Right now, the entire Satellite Industry appears to be in a holding pattern:
1. D* is waiting to get their birds in the air and fully functional before they can start offering HD LIL, National HD channels, and MPEG-4 receivers.
2. E* is waiting on D* to offer HD LIL and implement MPEG-4. E* isn't going to do anything that doesn't make money, unless it is to counter D*.
3. E* is waiting on the FCC to approve the sale/transfer to Rainbow-1 and 61.5 TPs before they can launch the entire VOOM21 channel lineup, shuffle their satellite locations, and start migrating to MPEG-4.
4. Voom is waiting on the sales/transfer or Rainbow-1 until their VOOM21 HD Pak can be fully implemented. Likewise, they are waiting on Verizon and other Cable MSOs to start pickup these channels before they broadcast new content and promote these channels. VOOM has decided they are not willing to spend any money on the VOOM lineup until these channels are ready to be mass marketed. Unfortunately, they learned this lesson from VOOM DBS.
5. Although Verizon continues to knock out a few Local Cable Franchise Agreements, they are pretty much waiting on State Cable Franchise Agreements and changes to Federal Telecom laws before going balls-to-the-walls with Verizon FiOS.
So let the waiting continue. One thing is for sure...Satellite, Cable and the Telcos are going to war next year and it won't be pretty. Consumers will benefit, but the landscape is going to change. I fully expect to see Satellite and Cable mergers over the next three years.