1) If there is any cable splitters, sat won't work until they are removed(or new rg6 coax is ran for the sat), if the existing cable is rg59, and will be used to deliver the sat signal, it should be replaced by rg6.
2) You do not mention the plan you bought, if you have Total Choice Plus (like I do) it is 43 dollars(includes tax) a month +5 bucks for each receiver after the 1st one(i have 3 regular non-HD/non-DVR receivers, and it comes to 53 and change(includes tax). NOTE: This is AFTER my initial promo wore off, but I still do have a -10 credit per month for the next 15(now 11) months from initial start of contract, so after that expires, I will be paying 63 and change, however I will be of their contract 3 months by that time. Also, mine is with NO DVR, with DVR it is like 6 bucks more a month.
Remember the initial first few months or so (varies depending on the promotion) bills will be lower than what you will be paying once all the promos wear off(this applies to cable offers as well), in my case, it was still cheaper than the equivilent from comcast, and despite the compression issues still better quality than comcast analog(the only service they offered that came close to the price D* offered me, their digital was WAY overpriced imo), not to mention, my dish was up during katrina(when it was just a cat1 in florida) and watched tv the whole time (except for a few minutes of rain fade, and when the power went out) while comcast customers all over the place were down for upto 4 days, even after the power was restored.