Dish Network History
EchoStar's story began in 1980 when Chairman and CEO, Charlie Ergen, entered the satellite television industry as a distributor of C-band TV systems. Joined by his wife, Candy, and friend, James DeFranco, EchoStar Communications Corporation was formed. Operations quickly expanded and the Company earned a reputation for innovation, while focusing on providing customers with state-of-the-art equipment, systems and service.
In 1987, EchoStar filed for a Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) license with the Federal Communications Commission and was granted access to orbital slot 119 West Longitude in 1992. The Company began its move toward providing its own DBS service on December 28, 1995, with the successful launch of EchoStar I and the Dish Network brand name.
EchoStar launched EchoStar II (Sept-10-1996), EchoStar III (Oct-5-1997), EchoStar IV (May-8-1998),EchoStar V (Sept-23-1999) and EchoStar VI (Jul-14-2000). Today, the nine satellites that make up the EchoStar fleet have the capacity to provide hundreds of channels of digital video, audio and data services via Dish Network service to homes, businesses and schools throughout the United States. Dish Network Industry Firsts
Dish Network was the first company to offer a satellite receiver for less than $200, the first to develop a UHF remote control, the first to offer an Integrated Receiver Descrambler (IRD) for C-band satellite TV, the first nationwide installation network dedicated solely to satellite TV systems, the first to offer satellite receiver with built-in digital video recording, and the first Satellite TV company to offer local channels to local markets in all 50 states.
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