If E8 is going to be available, I'll suggest that they send it to 129 and retire E5. Then when Ciel-2 goes up, E8 can be the in-orbit spare.
Something needs to be done with the 129 sat . If only they would temporarily move the echostar 6 sat there till the new sat is ready. Then they could get good steady coverage for hd for all viewers. I guess that a better satellite would give us a bigger footprint for 129 right?
The satellite foot print at 61.5 W is not a big concern. It only has to cover the areas on the east coast that can not use 129 W and this should not be a problem for E-6 or E-8.
There is more to it than that.
Due to its contractual obligation with SkyAngel, Dish must offer a CONUS footprint from 61.5.
Also, contrary to what many believe, 61.5 is usable from many west coast locations - albeit with a very low elevation. I had a 61.5 dish in northern California with great signal strength (but I did need to use an elevation offset adapter due to the low angle).
Now if Sky Angel ever launches their own bird or if D* and SA write a new contract... Well, then, that changes everything!
Cheers,
Red
You could be right - I'll have to dig into this and find out if it is E3 or 61.5.I thought the contract deals with E3 only. Leave it in place for the SkyAngel TP's. When it dies it dies.
That's true, but when E3 (and the contract) dies, Dish will lose the use of the 6 Sky Angel transponders that they currently use as part of the agreement (Sky Angel owns TP's 25-32).I thought the contract deals with E3 only. Leave it in place for the SkyAngel TP's. When it dies it dies.
You could be right - I'll have to dig into this and find out if it is E3 or 61.5.
Either way, SkyAngel seems to be showing early signs of demise based on recent business decisions.