I went onto CNN and their Headline News web sites and found no recent stories about a D* / E* merger. Not even after running searches and finding stories on E* going back a few years.
Given that TB* (TurdBird TV, i.e. D*) is just now being sold/transferred from News Corp to Liberty, it is highly unlikely that a merger between TB* and E* is underway.
Time does get away from you. The end of that was actually more than 4 years ago - the FCC ruled against it in October, 2002.About a 1 1/2 ago there were talks for E* to buy out D*. .
Maybe. But I've never seen anything that indicated that Malone of Liberty had an interest in E*. Now maybe once he takes over TB* he'll have grander plans. And I'm not sure Charlie would be opposed to selling off E* and starting another business.
But there's no guarantee a TB* takeover of E* would get approved. So it's a longshot at best.
Why don't Charlie or Rupert launch a bunch of satellites like Iridium was going to do to bring high speed internet to everybody in the U.S. at a price that could compete against everybody else? They would also be able to offer television and telephone service on them.
Apples and oranges. Teledesic (NOT Iridium) would have been a worldwide answer to low-latency high-speed internet using low power non-directional antennas. A fleet of 290+ LEO satellites was needed. They launched one test bird and folded, as they learned their pockets weren't deep enough. The pockets in question included Gates, McCaw, etc. So the answer to the question of why it isn't being done is that only the US Govt could possibly afford it.Ever heard of WildBlue?
Malone owns Starz. That is Liberty.
But that means nothing in terms of a D* merger with E*. Liberty has not been in pursuit of E*. Malone has been taking chunks of News Corp at every opportunity and now Murdoch is attempting to buy him out using D*. As far as I know, Liberty owns no E* stock.