Dish Network Plans Internet TV and Wireless Data Services

Late this summer, Dish Network hopes to begin offering a low-cost Internet TV service that would allow customers to solely stream live TV channels on tablets, smartphones and computers. The company is in talks with potential content partners and has already struck a deal with Disney to offer channels such as ABC, the Disney Channel and ESPN. Dish also partnered with startup Artemis on a separate project to develop a high-speed wireless data service that is 1,000 times faster than 4G.

The Internet TV service’s debut at the end of the summer will be just in time for the next broadcast TV season in September, and Dish Network is expanding its selection of channels for the service. Other companies in talks with Dish Network to add their programming to the lineup include A&E, Turner Broadcasting and NBCUniversal.

Dish already offers a similar TV service overseas known as DishWorld. These international packages are under $20, a price tag that Dish could use to target young adults in the U.S. when the domestic product is released in the coming months.

“Dish is targeting 18-to-34-year-olds who only want to pay $20 or $30 a month to watch video on smartphones and tablets instead of a traditional TV set,” reports Bloomberg.

Dish Network hopes to launch its online TV service this summer. AT&T also announced plans to introduce an Internet TV service that it hopes to roll out before the end of the year. Intel sold its technology to stream channels to Verizon in January. Sony and Viacom reached a preliminary deal to stream cable channels last year, but the company has yet to release the service.

Dish Network and Artemis are also developing a new wireless data standard called pCell. “Dish Network has spent billions of dollars over the last few years buying up spectrum that could be used for high-speed wireless service,” according to Business Insider. The company has also negotiated with the FCC to use that spectrum for ground-based wireless services.

No Comments Yet

You can be the first to comment!

Leave a comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.