Although AT&T, Verizon and the rest of the telco gang stole the limelight (and threw down some serious coinage) at the conclusion of the recent
spectrum auction, little ole DISH Network managed to get in on the action, too. Apparently the satellite provider scooped up 6MHz of bandwidth that would cover around 75-percent of the US, but analysts are still scratching their heads trying to figure out why. Its sliver would reportedly enable it to launch a mobile TV service, though most assume it wouldn't jump in with a number of providers already out there trying to stay afloat. It could also use its winnings to enable STBs to report viewing habits and utilize two-way services without being hooked up to a phone line. Nevertheless,
Craig Moffett, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein, asserts that there are simply "more questions than answers at this point," so we reckon we'll just keep on testing our patience for now.
Ah ha! So this is what DISH Network was planning on doing with its recently-purchased swath of spectrum. Just under two months after analysts pondered what the firm was thinking throwing out bids for a smidgen of bandwidth -- and not even a fortnight after the ICO G1 successfully launched in order to bring DVB-SH to America -- out comes the whole truth. The satcaster is teaming up with Alcatel-Lucent to test the Digital Video Broadcasting - Satellite services to Handhelds technology right here in the US, with A-L providing the equipment, test tools and training. The evaluation will be taking place at a DISH facility in Atlanta from May until August, with the ultimate goal to "validate the performance and cost-efficiency of the DVB-SH standard." As expected, we're only given crumbs of information as to where this partnership may lead, but we should be much more clear on everything by the time the summer concludes.
