AB IPBox 910HD - TELE-satellite International Magazine

HISTORY
TELE-satellite Archives
Echostar & S.C.I.
After a roll call by Echostar and S.C.I. six
European expert journalists undertook a journey
all the way to the Scottish highlands and
took over historic Blairquhan Castle for a night
(and that included a fine supply of Scottish
Whisky collected by the Hunter-Blair clan).
On the next morning the leap from 18th century
sobriety to 20th century technology couldn’t have
been more eye-opening, when we were transferred
to S.C.I.-UK’s new production facility in
Irvin. Echostar Vice-President Richard Innemee
presented his company’s new strategy, and S.C.I.
Vice-President Jim Ferguson took us on a tour
around one of the 35 S.C.I. production sites where
Echostar products will be assembled in the future.
Founder and current CEO of Echostar, Charlie
Ergen, entered the market in 1980 with the ambitious
motto “a dish in every home”. The established
players in the US market at first ridiculed that goal,
and in the European and Asian markets Echostar
had yet to make a name for itself. However,
Echostar’s competitors in the USA started to worry
as soon as the first receiver with an integrated positioner
was introduced by Echostar and kickstarted
the company from newbie to market-leader status.
In 1989 Echostar decided to conquer the old world
and opened regional headquarters in the wharf
district of Rotterdam, only to move to a new and
generously laid out center in Almelo (Netherlands).
The major asset in this phase of expansion was
the SR4500 receiver, which was later replaced by
the new SR5500 which surprised both importers
and consumers. The following years saw the
introduction of two less successful follow-ups to the
SR5500, until the SR8700LT was put in the market
and was as good a seller as the legendary SR5500.
However, for no particular reason the high-end
segment of the receiver market idled for quite
some time and loyal Echostar enthusiasts almost
felt neglected, since Echostar obviously had
started to focus on its satellite business which
included the company’s first DBS satellite.
It came as a big surprise that - coinciding with
our Scottish weekend - Echostar introduced
the sophisticated AD-2000IP receiver which is
128 TELE-satellite & Broadband — 04-05/2009 — www.TELE-satellite.com
designed to follow the 8700LT’s footsteps as a
state-of-the-art unit for the high-end market.
While Echostar is back on track in the receiver business
the whole company expanded dramatically
over the past few years and has been restructured
to accommodate all sectors of the business.
In Colorado, Wyoming and The Netherlands
Echostar serves as an operator of a whole fleet of
satellites, Pay-TV provider and up- and downlink
provider. These different branches are now bundled
into the following groups: DISH-NETWORKS,
ECHOSTAR TECHNOLOGIES CORP (ETC),
ECHOSTAR SATELLITE SERVICES (ESS) and
ECHOSTAR INTERNATIONAL CORP (EIC).
With these services Echostar is able to offer a comprehensive
range of products and services ranging
from data and educational services to turnkey satellite
solutions for Africa, Europe and the Middle East.
One example of the enormous expertise of
Echostar is the second digital platform in Spain
which is a typical turnkey product. The company
is currently working on broadband internet access
(ICEbox project) and the MediaStream network
control system in cooperation with MEDIA4.
While in 1980 Charlie Ergen’s vision was sneered
at, in 1999 Ergen controls a company which is the
only one in the world to offer both DBS satellite
services and all the necessary hardware and
software products. Furthermore Echostar operates
a huge uplink center in the USA, owns four satellites
with a DBS capacity of 90 transponders and offers
complex solutions from planning to operating.
SCI
One of world’s biggest manufacturer of electronics
components for entertainment products,
the military and medical equipment company
was chosen as an ideal partner for Echostar.
With an excellent name in medical equipment,
SCI has proven to guarantee uncompromising
quality in its 35 production facilities all over the
world. That way regional Echostar products can
be produced close to the actual end-market.
Among the pluses of SCI are fixed prices,
continuously high quality, and a reliable
flow of information between the ordering
company and the manufacturer.
One of the best equipped SCI facilities can be
found in Irvin and it was here that a TELE-satellite
journalist was able to look at how an Echostar
receiver is being assembled. All production stages
are carried out automatically, except for the final
check and the packaging which are done manually.
At the final check the receiver is brought to life
for the first time. While many manufacturers only
carry out a quick test, at SCI in Irvin all receivers
are put to a test that simulates six hours
of continuous operation in order to detect any
weaknesses or malfunctions. All units that are not
100% OK are repaired manually and then enter
the production and evaluation process again
so that only top-quality units leave the site.
SCI is also proud of its excellent reputation as a
PC manufacturer. It would be wise to check if the
motherboard features the SCI logo before buying a
new computer. Unfortunately the sales staff at your
electronics store will not be too happy with such a
request. As far as military equipment is concerned,
a look into the famous Janes Handbook of Military
Communications reveals that quite a few units are
SCI products. In the satellite receiver business a
complete range of international companies cooperate
with SCI, so that our TELE-satellite journalist
came across units that are produced for companies
like Philips, Nokia, HTS and of course Echostar.