AT&T and Dish Network Parting Ways in 2009

AT&T has told Dish Network that, at the end of 2008, it's ending their agreement to sell combined TV, phone, and Internet services.

AT&T and Dish Network have had a deal since mid-23003 to sell a “triple-play” package of satellite television, telephone, and Internet service in a combined offering. However, the company has informed Dish Network that, as of the end of it year, it is terminating their agreement to sell satellite TV service offerings along with phone and Internet service. The news came in the form of a six-month notice that AT&T won’t renew the deal.

The Dish Network/AT&T triple play packages have been particularly effective in regions without widespread broadband or cable television penetration. When AT&T acquired BellSouth in 2006, it expanded its partnership with Dish into those service areas; BellSouth had just dropped a similar bundling deal with Dish Network competitor DirecTV.

AT&T says it remains open to discussions with Dish Networks about a long-term bundling deal, but it now appears the company is looking to get the best deal it can from either Dish Network or DirecTV, which is the nation’s largest satellite TV operator.

Although AT&T continues to develop and deploy its high-speed Internet and video service Uverse, it still needs partnerships with video providers like DirecTV and/or Dish Network to compete with cable operators in areas Uverse doesn’t reach. And, right now, that’s the vast majority of the United States. The build-out of AT&T’s Uverse network isn’t expected to completed for several years.