Posted on 09/27/2007 2:31:36 PM PDT by Las Vegas Dave
Washington, D.C. (September 27, 2007) -- AT&T has offered to buy EchoStar, the nation's second largest satellite TV service.
That's according to an article today from TheStreet.com.
The web site reports that AT&T has offered $55 a share, while the satcaster may be holding out for $65 a share.
The deal would seem to make sense for both companies.
EchoStar is under pressure to increase spending on several initiatives, including High-Definition TV, to keep pace with rival DIRECTV and the cable operators. AT&T could supply the financing, for instance, for EchoStar to launch new satellite to expand high-def capacity.
Meanwhile, AT&T's TV service, u-Verse, has just broken the 100,000 subscriber mark after more than two years. Buying EchoStar would give the telco more than 13 million video subscribers overnight.
TheStreet.com says Oppenheimer analyst Tom Eagan has raised his rating on EchoStar in anticipation of a AT&T deal. He believes AT&T would likely pay about $56 a share for the satcaster.
Both companies declined to comment on Thursday, TheStreet.com reports.
I just want AT&T to give my neighborhood the high speed access (DSL) we were promised as part of the BellSouth buyout. Supposed to happen by last July. Uh-huh.
Does Dish have any say in this at all?
Yes, they are saying "show me the money"..
Because of the cost for one! Its 3 times more expensive and if its cloudy, your out of luck!
LLS
You didn’t take a lump sum? Look at all of the retirement paper work you have or will get. It states that the plan can be eliminated at any time.
I have seen too many plans eliminted to not take the lump sum.
Hmmm... Ergen certainly generates a lot of passions. Personally I like his system cause it’s cheap, and easy to hack (though I am a subscriber ;-)
LOL! I guess we'll all be assimilated. In my case, over and over again!
My wife started with Illinois Bell about that time, and has stayed through the many incarnations of AT&T, I don’t think there are many that have made it that long.
Cost is something to consider though. It all comes down to what you are willing to pay for a high speed Internet connection. Dial up Internet speeds are just unacceptable for me.
And on the heavy T-Storm; usually only when a cell is between your dish and the sat. Heavy rain, unless it is weighing down a tree branch in front of the dish, usually isn't a problem either.
You are right about the T-Storm cells. Since the weather in my area usually comes from the direction the dish is pointed I get a good two to three min. heads up on sever weather near my house.
AT&T’s acquisition of TCI sure worked out, didn’t it. Don’t they ever learn?
I heard that it’s not reliable yet. Thanks I’ll look into that. F-ing Comcast, won’t string a quarter mile cable for 40-60 homes
Except I don't believe that they wanted to be busted up in the 1980s.
I have had my Hughes satellite service for over a year and I have never had a problem with it. I have the Pro service $70/month which allow 2 computers to be on line at same time using a Linksys router. I would not know I was not on a cable system except for the speed is a little slower. I think the satellite may be a little faster than DSL but it sure beats dial up!
This would be a great merger and help Echostar improve HDTV offerings as well as other services.
I was working at MaBell when that happened, and then later Armstrong sold it to Concast(sic) and left to become their CEO.
I knew something was up when they didn't integrate the payroll systems. Personally, I thought having a broadband pipe into homes was a perfect fit, and it passed FCC/FTC muster, so why sell it?
Armstrong was a greedy SOB, that's why. Of course the AT&T corporate culture, bean counters and the board, have made costly mistakes before.
Once upon a time AT&T had basically invented cellular technology. Some bean counters said: we'll never make any money off this, and they sold it. Years later, AT&T paid (IIRC) some 12 billion for McCaw Wireless. Then years later, sold Wireless to Congular. Then SBC buys/merges (I was laid off right before that - right sizing the headcount) AT&T and Cingular is AT&T again.
I think all these games, and that's what they are, were probably planned out long ago to shuffle money around and enrich a lot of the "players", and get the regulators out of the way as much as possible.
Essentially, they want to put Humpty Dumpty back together again.
I worked at the Labs for a time, and the culture there was the way it was because, as explained to me, when the parent had a built in 35% profit margin(monopoly times), money can be spent fairly freely. I could self approve PO's for a limited amount $$$$, all day long.
I never abused the privilege, but it was nice to be able to write a PO for something I needed right away without having to go plead with the boss for approval, on things he basically didn't understand anyway. I might have had to justify it to him later if he asked, but it was nice to be entrusted with the ability.
I miss working there. Good people were there at the Labs.
I've some bad news for you, sunshine....DSL is not really high speed. Their top of the line 1.5 Mbs is less than 1/3 basic cable speed.
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