Dean Olmstead, President, EchoStar Satellite Services

Dean Olmstead is well known in satellite circles, building a career in high-profile positions at companies such as SES Americom and Loral Space & Communications.

So it makes sense that when EchoStar CEO Charlie Ergen, another star in the industry, was looking for someone to run EchoStar’s satellite services unit, Olmstead would be at the top of the list.

Olmstead joined EchoStar in January, shortly after Ergen split the satellite services operations from EchoStar’s more well-known direct-to-home (DTH) operations. EchoStar Corp. includes certain satellites, uplink and satellite transmission assets and the digital set-top box business formerly held by EchoStar Communications.

Olmstead most recently worked as an advisor to Loral Space and Communications as well as serving as president of Arrowhead Global Solutions. However, the lure of working alongside Ergen proved too strong to turn down. Olmstead says it is "tremendous" to work with one of the satellite industry’s most enigmatic characters.

As president of EchoStar Satellite Services, Olmstead’s challenge is to "build a viable business" using EchoStar satellites, digital broadcast centers and fiber-optic capacity to serve multiple markets

Olmstead discusses the challenge ahead, working with Ergen and how he will create a strong business for EchoStar in the satellite sector.

VIA SATELLITE: What is EchoStar’s role in the satellite industry?

OLMSTEAD: EchoStar Satellite Services is the oldest "new" satellite company on the block. We have eight satellites in orbit presently. Five of those are DTH satellites or operating in the BSS (broadcast satellite services) spectrum. Three of those are in the FSS (fixed satellite services) spectrum. In addition, we have one satellite on the ground in the mobile satellite S-band spectrum. We have investments in two mobile satellite companies, Tu Media and TerreStar. We are a little bit different than the other satellite operators: I like to say we are the first satellite triple play. We have FSS, BSS and [mobile satellite services].

VIA SATELLITE: What are the major targets for EchoStar Satellite Services? How do you see the opportunities to generate revenues from the broadcast market?

OLMSTEAD: One of the segments we will tackle is the broadcast segment. We bring 27 years of heritage of providing video services. We are going to concentrate on video and video-related services. As we think about all of the segments, we think about how we can exploit our video background, and then particularly, we have targeted looking at how to bring together the BSS and FSS into a single antenna to provide a new class of services.

So while our job is to build non-Dish Network business, we also want to exploit that Dish Network relationship. To do so, we have created a new type of service we call FSS Sidecar, which refers to an FSS installation placed alongside the standard Dish LNBs (low noise block downconverters). The Sidecar enables video content providers who want to reach a very specialized audience to put their signal up on the FSS while also reaching Dish subscribers. We believe this will deliver a new class of attractive residential video services.