Last December the AMC-16 Satellite was launched for E* to operate at 85 W. At that time E* said that they did not know what they were going to do with this satellite. I have not heard an update on plans for AMC-16. Have I missed something, or does E* just carry an expensive satellite as a spare? It would certainly seem that this satellite could carry a substantial number of channels, conventional and HD.
What Happened to AMC-16 at 85 W?
- Thread starter JohnC
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AMC 16 is still at 85W, doesnt seem to be doing anything according to lyngsat.com.
I'm not too sure D* is even using it, it's not in the list at
http://ekb.dbstalk.com/dishlist.htm
I'm not too sure D* is even using it, it's not in the list at
http://ekb.dbstalk.com/dishlist.htm
I'm thinking that AMC-16 is parked waiting for orders. Like if E10 doesn't make it, and/or the Rainbow-1 sale, etc.
Dish and SES Americom, the owner of AMC-16 have applied to the FCC to move it to the 118.7 W location. Dish has an agreement with TeleSat, the license holder at 118.7 W to lease all of the regular Ku band on the Anik F3 satellite at 118.7 but that satellite won't be launched until the 3rd quarter of 2006 at the earliest. Dish wants access to the 118.7 W slot sooner than that and I would expect a decision by the FCC by October 1, 2005. The 85 W location is an oddball slot for Dish and obviously Dish could use a Superdish to get 110, 118.7 (or 121), 119, and 129. In fact some folks have reported that they have a "119K" choice in their point dish screen which I have to believe is for 118.7 W. We can only speculate on what programming Dish would provide from there but my guess is HD locals. Using MPEG-4, AMC-16 could provide anywhere from 144 to 200+ HD channels. So Dish will have a use for those Superdishes that may get replaced by D1000s.
rocatman said:
Sounds like E* does have a good plan for AMC-16 if it gets approved. The 85 W slot is definitely not good. If E* puts the HD locals on it at the 85 location, I would have to go to a 3 dish system (61.5 Dish 300, 85 Dish 300, and a Dish 500 for 110 and 119), which is definitely not desirable.
