EchoStar Satellite Services, a division of EchoStar Corp., announced Wednesday that it has signed KPU Telecommunications, which serves 14,000 residents in Ketchikan, Alaska, to its ViP-TV service under EchoStar's IP-Prime Conversion Program.
EchoStar Satellite Services announced in March, it would provide video transport services to telcos left stranded by SES Americom,which announced it will discontinue its IP-PRIME service to headend facilities by July 31.
EchoStar’s IP-Prime Conversion Program provides qualified customers with EchoStar’s ViP-TV transport service, replacement IDC satellite receivers and a standard professional installation, including compatible LNBs, a satellite dish re-point, cabling and connectors.
KPU Telecommunications offers residents ultra high-speed broadband, TV and Internet phone services, and will be nearly 50 percent complete with its city-wide buildout of fiber to the home at the end of this summer's construction season. With the addition from EchoStar, Ketchikan will offer a total of 58 HD channels along with a suite of more than 140 standard definition TV channels.
