FCC: Echostar Nearly Has National Reach For Wireless Broadband

Here's an off-the-wall idea that I've been saying for years: You setup a dish outside to receive the DBS signals from the sats. Built in to the LNB is a wireless transmitter set to be able to broadcast in the 700MHz range. It could even be external, maybe like a switch. The installer will have a handheld scanner that scans for an open frequency in the area and sets the transmitter to that number. It will be a low power wireless signal, kind of like 802.11G for wireless computer networks, so it has limited range, MAYBE a half mile on a clear day. You could reuse the same frequency thousands of times over a several hundred square mile area. Then, the installer will place a single receiver containing 4 seperate tuners (I believe this receiver is already in demo somewhere) in a central location in the home. He will then place small wireless video receivers (slingboxes???) where there are TVs to be connected. BOOM! Install done. The need for coax is eliminated, cutting down on maintenance costs, and decreasing the TC per customer rate.

I know this seems far fetched and there are a hundred people RIGHT NOW poking holes in my theory. But it's just that...a THEORY. There are thousands of things that you could do with this in different variations. The possibilities are endless.
 
I could also see E* using this new E block to just transmit VOD (including HD VOD) content to subscriber homes. As long as a receiver is plugged in, and could be tuned to receive E block, it could simply store various content items on its hard drive. Why not even offer a selection of popular video and audio podcasts, which the receiver would simply record whenever they are on the E block channels and store for later viewing/listening?

This would allow E* to expand available content quite a bit, and they could even customize it by area. They might even use E block to deliver locals in certain DMAs - at a lower cost to E* than satellite carriage.
 
If you guys want to see what parts of the country they won their bids to get a idea of the coverage you can look here on this link..

When you open the link look at pages 64-74 of the pdf. It will be Frontier Wireless.

http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-08-595A2.pdf

Anyway you can find more here on wireless stuff and more as well.

dailywireless.org

Interesting, looks like if I'm reading that right MA,NH,RI,VT, and parts of NY, DE, NJ and PA are NOT in their coverage area? Those are some major markets to be missing if I read it correctly... so that could mean 1. They work out a deal with Qualcomm, or 2. The theory of broadcasting locals to save satellite bandwidth may make sense?

-Mike
 
I wonder what about these particular frequencies make them unattractive for 2 way communications? I realize the press is reporting it from some analyst, but I wonder what the real scoop is? Dish really needs an internet/phone solution.
 
Interesting, looks like if I'm reading that right MA,NH,RI,VT, and parts of NY, DE, NJ and PA are NOT in their coverage area? Those are some major markets to be missing if I read it correctly... so that could mean 1. They work out a deal with Qualcomm, or 2. The theory of broadcasting locals to save satellite bandwidth may make sense?

-Mike

Also the LA and San Francisco markets as well! Major metro areas that I guess were out of the price range for E*!
 
Here's an off-the-wall idea that I've been saying for years: You setup a dish outside to receive the DBS signals from the sats. Built in to the LNB is a wireless transmitter set to be able to broadcast in the 700MHz range. It could even be external, maybe like a switch. The installer will have a handheld scanner that scans for an open frequency in the area and sets the transmitter to that number. It will be a low power wireless signal, kind of like 802.11G for wireless computer networks, so it has limited range, MAYBE a half mile on a clear day. You could reuse the same frequency thousands of times over a several hundred square mile area. Then, the installer will place a single receiver containing 4 seperate tuners (I believe this receiver is already in demo somewhere) in a central location in the home. He will then place small wireless video receivers (slingboxes???) where there are TVs to be connected. BOOM! Install done. The need for coax is eliminated, cutting down on maintenance costs, and decreasing the TC per customer rate.

I know this seems far fetched and there are a hundred people RIGHT NOW poking holes in my theory. But it's just that...a THEORY. There are thousands of things that you could do with this in different variations. The possibilities are endless.

I LOVE the idea, however, wireless technology is great, but does frequently have problems, and is prone to a lot of interference. If they could set up a system that could run for YEARS at a time with NO problems (no disconnects, etc.), then this could be reality in the future. Remember, a majority of their customers would have no clue how the system worked and would be clueless in how to figure out the problem and fix it on their own. They would have ENDLESS TC calls. Coax is simply more reliable.
 
This is a head scratcher... At first look, it looked like a way to combat the Triple Play packages from the Cable cos. and Verizon....

Then I thought they might do an XM and have receivers that can receive both wireless video and satellite video to help supplement the signals in weak areas when they put Eastern Arc into play.

Now I don't WHAT this is for. Never a dull moment with this crew...
Remember WIRELESS cable from the 1980's. This will extend the reach of satellite TV into areas where a dish is not feasable They could put transmitters in existing cellular towers
 
Interesting, looks like if I'm reading that right MA,NH,RI,VT, and parts of NY, DE, NJ and PA are NOT in their coverage area? Those are some major markets to be missing if I read it correctly... so that could mean 1. They work out a deal with Qualcomm, or 2. The theory of broadcasting locals to save satellite bandwidth may make sense?

-Mike
E* was never much of an urban company. Their customer bas e is in rural areas
 
Frontier Wireless LLC = Echostar

They have us in the Northern VA/DC/MD area.

Good.
 
Soon Dish will be replacing 70 percent of the country's dishes with new antennas for Mpeg-4 programming. :dev:

This will totally eliminate Rain Fade in those markets. !sadroll
 
They could do like what some of the wireless providers do. Have a dual radio at each customer's house and each customer is a potential hop. It could be done in a WDS / mesh sort of way. In some cases it would require a lot of hops and may not be feasable but if there are enough customers in a given area then it would work great. If someone can see the access point / signal then they could receive and hop the signal to other customers. It would also allow for redundancy and if someone cannot see the signal but see's someone else that can see the signal, then that would increase their coverage area even more.
 
Scrambled brain thought but for some reason reminds me of the ATT homezone boxes, which combines dish satelite, DSL internet and wireless routers....???
 
Scrambled brain thought but for some reason reminds me of the ATT homezone boxes, which combines dish satelite, DSL internet and wireless routers....???

That certainly could figure into it too. The ATT and Dish buyout thing has neither been confirmed nor denied by any sources. Plus, since there were several ATT managers at the last regional DISH manager's meeting in Columbus, it wouldn't suprise me at all.
 
Found this article over at Archos fans site:

Echostar owns around 20% of Archos stock, and they have just succeeded in buying a nearly national coverage of licences to deploy wireless broadband in the USA on the 700MHZ spectrum. Not only does that mean that Echostar can now deploy their own wireless broadband network to distribute video-on-demand directly to their set-top-boxes without being dependent on the established internet service providers, it also means Echostar can ask Archos to build for them a portable video player that will stream video directly over their 700Mhz WiMax networks.

They could also use their spectrum to build WiFi and WiMax mesh networks, thus blanketing the whole USA relativelty cheaply and rapidly with their own wireless broadband network. So customers who agree to install a little box outdoors next to their Dish Networks satellite dish, could then hookup to the central WiMax broadcaster and republish that signal to the whole nabourhood as Mesh networking of both the 700mhz signal and normal WiFi. Customers who would agree to install this free box could thus get a rebate on their Dish Network and wireless broadband subscription fees.

Another strategy could be for Echostar to use the established ADSL, Cable and Fiber networks that people already have gotten at home through established internet service providers and re-publish that Internet connection through the Ethernet plug of the set-top-box out to the nabourhood using the 700Mhz spectrum and WiFi. This way Echostar would basically just need to distribute set-top-boxes to cover a whole country with free wireless broadband. Other ISPs might complain that Echostar would be using their bandwidth, but that is the way Fon works today with a million users worldwide sharing their Internet connection using WiFi, and that way of doing wireless networking deployments might be approved and regulated into law by the politicians. As a means to lower the cost of deploying better and cheaper wireless broadband, supporting network neutrality which means ISPs should not be allowed to throttle or restrict in any ways how consumers use their internet connection.

Echostar should build their 700Mhz network in cooperation with Google, so that devices to use that 700Mhz spectrum also work in the unlicenced spectrum that Google is suggesting the FCC should be used for free wireless broadband.

Source: ArchosFans.com - News, Rumors and Reviews » Story » EchoStar to control near-nationwide 700Mhz WiMax network in the USA
 
E* was never much of an urban company. Their customer bas e is in rural areas

Hate to disagree, but man, you should see how pervasive E* is in a city like Chicago. They're everywhere.

Sure, a lot of people/majority in the city get cable...but a LOT of people went/go satellite because of horrible customer service w/ the cableco's or they want more international programming, etc. Plus, a lot of people moved to satellite who've made HD a priority. All you have to do is take an train ride to see just how many Dish subs there are out there.
 
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