SBC Rolls With DISH Network Bundle

[Gregg Lengling]

Regional phone giant SBC Communications is rolling along with its slate of bundled products, including its offering of EchoStar's DISH Network.

SBC said Wednesday that so far its DISH Network offering has generated ARPU (average revenue per subscriber) above $60, and more than 60 percent of its DISH Network installed base gets at least one premium package, whether it's HBO, Showtime or Starz. In addition, 70 percent of sales include a DVR, the San Antonio-based company said.

Also, nearly 80 percent of SBC customers are bundling the satellite TV service with other key products, such as DSL or wireless, the company said. Penetration of SBC consumer retail lines with at least one service - long distance, wireless or DISH Network - increased to 50 percent at the end of SBC's first quarter.

Wall Street analysts also highlighted SBC's enrollment of 40,000 DISH video customers. "This is despite the fact that SBC has been quite passive in marketing the product, with no TV advertising to date," said John Hill of Schwab SoundView.