A launch malfunction has put Dish Network’s HD expansion in doubt. It may be pretty tough to recover from this setback if a quick fix or replacement can’t be done

Dish Network had hoped to use the satellite to expand its HDTV channel count from 75 to more than 100 networks. Rival DirecTV offers subscribers 92 national HDTV channels, and both Dish Network and DirecTV rely on HDTV programming in marketing pitches.

SES Americom said Monday morning that the satellite “anomaly” occurred during the second burn of the fourth stage of the Lockheed Martin rocket launch. SES and Lockheed engineers are working on “various options” for bringing the bird into its proper geostationary orbit, SES said. While the satellite had an expected service life of 15 years, EchoStar warned in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Monday morning that the fuel needed to move the bird into its correct orbit will shorten its life.

“If those efforts [to correct the orbit] are successful, station keeping fuel would be required to correct the orbit, so the service life of the satellite would be substantially reduced,” EchoStar said.

“The launch anomaly will result in a delay in our roll out of some high definition channels, including some local network channels,” the company added. (Contentinople)

If they take advantage, Cable and Directv could gain an insurmountable lead over Dish as a result. If they do not take advantage, this will further accelerate the inevitability of TVoIP displacing the entire industry.

Well the crusaders are out again trying to make it look like they are accomplishing something — anything to look good. This time its Round 2.0 of the ETF malaise. In a clear case of not understanding the economics of the nut, the Democrats march forward again like Don Quixote –

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) asked chief executives of AT&T Mobility, Sprint Nextel Corp. and T-Mobile USA Inc. to explain whether they will pro-rate early termination fees as previously promised. Her letter comes amid a new Government Accountability Office report that found shortcomings with how the Federal Communications Commission processes consumer complaints.

“Early termination fees have been a real sore spot for consumers,’’ Klobuchar said. “Too often, consumers find out only after committing to a multi-year contract that their wireless service doesn’t meet their needs. That realization comes after it’s too late to exit their contracts without paying excessive penalties.’’

Sens. Klobuchar and Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) are co-sponsors of a sweeping wireless consumer protection bill that would mandate the pro-rating of ETFs, charges levied on customers who prematurely break 1- and 2-year contracts covering subsidized handsets and service.

“It is time for the wireless companies to adhere to the assurances they made to the American consumer and start pro-rating these fees,’’ stated Klobuchar in the letter directed to AT&T Mobility’s Ralph de la Vega, Sprint Nextel’s Dan Hesse and T-Mobile USA’s Robert Dotson.

We too don’t like ETF’s. They are a hold over from the days that wireless providers needed to be sure that the expenditures will be amortized over the life of the contract. Which happened to be with very expensive equipment. Those costs have come down 5x with time and WiMax is going to drop it at least another factor of 4. ETFs today serve as a customer retention tool not a engineering safety net.

Want to get rid of ETF’s the right way? Then you need to break up the ETF-phone rental-price gambit. Its a vicious game. The phone companies like the rental game as it keeps bringing the customer back for a reup on a contract, even though the CPE side is a losing proposition for them. The phone Mfrs love this because it artificially props up their unit pricing as the true costs are buried in the contract. The tool to bust this open? — open device policy as Verizon has indicated they will honor for any device that works in their network.

It will be painful at first. Sticker shock for one. That $79 Samsung will really be $299 like it should have been. But that too will pass. For true device cost competition will ensue and that phone will drop to less than a $100. The carriers will drop their network rates as they are no longer doing carry forwards on the unit price of the phone as part of the monthly service. With nothing but network to offer the carriers will want to lower the barrier to entry to use THEIR network of their competitors. At that point the ETF dies as a marketing retention tool.

Klobuchar, bust open the carrier-manafacturer cartel and ETF’s go away. The consumer gains more than just a loss of ETFs as a consequence.

Linky.

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The Senate as we speak is having a committee hearing on the Cellular industry. Funny the only company with the guts to show was Verizon. But is it worth the time and $$ to codify this stuff?

• Early Termination Fees. Yes suggested it be prorated in the legislation. However there is a court case in CA that very well might eliminate them all together. Any reader of this Blog would already know that as we reported this previously.
• Requirements for contract disclosure. Under the Universal Commercial Code all the carriers are in compliance with this. Ok so Congess wants to make it easier on the consumer. What? You really think the average consumer actually reads these things? I didn’t think so.
• Coverage maps. Well hate to tell ya, the majors already provide this data, both in-store and on a web page.
• Itemized billing. Oh gee, I must be lost! I get a nice fat itemized billing every month from Sprint. Verizon has the same option. So does AT&T. Are you starting to notice a pattern here folks??
• Automatic Contract Extension. Hey you heard it here on ThirdPipe first, in a previous post. Sprint lost a WI court case on contract extensions, so they made it universal in their terms. Verizon followed suit realizing they were next. AT&T will probably do the same.
• Service Member Termination Exclusion. Here, is a portion of the Bill that I support. It provides that should a US serviceman be called up for overseas duty they may terminate service without penalty. These wonderful men and women are being uprooted by the call up. Why should the Telco’s burden them with a ETF and cancellation fees.

My point is, 90% of this bill is already being enacted either voluntarily or thru the courts. So the two Democratic sponsors of this Bill are essentially wasting taxpayer $$ and doing a little bit of grandstanding for the folks back home.
Linky.