Satellite TV Providers in the U.S.
Other than Dish
Network and Directv®, there are a number of smaller
satellite tv providers that are available in the United States. These
include Glorystar, Sky Angel, GlobeCast World TV, Home2US, AlphaStar,
PrimeStar and Voom. Some of them are still available while others
have become defunct due to the overwhelming competition that comes
from Dish
Network and Directv®. Below you will find a brief description
of the smaller satellite TV providers in the United States and abroad.
Glorystar
A supplier of satellite TV equipment
and systems, GloryStar has a focus toward the Christian broadcast
ministries. Their satellite TV systems are configured so that they
can receive broadcasters of Christian programming from the Ku-band
satellites known as Intelsat Americas 5 and AMC-4. GloryStar is operated
by Satellite AV, LLC. Their claim to fame is that they developed a
single fixed dish solution that can be used for reception of the IA-5
and AMC-4 satellites simultaneously.
Sky Angel
Sky Angel is a satellite TV and radio
service that offers multiple channel. Their specialty is programming
that is Christian based and appropriate for the whole family. They
are owned by Dominion Video Satellite Inc. which is based in Naples,
Florida.
GlobeCast World TV
GlobeCast World TV is a division of
France Telecom. They provide free-to-air and Nagravision-encrypted
ethnic television as well as audio channels over the Intelsat Americas
5 orbital satellite.
Home2US
Home2US Communications, Inc. offers
satellite broadcasting services on both the AMC-4 and AMC-9 satellites.
Their focus is on for ethnic viewers from the United States. They
are a SatCom organization with headquarters in Virginia and they were
launched in 2003.
AlphaStar
AlphaStar was a satellite TV broadcasting
company who's subscriber base was located in the United States but
was developed by a Canadian firm called Tee-Comm Electronics. They
were the first satellite TV company in the United States to use the
DVB-S broadcasting standard with a 39 inch satellite dish. They launched
in 1996 but completely ceased operations in September of 1997.
PrimeStar
PrimeStar was the first digitally
broadcast satellite TV system in the US when they started operations
in 1991 but in 1994 Directv® took over their position. They are
now defunct. However, Directv® continues to thrive.
Voom
Voom is another discontinued satellite
TV service. When they were operational, they were in direct competition
with Directv® and Dish Network. They competed by advertising that
their service had more high-definition channels available than Directv®
or Dish Network.
