Basic rates for the DISH Network satellite TV service will increase $2 a month beginning Feb. 1, parent company EchoStar Communications Corp. said Thursday. EchoStar said the average Dish Network
subscriber pays more than $50 a month, which translates into a less than 4% increase over current rates. EchoStar blamed rising programming costs and new basic channels for the increase. The price of
one of its programming packages, America’s Top 50, is being frozen at $24.99 a month until January 2005, EchoStar said.