Boost Mobile brand. The company in its current form

188-537: 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 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

282-471: 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 ; the company stated that it planned to serve at least 120 cities by

376-788: 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 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

470-455: A data network aiming to provide a „Lunar Internet for cis-lunar spacecraft and Installations. The Moonlight Initiative is an equivalent ESA project that is stated to be compatible and providing navigational services for the lunar surface. Both programmes are satellite constellstions of several satellites in various orbits around the Moon. Other orbits are also planned to be used. Positions in

564-534: A deal valued at US$ 1.3 billion. On January 31, 2017, EchoStar announced that it had reached an agreement with DISH to transfer the EchoStar Technologies businesses, which designed, developed and distributed digital set-top boxes, provided satellite uplinking and broadcast services and developed and supported streaming video technology back to DISH. The transaction was completed on January 31, 2017, substantially returning DISH to its pre-2008 status as

658-546: 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 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

752-472: 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 the feature for a certain window of time after a program's first airing. In 2023 DISH

846-528: 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

940-518: A medium Earth orbit satellite is about 16,000 kilometres (10,000 mi) above Earth. In various patterns, these satellites make the trip around Earth in anywhere from 2 to 8 hours. To an observer on Earth, a satellite in a gestationary orbit appears motionless, in a fixed position in the sky. This is because it revolves around the Earth at Earth's own angular velocity (one revolution per sidereal day , in an equatorial orbit ). A geostationary orbit

1034-591: A more precise match for the capabilities of geosynchronous comsats. Two satellite types are used for North American television and radio: Direct broadcast satellite (DBS), and Fixed Service Satellite (FSS). The definitions of FSS and DBS satellites outside of North America, especially in Europe, are a bit more ambiguous. Most satellites used for direct-to-home television in Europe have the same high power output as DBS-class satellites in North America, but use

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1128-425: 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 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

1222-561: 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

1316-687: A number of satellites for various purposes; for example, METSAT for meteorological satellite, EUMETSAT for the European branch of the program, and METOP for meteorological operations. These orbits are Sun synchronous, meaning that they cross the equator at the same local time each day. For example, the satellites in the NPOESS (civilian) orbit will cross the equator, going from south to north, at times 1:30 P.M., 5:30 P.M., and 9:30 P.M. There are plans and initiatives to bring dedicated communications satellite beyond geostationary orbits. NASA proposed LunaNet as

1410-710: 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

1504-621: A period (time to revolve around the Earth) of about 90 minutes. Because of their low altitude, these satellites are only visible from within a radius of roughly 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) from the sub-satellite point. In addition, satellites in low Earth orbit change their position relative to the ground position quickly. So even for local applications, many satellites are needed if the mission requires uninterrupted connectivity. Low-Earth-orbiting satellites are less expensive to launch into orbit than geostationary satellites and, due to proximity to

1598-540: A purely commercial satellite was launched from a pad that once served as the base for Apollo moon trips and space shuttle flights. On May 20, 2019, EchoStar announced that it had reached an agreement with Dish Network Corporation to transfer the portion of the business which managed and provided broadcast satellite services, referred to as the BSS (Broadcast Satellite Services) business, to Dish in order to concentrate on broadband services and other initiatives. The transaction

1692-545: A radio signal to a telephone system. In this example, almost any type of satellite can be used. Satellite phones connect directly to a constellation of either geostationary or low-Earth-orbit satellites. Calls are then forwarded to a satellite teleport connected to the Public Switched Telephone Network . As television became the main market, its demand for simultaneous delivery of relatively few signals of large bandwidth to many receivers being

1786-528: 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 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

1880-622: 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

1974-422: 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

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2068-515: 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

2162-401: A set-top-box hardware manufacturer. In March 2017, after two delays caused by weather worries, SpaceX delivered EchoStar XXIII into orbit. The satellite was launched on a Falcon 9 Rocket and provides broadcast services for Brazil. Because EchoStar XXIII is a heavy satellite, this mission did not include a rocket landing post-takeoff, as it would require too much fuel. This was the first time

2256-470: 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

2350-523: A tactical necessity, and the ultimate goal of this project was the creation of the longest communications circuit in human history, with the Moon, Earth's natural satellite, acting as a passive relay. After achieving the first transoceanic communication between Washington, D.C. , and Hawaii on 23 January 1956, this system was publicly inaugurated and put into formal production in January 1960. The first satellite purpose-built to actively relay communications

2444-553: Is also possible to offer discontinuous coverage using a low-Earth-orbit satellite capable of storing data received while passing over one part of Earth and transmitting it later while passing over another part. This will be the case with the CASCADE system of Canada's CASSIOPE communications satellite. Another system using this store and forward method is Orbcomm . A medium Earth orbit is a satellite in orbit somewhere between 2,000 and 35,786 kilometres (1,243 and 22,236 mi) above

2538-565: Is carried out under the auspices of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). To facilitate frequency planning, the world is divided into three regions: Within these regions, frequency bands are allocated to various satellite services, although a given service may be allocated different frequency bands in different regions. Some of the services provided by satellites are: The first and historically most important application for communication satellites

2632-492: Is highly inclined, guaranteeing good elevation over selected positions during the northern portion of the orbit. (Elevation is the extent of the satellite's position above the horizon. Thus, a satellite at the horizon has zero elevation and a satellite directly overhead has elevation of 90 degrees.) The Molniya orbit is designed so that the satellite spends the great majority of its time over the far northern latitudes, during which its ground footprint moves only slightly. Its period

2726-558: Is known as a satellite constellation . Two such constellations, intended to provide satellite phone and low-speed data services, primarily to remote areas, are the Iridium and Globalstar systems. The Iridium system has 66 satellites, which orbital inclination of 86.4° and inter-satellite links provide service availability over the entire surface of Earth. Starlink is a satellite internet constellation operated by SpaceX , that aims for global satellite Internet access coverage. It

2820-576: Is one half day, so that the satellite is available for operation over the targeted region for six to nine hours every second revolution. In this way a constellation of three Molniya satellites (plus in-orbit spares) can provide uninterrupted coverage. The first satellite of the Molniya series was launched on 23 April 1965 and was used for experimental transmission of TV signals from a Moscow uplink station to downlink stations located in Siberia and

2914-410: Is that a MEO satellite's distance gives it a longer time delay and weaker signal than a LEO satellite, although these limitations are not as severe as those of a GEO satellite. Like LEOs, these satellites do not maintain a stationary distance from the Earth. This is in contrast to the geostationary orbit, where satellites are always 35,786 kilometres (22,236 mi) from Earth. Typically the orbit of

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3008-485: Is useful for communications because ground antennas can be aimed at the satellite without their having to track the satellite's motion. This is relatively inexpensive. In applications that require many ground antennas, such as DirecTV distribution, the savings in ground equipment can more than outweigh the cost and complexity of placing a satellite into orbit. By 2000, Hughes Space and Communications (now Boeing Satellite Development Center ) had built nearly 40 percent of

3102-569: The Earth-Moon-Libration points are also proposed for communication satellites covering the Moon alike communication satellites in geosynchronous orbit cover the Earth. Also, dedicated communication satellites in orbits around Mars supporting different missions on surface and other orbits are considered, such as the Mars Telecommunications Orbiter . Communications Satellites are usually composed of

3196-461: 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

3290-423: 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 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

3384-468: The Department of Defense and federal agencies. In May 2024, Dish Network and Hughes Network Systems , both Echostar companies announced a new bundled service of Dish satellite TV with Hughesnet satellite internet. On September 30, 2024, EchoStar announced that it would divest its video distribution unit, Dish Network , to DirecTV in a debt exchange transaction that includes a payment of $ 1 and

3478-498: The Dish Network brand name to market its home satellite TV system. On January 2, 2008, the Dish Network business was spun-off from the technology and infrastructure side of the business. A split in the shares created two companies; the former EchoStar Communications Corporation changed its name to Dish Network Corporation which consisted mainly of the Dish Network business, and EchoStar Corporation, which retained ownership of

3572-423: The Earth faster, they do not remain visible in the sky to a fixed point on Earth continually like a geostationary satellite, but appear to a ground observer to cross the sky and "set" when they go behind the Earth beyond the visible horizon. Therefore, to provide continuous communications capability with these lower orbits requires a larger number of satellites, so that one of these satellites will always be visible in

3666-415: The Earth's surface. MEO satellites are similar to LEO satellites in functionality. MEO satellites are visible for much longer periods of time than LEO satellites, usually between 2 and 8 hours. MEO satellites have a larger coverage area than LEO satellites. A MEO satellite's longer duration of visibility and wider footprint means fewer satellites are needed in a MEO network than a LEO network. One disadvantage

3760-638: 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,

3854-546: 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 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

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3948-444: The K u band. The Intelsat Americas 5 , Galaxy 10R and AMC 3 satellites over North America provide a quite large amount of FTA channels on their K u band transponders . Dish Network 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

4042-702: The Lincoln Laboratory on behalf of the United States Department of Defense . The LES-1 active communications satellite was launched on 11 February 1965 to explore the feasibility of active solid-state X band long-range military communications. A total of nine satellites were launched between 1965 and 1976 as part of this series. In the United States, 1962 saw the creation of the Communications Satellite Corporation (COMSAT) private corporation, which

4136-800: The Russian Far East, in Norilsk , Khabarovsk , Magadan and Vladivostok . In November 1967 Soviet engineers created a unique system of national TV network of satellite television , called Orbita , that was based on Molniya satellites. In the United States, the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) was established in 1994 to consolidate the polar satellite operations of NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). NPOESS manages

4230-696: 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

4324-486: 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 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

4418-419: The assumption of approximately $ 9.8 billion in debt. The deal also included $ 2.5 billion of financing from TPG Angelo Gordon and other co-investors to allow EchoStar to refinance the company's November 2024 debt maturity. The deal will allow EchoStar to reduce its debt and refocus its resources toward its wireless Boost Mobile and satellite connectivity businesses. EchoStar and DirecTV expect the deal to close in

4512-531: 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,

4606-457: 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 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

4700-403: The completion of a fully global network with Intelsat 3 in 1969–70. By the 1980s, with significant expansions in commercial satellite capacity, Intelsat was on its way to become part of the competitive private telecommunications industry, and had started to get competition from the likes of PanAmSat in the United States, which, ironically, was then bought by its archrival in 2005. When Intelsat

4794-601: 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 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

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4888-462: The curve of the Earth. The purpose of communications satellites is to relay the signal around the curve of the Earth allowing communication between widely separated geographical points. Communications satellites use a wide range of radio and microwave frequencies . To avoid signal interference, international organizations have regulations for which frequency ranges or "bands" certain organizations are allowed to use. This allocation of bands minimizes

4982-619: The dipoles properly separated from each other, the project was able to successfully experiment and communicate using frequencies in the SHF X band spectrum. An immediate antecedent of the geostationary satellites was the Hughes Aircraft Company 's Syncom 2 , launched on 26 July 1963. Syncom 2 was the first communications satellite in a geosynchronous orbit . It revolved around the Earth once per day at constant speed, but because it still had north–south motion, special equipment

5076-455: The edges of Antarctica and Greenland . Other land use for satellite phones are rigs at sea, a backup for hospitals, military, and recreation. Ships at sea, as well as planes, often use satellite phones. Satellite phone systems can be accomplished by a number of means. On a large scale, often there will be a local telephone system in an isolated area with a link to the telephone system in a main land area. There are also services that will patch

5170-453: 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

5264-692: The equator and therefore appear lower on the horizon as the receiver gets farther from the equator. This will cause problems for extreme northerly latitudes, affecting connectivity and causing multipath interference (caused by signals reflecting off the ground and into the ground antenna). Thus, for areas close to the North (and South) Pole, a geostationary satellite may appear below the horizon. Therefore, Molniya orbit satellites have been launched, mainly in Russia, to alleviate this problem. Molniya orbits can be an appealing alternative in such cases. The Molniya orbit

5358-473: The first artificial satellite used for passive relay communications in Echo 1 on 12 August 1960. Echo 1 was an aluminized balloon satellite acting as a passive reflector of microwave signals. Communication signals were bounced off the satellite from one point on Earth to another. This experiment sought to establish the feasibility of worldwide broadcasts of telephone, radio, and television signals. Telstar

5452-412: The first privately sponsored space launch. Another passive relay experiment primarily intended for military communications purposes was Project West Ford , which was led by Massachusetts Institute of Technology 's Lincoln Laboratory . After an initial failure in 1961, a launch on 9 May 1963 dispersed 350 million copper needle dipoles to create a passive reflecting belt. Even though only about half of

5546-479: The following subsystems: The bandwidth available from a satellite depends upon the number of transponders provided by the satellite. Each service (TV, Voice, Internet, radio) requires a different amount of bandwidth for transmission. This is typically known as link budgeting and a network simulator can be used to arrive at the exact value. Allocating frequencies to satellite services is a complicated process which requires international coordination and planning. This

5640-527: The fourth quarter of 2025, contingent on regulatory approval and bondholders writing off nearly $ 1.6 billion in Dish-related debt. In November, DirecTV abandoned the deal due to opposition from its bondholders. Since EchoStar frequently moves satellites among its many orbiting slots this list is not necessarily up-to-date. Satellite communication The radio waves used for telecommunications links travel by line of sight and so are obstructed by

5734-404: The ground, do not require as high signal strength (signal strength falls off as the square of the distance from the source, so the effect is considerable). Thus there is a trade off between the number of satellites and their cost. In addition, there are important differences in the onboard and ground equipment needed to support the two types of missions. A group of satellites working in concert

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5828-502: 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

5922-515: The late 20th century. Satellite communications are still used in many applications today. Remote islands such as Ascension Island , Saint Helena , Diego Garcia , and Easter Island , where no submarine cables are in service, need satellite telephones. There are also regions of some continents and countries where landline telecommunications are rare to non existent, for example large regions of South America, Africa, Canada, China, Russia, and Australia. Satellite communications also provide connection to

6016-535: 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 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

6110-566: The more than one hundred satellites in service worldwide. Other major satellite manufacturers include Space Systems/Loral , Orbital Sciences Corporation with the Star Bus series, Indian Space Research Organisation , Lockheed Martin (owns the former RCA Astro Electronics/GE Astro Space business), Northrop Grumman , Alcatel Space, now Thales Alenia Space , with the Spacebus series, and Astrium . Geostationary satellites must operate above

6204-470: The northern hemisphere. This orbit provides a long dwell time over Russian territory as well as over Canada at higher latitudes than geostationary orbits over the equator. Communications satellites usually have one of three primary types of orbit , while other orbital classifications are used to further specify orbital details. MEO and LEO are non-geostationary orbit (NGSO). As satellites in MEO and LEO orbit

6298-564: The other hand, amplify the received signal before retransmitting it to the receiver on the ground. Passive satellites were the first communications satellites, but are little used now. Work that was begun in the field of electrical intelligence gathering at the United States Naval Research Laboratory in 1951 led to a project named Communication Moon Relay . Military planners had long shown considerable interest in secure and reliable communications lines as

6392-438: 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 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

6486-631: 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 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

6580-541: The remaining NBC Sports Regional Networks and 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

6674-509: 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 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

6768-487: The risk of signal interference. In October 1945, Arthur C. Clarke published an article titled "Extraterrestrial Relays" in the British magazine Wireless World . The article described the fundamentals behind the deployment of artificial satellites in geostationary orbits to relay radio signals. Because of this, Arthur C. Clarke is often quoted as being the inventor of the concept of the communications satellite, and

6862-1047: The same linear polarization as FSS-class satellites. Examples of these are the Astra , Eutelsat , and Hotbird spacecraft in orbit over the European continent. Because of this, the terms FSS and DBS are more so used throughout the North American continent, and are uncommon in Europe. Fixed Service Satellites use the C band , and the lower portions of the K u band . They are normally used for broadcast feeds to and from television networks and local affiliate stations (such as program feeds for network and syndicated programming, live shots , and backhauls ), as well as being used for distance learning by schools and universities, business television (BTV), Videoconferencing , and general commercial telecommunications. FSS satellites are also used to distribute national cable channels to cable television headends. Free-to-air satellite TV channels are also usually distributed on FSS satellites in

6956-538: 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

7050-408: The signal coming from the source, toward the direction of the receiver. With passive satellites, the reflected signal is not amplified at the satellite, and only a small amount of the transmitted energy actually reaches the receiver. Since the satellite is so far above Earth, the radio signal is attenuated due to free-space path loss , so the signal received on Earth is very weak. Active satellites, on

7144-402: The sky for transmission of communication signals. However, due to their closer distance to the Earth, LEO or MEO satellites can communicate to ground with reduced latency and at lower power than would be required from a geosynchronous orbit. A low Earth orbit (LEO) typically is a circular orbit about 160 to 2,000 kilometres (99 to 1,243 mi) above the Earth's surface and, correspondingly,

7238-477: 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 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,

7332-572: The technology side including the satellites, Sling Media, and the set-top box development arm. Dish Network completed its distribution to EchoStar of its digital set-top box business, certain infrastructure, and other assets and related liabilities, including certain of their satellites, uplink and satellite transmission assets, and real estate. Following the spin-off, EchoStar and Dish Network operated as separate publicly traded companies, until they were reunited in 2023. On February 14, 2011, EchoStar announced that it would acquire Hughes Communications in

7426-590: The term 'Clarke Belt' is employed as a description of the orbit. The first artificial Earth satellite was Sputnik 1 , which was put into orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957. It was developed by Mikhail Tikhonravov and Sergey Korolev , building on work by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky . Sputnik 1 was equipped with an on-board radio transmitter that worked on two frequencies of 20.005 and 40.002 MHz, or 7 and 15 meters wavelength. The satellite

7520-515: Was Project SCORE , led by Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) and launched on 18 December 1958, which used a tape recorder to carry a stored voice message, as well as to receive, store, and retransmit messages. It was used to send a Christmas greeting to the world from U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower . The satellite also executed several realtime transmissions before the non-rechargeable batteries failed on 30 December 1958 after eight hours of actual operation. The direct successor to SCORE

7614-429: Was another ARPA-led project called Courier. Courier 1B was launched on 4 October 1960 to explore whether it would be possible to establish a global military communications network by using "delayed repeater" satellites, which receive and store information until commanded to rebroadcast them. After 17 days, a command system failure ended communications from the satellite. NASA 's satellite applications program launched

7708-440: 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 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

7802-545: 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 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

7896-484: Was completed on September 10, 2019. On August 8, 2023, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Ergen was proposing a remerger between Dish and EchoStar. Later that day, the acquisition was formally announced by both companies. On January 2, 2024, it was announced that the transaction had been completed on December 31, 2023. In May 2024, EchoStar announced that it has been awarded a U.S. Navy wireless and telecommunications contract to provide 5G smart devices and services for

7990-448: 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

8084-469: Was founded in 2008 after the original EchoStar spun off its non-consumer assets while the original company was renamed to Dish Network Corporation. In an industry reverse, EchoStar proposed to buy Dish in 2023 with the acquisition being completed by the end of that year, as a result, Dish was absorbed into EchoStar as a whole. EchoStar made its debut on the Fortune 500 list in 2024, ranking #242. EchoStar

8178-428: Was in intercontinental long distance telephony . The fixed Public Switched Telephone Network relays telephone calls from land line telephones to an Earth station , where they are then transmitted to a geostationary satellite. The downlink follows an analogous path. Improvements in submarine communications cables through the use of fiber-optics caused some decline in the use of satellites for fixed telephony in

8272-492: Was launched, the United States was the only launch source outside of the Soviet Union , who did not participate in the Intelsat agreements. The Soviet Union launched its first communications satellite on 23 April 1965 as part of the Molniya program. This program was also unique at the time for its use of what then became known as the Molniya orbit , which describes a highly elliptical orbit , with two high apogees daily over

8366-493: Was needed to track it. Its successor, Syncom 3 , launched on 19 July 1964, was the first geostationary communications satellite. Syncom 3 obtained a geosynchronous orbit, without a north–south motion, making it appear from the ground as a stationary object in the sky. A direct extension of the passive experiments of Project West Ford was the Lincoln Experimental Satellite program, also conducted by

8460-500: Was not placed in orbit to send data from one point on Earth to another, but the radio transmitter was meant to study the properties of radio wave distribution throughout the ionosphere. The launch of Sputnik 1 was a major step in the exploration of space and rocket development, and marks the beginning of the Space Age . There are two major classes of communications satellites, passive and active . Passive satellites only reflect

8554-447: 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 the satellite technology and infrastructural assets remaining under EchoStar. Both companies would remain under the control of EchoStar's co-founder Charlie Ergen . After

8648-409: Was originally formed in 1980 by its chairman Charles Ergen as a distributor of C band TV systems. In 1987, it 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, the firm successfully launched its first satellite, EchoStar I. On March 4, 1996, it established

8742-644: Was subject to instruction by the US Government on matters of national policy. Over the next two years, international negotiations led to the Intelsat Agreements, which in turn led to the launch of Intelsat 1, also known as Early Bird, on 6 April 1965, and which was the first commercial communications satellite to be placed in geosynchronous orbit. Subsequent Intelsat launches in the 1960s provided multi-destination service and video, audio, and data service to ships at sea (Intelsat 2 in 1966–67), and

8836-591: Was the first active, direct relay communications commercial satellite and marked the first transatlantic transmission of television signals. Belonging to AT&T as part of a multi-national agreement between AT&T, Bell Telephone Laboratories , NASA, the British General Post Office , and the French National PTT (Post Office) to develop satellite communications, it was launched by NASA from Cape Canaveral on 10 July 1962, in

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