I think the reason EchoStar (DishNetwork) has their own receivers is twofold: first they have been building
satellite receivers for decades -- the old Houston Trackers (C-Band) were built by EchoStar, so this company is no newbie to the consumer satellite world. Second, by building their own receivers they have better control over piracy. If any DVB receiver with a CAM slot and NagraVision encryption support could decode DishNetwork signals the rate of piracy would be higher than it is now. By building their own receivers EchoStar can implement proprietory technolgy unique to EchoStar hardware alone and not have to worry about "industrial espionage" when they license out their trade secrets to other manufacturers. The satellite company that probably does this best is General Instruments (now controlled by Motorola) -- they licensed their technology to
nobody and to this day their encryption method (Digicipher II) has never been compromised; at least not publically.
Just my $ 0.02 worth...
:?
kat