EchoStar exploring broadband options

EchoStar Communications is launching residential satellite broadband trials over the next year in an effort to bring Internet access to its DISH Network digital broadcast satellite service.

Last week, SES Americom announced it had signed a multiyear agreement to provide capacity to EchoStar over a new Ku/Ka-band hybrid satellite launching in the third quarter of 2004. And in May EchoStar will launch its own Ka-band satellite, the first Ka-band satellite designated for broadband access in the U.S.

While EchoStar is quiet about its broadband plans it confirmed today that it’s testing various satellite broadband technologies in an effort to link Internet access to its programming services.

While companies like Americom, Starband and DirecTV currently offer satellite broadband services, EchoStar has yet to get into the game. Satellite Broadband is seen as a way for the DBS companies to compete against cable by offering high-speed Internet access, but pricing has held the services back. At $70-$80 a month for a connection, residential satellite services have garnered limited penetration in areas where DSL and cable modem services are unavailable.