DISH Network and UTOPIA Team Up for Video Services

SALT LAKE CITY - UTOPIA - an open-access network owned by a consortium of 16 cities in Utah - has added DISH Network to its roster of service providers. DISH will provide basic video via satellite and interactive services over UTOPIA's fiber optic network. UTOPIA currently delivers residential services from six other service providers and business services from multiple other providers. Having DISH on board - possibly the first major service provider to offer retail residential services over an open-access network in the U.S. - will provide a greater variety of television channels and viewing options for UTOPIA customers.

"We are partnering with DISH Network to provide more entertainment options to consumers through different mediums. DISH is at the forefront of recognizing that more and more people are changing the way they watch TV and that fewer of them are viewing their favorite programs on schedules determined by the content providers," says Todd Marriott, executive director of UTOPIA. "DISH Network is one of the best content delivery companies out there, and we're grateful to be doing business with them to offer content people want at a reasonable price."

Consumers signing up for DISH Network services through UTOPIA can enjoy a wide range of HD channels as well as DISH's Blockbuster Movie Pass, which offers movies, games and TV shows. Internet, phone and satellite-TV are being offered through UTOPIA's Triple Play, starting at $99 per month.

Customers will receive television services through a household satellite dish. Then, using UTOPIA's high-speed upload capabilities, they will be able to take advantage of DISH Network's many offerings that extend beyond the traditional delivery of content to their living room televisions - including (DVR) devices and TV Everywhere-type applications.

DISH Network's Sling technology works by compressing the home television signal via an Internet-connected receiver and uploading it to the Web, thus making TV programming available on consumers' mobile devices wherever they may be at any time. Because the receiver will be connected to UTOPIA's lightning-fast fiber-optic network, consumers can access all of the DISH Network offerings much more easily than if they were using a traditional copper wire infrastructure, which is limited in the speed and amount of data it can transmit.