The Street is reporting that AT&T is likely to buy Echostar’s Dish Network, and has hired Goldman Sachs to manage the deal, which could be completed in as little as three to six weeks.
According to Broadband Reports, Echostar’s Dish Network is already AT&T’s partner on a DSL/DBS hybrid DVR service dubbed Homezone. Homezone is aimed at customers outside the planned deployment range of their U-Verse IPTV service.
DirectTV is the nation’s leading satellite television service provider, with more than 16 million customers in the United States; EchoStar’s Dish Network has roughly 13.4 million customers.
This summer, DirecTV & Echostar announced a deal with Clearwire to bundle a triple play of satellite TV, high-speed data and voice.
WildBlue earlier this year announced a five year wholesale distribution agreement with both DIRECTV and EchoStar for 2-way satellite-based internet access. With that agreement, WildBlue became the only satellite-based Internet solution that both DIRECTV and EchoStar will offer to their respective customers for the next 5 years.
Last year, satellite operators hoped to win some of the FCC’s Advanced Wireless Spectrum, but the companies exited the auction early, without winning any spectrum licenses. Cable companies made out like a bandit, however, paying $2.4 billion for 137 licenses in cities including New York, Boston, Washington, Detroit and Atlanta.
Do you suppose this would clear the way for some kind of Clearwire/AT&T deal?
Related DailyWireless articles include; Clearwire & SatTV Do a Deal, Hughes: Local HD Satellite Troubles, Hughes Launches Switchboard in the Sky, Proxim + Gilat Satellite, WildBlue -1 Goes Live, WildBlue Partners with DirecTV & Echostar, Intelsat Sold, Eutelsat HotBird 8, More SK Bucks for SK-EarthLink, John Malone in Space, Be Your Own TV Network, WildBlue: AT&T’s DeathStar?, HughesNet Beams Up and WildBlue V-Sat.
