Echostar To Become Dish Network Corp.
Echostar has filed a preliminary proxy with the Securities and Exchange Commission saying it is
changing its name to Dish Network Corp. The move is part of Echostar's plan to split into two distinct companies, one of which will focus on their core satellite offerings, and the other of which (Echostar Holdings Corp) will focus on assets such as newly acquired Sling Media and set-top box manufacturing.
This split reheated rumors that the company was preparing itself to be acquired by AT&T, who partners with the company in order to offer users their
Homezone hybrid DSL/DBS service. The company also this week
announced that it would be bidding in the 700Mhz wireless auction (DirecTV has stated they will not). The bid confused some anlysts:
Wedbush Morgan Securities Inc. analyst William Kidd doubted EchoStar's ability to win the auction, however, and questioned what it would even do with the spectrum. "I would be surprised if they saw this thing through until the end," Kidd said in a phone interview, noting that "it raises all kinds of questions if they do win." Communications spectrum within the Earth's atmosphere would do little good for a company that connects to its customers via outer space, he said. "It's not core to their business," he said. "They're not a wireless telecom provider."
Both satellite operators recently announced a
partnership with Clearwire to offer bundled WiMax wireless broadband service.
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