I think it would be a great idea if Dish and Direct offered their own cell phone network through a mesh network using existing satellite dishes that they have installed.
Maybe that's what the news reporting meant by "already having the rights to the rooftop". But I must point out that a satellite dish pointed at the sky cannot (by itself) be a link in this mesh network. Another type of antenna, probably omnidirectional and "aimed" at the horizon, would be necessary, along with ancillary equipment more like a router and not much like a satellite receiver.