BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) - Charlie Ergen, the billionaire who controls Dish Network Corp., has a 10-year plan to transform the satellite TV provider into a one-stop shop for Internet access, video and voice services at home and on the go.
Ergen said that no major telecommunications company has figured out how to combine all those things in one package in the United States. Cable TV operators provide data, video and voice services in the home, but don't mimic that offering on mobile devices.
Cellphone carriers are great at mobile data and voice, but have made only small inroads providing video signals to homes.
Ergen, 59, told the Milken Institute Global Conference on Tuesday his company is trying to provide all three major services to homes and on mobile devices within 10 years.
"When we go install video in your home we can say, "No matter where you are, you can take that video with you,"' Ergen said. "You can also get your broadband and make your voice calls."
"It doesn't have to be that you drop three calls in New York City and it doesn't have to be that you get your bill and you don't understand it," he said. "We can change that."
Dish has gradually been compiling the assets that it needs to make such an all-encompassing service possible.
On the video end, it already has deals with large TV networks through Dish and bought struggling video rental chain Blockbuster out of bankruptcy in April 2011 to bolster its ties to movie studios.
In March, Dish, based in Englewood, Colo., completed its purchase of two satellite operators, DBSD North America Inc. and TerreStar Networks Inc., whose wireless licenses it hopes to use to offer broadband Internet access. Both offer satellite-based wireless services and have authority to operate ground-based services as a backup.