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To: Goodboy who wrote (804)	5/13/1998 8:27:00 PM
From: P.M.Freedman	Respond to of 1394

The blocking of MCI-PrimeStar deal may only benefit DISH for a short term. DISH really needs to get more subscribers. It will be very tough to get subscribers who live in cities because of the readily available cableTV. MSFT's investments were the real reason to make TCI up. MSFT's WebTV that combines TV and internet together will draw more subscribers for cable TV. DISH needs a partner like MSFT who has deep pocket. So far, DISH have to rely on continuously issuing convertible bonds to get cash. This will keep investors away. Does anyone know who was the major underwriter for DISH's series preferred stocks?

To: Goodboy who wrote (804)	5/13/1998 10:37:00 PM
From: Noel	Respond to of 1394

I believe DISH's primary underwriter is DLJ.

To: Goodboy who wrote (804)	5/13/1998 11:02:00 PM
From: Noel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1394

Goodboy, you keep dusting off Primestar propaganda from 1996. Forget about Mexico. John Malone floated that in 1996 after he backed off on the auction for the 110 slot. The gist of the deal was that Tempo would take their satellite that was then under construction for 110 and give it to the Mexicans in exchange for the use of 75% of the transponders to serve the US market with high power DBS. The FCC denied Primestar, saying that the move would deliberately undermine the congressionally mandated auction process, After all, somebody did end up paying $682 million for that slot! Ain't it funny the way Primestar keeps getting close to that 110 slot, only to have it yanked away from them? It kind of reminds me of Charlie Brown, Lucie, and the football... Still, I have to admire your brand loyalty. Regards, NOEL

To: Goodboy who wrote (804)	5/14/1998 1:24:00 PM
From: Fairways9	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1394

DOJ doesn't want to limit competition! They want to promote competition! I'm sure they would love more players but NOT SOMEONE WHO ALREADY HAS 90% OF THE MARKET, HAS HAD A MONOPOLY FOR YEARS AND HAS A REAL PR PROBLEM WITH THEIR CUSTOMERS (voters). That is why DOJ blocked the sale to Primestar. As far as DISH only picking up customers in rural areas without cable, my house is on a street with approximately 20 houses and 2 have DISH, 1 has DSS (me - for a few more weeks until I switch to DISH) and I guess 13 have cable. The two who have DISH have been added within the past 4 months. My point is that although cable has been offered to my neighbors for years, 3/20 have chosen DBS TV (2/20 within the past few months). These ratios are similar if not bigger to the overall ratio of DBS/cable customers nationwide. Now that DISH is almost giving the equipment away, the only concern I have is the loyalty customers have to DISH. In the past, customers who paid $200-$400 start up wouldn't think about switching service. With the start-up now essentially FREE for the basic service, customers will try it without a real commitment. If they love the product and service they will be long-term customers. If they don't DISH will have a problem. It seems that DISH is in a better position to give their equipment away than DSS because DSS's suppliers have to make a profit on the equipment where DISH can take a loss (i.e., if DSS and DISH are priced the same to the customer, DSS will lose more money because their equipment costs are higher than DISH's.) Sorry for rambling. Marc