Short Take: EchoStar to extend free satellite offer

Direct-to-home satellite broadcaster EchoStar Communications, operator of the Dish Network, will extend its free satellite offer through the 1999 first calendar quarter. Under an offer initiated in October, new customers of the direct broadcast satellite (DBS) service get an 18-inch satellite for a one-year service contract. The company also will expand the offer to include two available dish models, according to spokesman Mark Lumpkin. EchoStar has 1.8 million subscribers.