- - - Pressure On DISH Over Launch - - -

A lot is at stake for EchoStar and its launch of a fifth satellite later this week.

EchoStar 5 will launch from Cape Canaveral, Fla., early Friday morning. The launch window opens at around 1:15 a.m. Eastern Time.

The satellite will allow the company to deliver its expanded "DISH 500" service. The bird also will provide HDTV, expanded Dolby Digital surround sound, Internet and interactive data services.

Wall Street is closely watching Friday's launch and another flight scheduled for later in the year that will carry EchoStar 6. "It's critical that at least one of the two pending launches be successful,"William Kidd of C.E. Unterberg, Towbin said. "If one of two pending launches were to fail, we believe the company would have to moderately curtail some planned offerings."

Kidd said the market "is well aware of the company's new service plans, which hinge on having greater in-orbit capacity. Having said that, an EchoStar 5 failure would put tremendous pressure on EchoStar 6 since there isn't a backup satellite on order."

The vehicle that will carry EchoStar 5 into orbit, Lockheed Martin's Atlas 2AS, has an excellent flight history, achieving a 100 percent success rate on 41 launches. But the rocket program has been grounded due to past problems other companies have experienced with the upperstage.

The Atlas' upper stage Centaur uses an engine similar to one used by Boeing on its Delta 3 rockets. A May Delta 3 failure was linked to problems with the upper-stage engine, built by Pratt & Whitney.

The Atlas rocket was cleared for launch last week.

- - - Japanese Company Vies To Help Iridium - - -

The Japanese company DDI, one of Iridium's largest investors next to Motorola, reports that it is prepared to inject more funds into the troubled satellite telephone company provided Iridium substantially alters its business plan.

Lower than expected subscriber rates, hardware problems, marketing mishaps, and defaulting on $1.6 billion in loans lead Iridium to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last month. Company executives report that they are feverishly working on a restructuring plan.

"There will be a need to invest more in Iridium," DDI president Yusai Okuyama said Tuesday. "We believe there will be a request to existing shareholders to put up another $400 million to $500 million."

Analysts report that Okuyama's statements highlight DDI's continuing belief that Iridium is a viable business. DDI, Japan's third largest telecommunications company, has already acquired an 11 percent stake in the company for roughly $210 million, along with additional investments in Nippon Iridium, the company's Japanese subsidiary.

- - - FCC May Relax Wireless License Rules - - -

Federal regulators are considering relaxing the limits on ownership of wireless telephone licenses to help cellular carriers roll out new Internet and data services, industry officials said recently.

The Federal Communications Commission is expected to consider as early as a Sept. 15 meeting a staff proposal to relax limits on the amount of wireless airspace a company may own in a single market, according to Reuters.

Under current limits, a company cannot own more than one of the five high-capacity wireless licenses in each market. That has left some of the most popular carriers overwhelmed in big cities and unsure how to start offering new high-speed Internet services that are incompatible with today's phones.

If adopted by a majority of the agency's five commissioners, the plan would immediately allow a carrier to own two high-capacity licenses, or up to 55 megahertz of the airwaves, in smaller and rural markets.

- - - Globalstar Names New President - - -

Globalstar Telecommunications, the satellite telephone company set to initiate service before the end of the year, has officially named a new president.

The appointee, Anthony Navarra, has served as Globalstar's acting chief operating officer since March. He took over that position after Globalstar's former president, Douglas Dwyre, retired. Dwyre remains on the company's board of directors.

Loral Space & Communications is Globalstar's largest equity owner. Stock in the sat-phone company closed up $0.44 Tuesday at $26.31.

- - - COMPETITIVE WATCH: - - -

• Australian Antitrust Agency Opens Cable TV Access -
  The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has told owners of local cable pay-television networks it will unlock their industry by allowing other companies to use their networks, according to the Dow Jones News Service. Officials said they are sticking with a preliminary decision made in June that will help companies that don't own networks to access to pay TV. The country's largest cable companies have opposed thedecision.

• TVN Signs With AT&T BIS Subsidiary -
  TV Games Network (TVN), a subsidiary of TV Guide, announced Tuesday the completion of a long-term agreement with Satellite Services, the programming subsidiary of AT&T Broadband & Internet Services (AT&T BIS). The agreement outlines the terms for carrying TVG, a live horse racing and interactive wagering network launched in July.

• Liberty, Microsoft Form European Joint Venture -
  Liberty Media and Microsoft have agreed to purchase 4.93 million shares of UnitedGlobalCom, one of the largest global broadband communications providers of video, voice and data services with operations in more than 20 countries. The total purchase price is roughly $493 million, payable in cash. As part of the transaction, Liberty and Microsoft, along with United Pan-Europe Communications, will form a joint venture to pursue content and distribution opportunities.