- - - DISH Network-DirecTV Top Customer Survey - - -

EchoStar's DISH Network was ranked No. 1 in overall customer satisfaction throughout the pay TV industry by J.D. Power and Associates and its '99 Cable/Satellite TV Customer Satisfaction Study.

DISH Network's DBS competitor, DirecTV, ranked a close second.

In the past, PrimeStar was ranked as the top multichannel provider in terms of customer satisfaction. Earlier this year, the PrimeStar medium-power DTH business was acquired by DirecTV.

DirecTV scored a 128 in the J.D. Power and Associates customer satisfaction survey. EchoStar received a top score of 130. There was a 19 point gap between the two DBS services and the top cable company, Intermedia. The MSO received a score of 109.

DirecTV and EchoStar beat all cable operators in the two most important drivers of customer satisfaction: cost of service and program offerings. The 1999 survey is based on direct customer feedback from a representative sample of 10,266 households nationwide.

- - - NRTC Attacks DirecTV In FCC Filing - - -

The National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative attacked DirecTV's lock on premium programming and criticized statutes governing distant network signal access in comments filed recently with the Federal Communications Commission.

The NRTC document was sent to the FCC in response to the agency's request for comments on the state of multichannel competition. In its filing, the cooperative voiced frustration with DirecTV and its effort to keep premium programming away from NRTC affiliates.

"The NRTC increasingly finds itself unable to provide a truly competitive multichannel video programming distribution service to rural America," the NRTC said. "DirecTV's refusal to provide premium programming to NRTC and to share launch fees is undermining NRTC's ability to provide a diversity of programming services to rural America and adversely affecting NRTC's ability to compete with cable in providing multichannel services."

The NRTC/DirecTV skirmish is the focus of a lawsuit the cooperative filed against the satellite provider earlier in the summer. Last week, NRTC filed another lawsuit against DirecTV over the alleged withholding of launch fees and programming discounts.

The NRTC also told the agency that changes must be made in rules governing distant network signals. "Until the commission resolves the distant network signal problem by adopting modern, realistic, consumer-friendly and understandable Grade B standards, millions of rural viewers will remain disenfranchised throughout the country," the organization said.

Comments regarding the state of multichannel competition are submitted by other associations and interest groups. The FCC uses the comments for a report it releases to Congress at the end of each year.

- - - Private & Wireless Show Attracts 65 Exhibitors - - -

Private Cable & Wireless Cable magazine publisher Catherine Upjohn opened the first general session of the Private & Wireless Show .99 in Denver by highlighting pivotal events from the past year.

"No time in recent history have so many industry-changing events occurred in less than a year," Upjohn said. "With change comes opportunity."

The theme of this year.s show is "Make The Connection: High-Speed Data, Digital TV and Telephony." Organizers said they expect just over 1,000 registrants for the event, which is coordinated by the Bobit Publishing Company. Roughly 65 exhibitors - including networks, private cable companies, satellite distributors, hardware manufacturers, Internet providers and a variety of technology developers - are contributing to the show. Much of its focus will be on the multiple dwelling unit (MDU) market.

The inaugural session entitled "The Telecom Landscape" was attended by Bryan Rader, president of MediaWorks, Richard Cecil, vice president of content and MDU services at GTE Media Ventures, and Ray Nettleton, a senior vice president at Formus Communications. They discussed factors that continue to shape the telecommunications industry like changing consumer behavior, MSO upgrades, bundled services and technology, and the continued growth of the Internet and satellite services.

- - - Iridium Claims Sub Jump-CFO Quits - - -

Iridium North America, seller of the sat-phone service in North America, said Wednesday its subscriber base and airtime usage increased since lowering prices earlier in the summer.

Iridium North America said there was a "consistent" 25 percent increase in subscribers and a boost of 20 percent in airtime usage among existing customers. Iridium North America claims the highest number of Iridium subscribers worldwide. The company wouldn't release subscriber figures.

The larger Iridium corporation filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in August after it defaulted on more than $1.5 billion in loans.

Meanwhile, Iridium Chief Financial Officer Leo Mondale resigned his position, the second CFO to leave the company in five months. Mondale, an Iridium executive since 1990, became CFO in May after Roy Grant quit in March.

- - - EchoStar Edges 2.8 Million Mark - - -

Official numbers are not in yet, but EchoStar's DISH Network has put the word out that it crossed the 2.8 million subscriber mark.

The reference to 2.8 million was made in a release from the company. The milestone would put the company at close to 100,000 additions for the month of August.

DirecTV and C-Band subscriber counts also have not been released yet.

- - - INTERNATIONAL: - - -

• Canadian Company Adds 17 Channels -
  Canadian DBS company BellExpressVu added 17 new video channels to it national digital TV service Wednesday. The company reports that the new services, which will be added at no extra charge to customers, make its programming line-up the largest in Canada. The new channels include BET, The Health Network and a variety of French and Canadian networks.

• BSkyB Pays $22M For Stake of Leeds Club -
  British pay TV group BSkyB is buying more than nine percent of Leeds Sporting, the parent company of English premier league soccer club Leeds United. BSkyB plans to spend roughly $22.1 million on the purchase, according to Reuters. BSkyB, 40 percent of which is owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., tried to buy European soccer champions Manchester United earlier this year. That move was blocked by the British government.

• Hughes to Build Two Satellites For Luxembourg -
  Societe Europeenne des Satellites (SES) of Luxembourg has contracted two high-power satellites from Hughes Space and Communications International to help meet the growing demand for digital satellite services in that country. The first bird will be launched late next year and the other in early 2001.

• American, Brazilian Companies Team Up in Argentina -
  QUALCOMM and AUTOTRAC Comercio e Telecomunicacoes of Brazil have announced the formation of a joint venture to bring the OmniTRACS mobile information management system to Argentina. The system will provide two-way satellite communications, including real-time Global Positional System monitoring.

• Globecomm Wins Caribbean, Indian Contracts -
  Globecomm Systems, a supplier of satellite earth stations and networks, has been awarded two new contracts for a total of five satellite earth stations: four in the Caribbean and one in India. The contracts are valued at $1.7 million.