- Echostar is going to bid on the 700Mhz spectrum. Nobody knows why.
- Microsoft decides to stop disabling Vista. Deciding to go with nagware.
- SAP denies it is in talks with Microsoft.
- Moto CEO quits too.
- Jersey college makes students use GPS.
- WiFi chips sales soaring.
Click to listen:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Echostar may plan to introduce broadband access including voice/cell via the 700Mhz.
Pretty soon, video-on-demand will be the killer-application, and if Echostar cannot provide its own Internet access service, then Echostar will be toast.
John,
Keep up the good work. Excellent sound quality and content.
-Loren
Maybe there’s a collusion factor between E* and the rumor of their takeover by AT&T?
I think they should take it and make new school c.b.radios that include a camera and let the people broadcast their own television.
It seems that google is interested in it…
no shortage of koolaid here…
maybe 700mhz for a downlink service or earth-based signal repeater for those living in areas where dishes or other antennas are not allowed. Imagine a satellite TV service that uses an antenna the size of satellite radio.
maybe 700mhz for a downlink service or earth-based signal repeater for those living in areas where dishes or other antennas are not allowed. Imagine a satellite TV service that uses an antenna the size of satellite radio.
The lower the frequency, the larger the dish has to be. 700mHz is, relatively speaking, a pretty low frequency.
The problem with broadcast is the FCC content regulations. I guess if you scramble and lock the signal, terrestrial broadcast wouldn’t have to adhere to standards and practices. The physics of radio waves and antenna design makes this band impractical for satellite communications. The Ku band is 12-18 GHz, which is in the microwave spectrum.
You guys are doing a good job of missing the real reason.
Dish Network is woefully behind DirecTV in satellite capacity, with no plan to catch up. Control of the 700 mHz spectrum would allow it to switch to a terrestrial wireless distribution model and sell its existing satellites and uplink facilities (recouping the cost of setting up the ground based solution).
VoD is not a killer app for this business: If it was, satellites subscription numbers would be going down. Internet access is nice, cell phones too, but television subscriptions are where the money’s at.
The more things change…