Cox vs EchoStar

Spectrum Says 'Hi!' to 11+ Million Homes and Businesses Across Major Markets Including Las Vegas, New Orleans, Norfolk, Oklahoma City, Orange County, Phoenix, Providence and San Diego

The Cox Communications newsroom has been rebranded as the Charter Communications newsroom, with a new press release announcing Spectrum's expansion to 11+ million homes and businesses across major markets.

Architecture of CoxOutage.us Launched for Outage Tracking

The author launched CoxOutage.us, a site to map and track Cox Communications outages, and describes the technical and SEO architecture used to ensure instant, localized pages during sudden traffic spikes. Key infrastructure choices include aggressive caching (LiteSpeed Cache + Memcached), edge delivery via Cloudflare, hosting on InterServer, and SEO tactics such as hyper-specific URL slugs and using the Google Indexing API with Rank Math for automated indexing and schema generation. The site focuses on scaling localized landing pages and improving the automated reporting pipeline.

• CoxOutage.us was launched to map and track Cox Communications disruptions.
• The site uses LiteSpeed Cache combined with Memcached for object caching to minimize database queries during traffic spikes.
• Cloudflare is used for DNS management and edge-level caching; the site is hosted on InterServer.

Spectrum Offers Free Amazon Prime to Eligible Customers

Spectrum announced a partnership with Amazon to include a full Amazon Prime membership at no additional cost for customers who qualify for Spectrum Internet Assist, the ISP's low‑income program offering speeds up to 50 Mbps. The benefit is available to new and existing qualifying Spectrum customers (already included for legacy Spectrum accounts, with Prime inclusion coming soon for eligible legacy Cox customers). Customers activate the offer by visiting Spectrum.net/Prime and completing account setup or sign-in on Amazon's site. Spectrum highlighted Prime perks—grocery and delivery savings, Prime Video and Music, Amazon Pharmacy delivery, and Prime Day deals—and cited a retail valuation of about $14.99 per month ($139 per year). Adam Ray, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, said the initiative is intended to add value for customers and support communities.

• Spectrum partnered with Amazon to provide Amazon Prime at no extra cost for qualifying Spectrum Internet Assist customers.
• Spectrum Internet Assist is a low‑income program offering speeds up to 50 Mbps.
• The offer is available to new and existing qualifying customers; activation requires visiting Spectrum.net/Prime and completing account setup or sign-in on Amazon.

8-K Financial Filing Analysis for EchoStar (2026-08-03)

On August 2, 2026, EchoStar Corporation's subsidiary Hughes Satellite Systems Corporation (HSSC) and eleven wholly owned operating subsidiaries filed voluntary petitions for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Texas. The filing triggered automatic defaults and acceleration of obligations under HSSC's 5.25% Senior Secured Notes due 2026 and 6.625% Senior Notes due 2026, which are currently stayed under bankruptcy protections. HSSC aims to operate as a debtor-in-possession without operational interruptions. In tandem with the restructuring, HSSC appointed Robert Del Genio of FTI Consulting as Chief Restructuring Officer and named Ramesh Ramaswamy as EVP and General Manager following the resignation of Paul Gaske. Additionally, two independent directors were appointed to a newly created Special Committee tasked with evaluating related-party transactions between HSSC and EchoStar, highlighting heightened corporate governance and conflict mitigation amidst the debt reorganization.

• HSSC and 11 subsidiaries filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy petitions on August 2, 2026, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Texas (Case No. 26-90739).
• Filing triggered automatic acceleration of debt under HSSC's 5.25% Senior Secured Notes due 2026 and 6.625% Senior Notes due 2026, subject to an automatic stay.
• Appointed Robert Del Genio (FTI Consulting) as Chief Restructuring Officer and created an independent Special Committee with directors Michael C. Buenzow and Anthony R. Horton to review related-party transactions with EchoStar.

DISH Raises Prices Again, Adds $17 Locals Fee

DISH Network has raised prices on its core TV packages and added a $17 monthly fee for local broadcast channels (ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC). The new rates, effective on the next billing date unless under a price lock, increase packages like America's Top 120 to $104.99 and the Everything Pack to $154.99. The Locals Pack, previously optional, is now a required add-on for most packages. This marks another in a series of price hikes, driven by rising retransmission consent costs from broadcasters. The announcement comes as DISH DBS, an EchoStar subsidiary, recently completed its Chapter 11 restructuring, though the price changes are independent of that process.

• DISH Network increased prices on core TV packages and added a $17 monthly fee for local channels.
• America's Top 120 now costs $104.99 per month, up from previous rates.
• The Locals Pack is now a mandatory add-on for most English-language packages.

FCC to auction 25MHz of 'prime spectrum' for direct-to-device

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will vote on a proposal to auction 25 megahertz of 'prime spectrum' to support direct-to-device (D2D) services from satellites to smartphones. The agency will also consider an additional 482MHz of spectrum for supplemental coverage and modernized rules for D2D services, and eliminating an outdated restriction on drone operations in the 800 MHz Cellular band. The proposals could benefit SpaceX and Amazon, which have expanded their satellite D2D networks. Amazon recently requested approval to launch up to 5,105 internet satellites and announced its acquisition of Globalstar for over $11.5 billion. SpaceX also received approval for its direct-to-cell system using 15,000 satellites and spectrum purchased from EchoStar. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr framed the move as supporting American leadership in space and drone technologies.

• FCC will vote on auctioning 25MHz of 'prime spectrum' for direct-to-device services.
• FCC will also consider making an additional 482MHz of spectrum available for supplemental coverage.
• Amazon asked FCC to approve launching up to 5,105 internet satellites for direct-to-device connectivity.