I tried signing up for DishNet when it first became available and I asked them the same question. They didn't know. ...Long story short, the only good thing out of my attempt at DishNet is that they allowed me to cancel and not get hit with the early termination fee due to all the technical issues I faced. (and it wasn't an LOS issue).
I still don't know if it's their own satellite but I have learned it's the same technology as HughesNet Gen 4. The speeds were awesome during off-peak hours but during peak hours (about 4PM to 11PM), dial-up was actually FASTER. When the speed test would actually complete (and not timeout) it would be down in the single digits (as in, X Kb) ...as in 14K would be faster because it had TWO digits in the number.
Perhaps the problems were due getting it as soon as the service became available... But I would HIGHLY recommend trying all other alternatives (non-satellite based) internet. 3G available? 4G available? ....We have no options except dial-up, 3G/4G cell, and satellite where we live. We tried switching from cell internet to DishNet and it was horrible.
The DishNet modem had a very comprehensive diagnostics screen and logs. The entire time we had service (about a month), there were only about four 15-mintue intervals where there was NOT some significant error code. ..had a call to tech support at least once a week about the issues to no resolution. ..2 tech visits and same problems.