Echostar Communications Corp. will launch local high-definition (HD) TV channels in seven more cities, the company announced March 6. The addition of Albuquerque, Atlanta, Boston, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City and Washington, D.C. will increase the total number of cities that can receive local HD programming on the Dish Network to 12. Echostar plans to expand its local HD services to cover more than 50 percent of U.S. TV households by the end of 2006, the company said.