Satellite platform Dish network is exploring the possibility of a combination with EchoStar, as the company looks to move away from satellite broadcasting.
The US website Semafor first reported the move which comes 15 years after EchoStar was spun out of Dish, which maintained the receiver business, while separating from the satellite infrastructure that had filled them with content.
The move seems to put pay to suggestions that Dish might instead seek a merger with DTH rival DirecTV.
Dish is currently developing a mobile network across the US while trying to maintain its direct-to-home satellite business in a market still in the grip of cord cutting.
The company is now using spectrum acquired by Ergen to compete against mobile operators AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. Dish says it’s investing $10 billion in the business, but is said to need another $3 billion to meet a 2025 deadline from the Federal Communications Commission to offer service to 75% of the United States.
