WNA

AT&T is moving quickly to seal a takeover deal with satellite-TV provider DirecTV, reports the WSJ, in a deal that could be worth $50 billion.

Dallas-based AT&T would likely pay a premium to DirecTV’s nearly 20 million subs.

Satellite providers DirecTV and Dish also provide satellite broadband but the capacity of their satellite transponders is limited and latency is excessive for voice or gaming.

Media consolidation is all the rage:

• AT&T’s U-verse IPTV service has nearly 5 million subscribers and DirecTV would add some 20 million additional subs.
  
• Comcast’s 22 million cable subs appears headed to adding 12 million TWC subscribers.
  

Comcast announced in February its intent to buy Time Warner Cable for $45 billion, a deal that would create a giant in the multi-channel universe.

Meanwhile, Dish Network Chairman Charlie Ergen hoped to merge with DirecTV, but openly declared last week that he can’t afford to outbid AT&T. DirecTV and Dish attempted to merge more than a decade ago, a combination that was squashed by regulators.

It begs the question; who will Dish go home with.

The suitors include:

• Verizon (which recently purchased Intel’s settop box)
  
• T-Mobile (which has nationwide AWS tower coverage for Dish’s 50 MHz of spectrum)
  
• Sprint (which has more 2.6 GHz than they can use)
  
• Google (planning fiber in dozens of cities).
  

Who better than Dish to deliver an “alternative infrastructure” for wireless — without the bloated telco legacy.

See: AT&T + DirecTV?, Comcast Buying Time Warner Cable, Ad-Sponsored WiFi Initiatives from Gowex & Facebook, Dish Wins Everything in H-Block Auction, Comcast Creates Hotspot 2.0 National Network, Google Fiber Expands to More Cities, Google Fiber Launches in Kansas City , FCC Authorizes High Power at 5.15 – 5.25 GHz, Ad-Sponsored WiFi Initiatives from Gowex & Facebook, Comcast Creates Hotspot 2.0 National Network, FCC Moves to Add 195 MHz to Unlicensed 5 GHz band, EchoStar XVII Broadband Satellite Launched, Hughes/EchoStar: Broadband Satellite Prepared for Launch, ViaSat Announces Commercial Satellite Operation,Dish Talks Up Terrestrial LTE, EchoStar Closes $2B Hughes Deal, ViaSat Buying Wild Blue, New High Capacity Satellites for North America,