EchoStar President Olmstead, 55, Dies

Dean Olmstead, 55, president of EchoStar Satellite Services, has died of cancer at a New Jersey hospital, according to the company.

Olmstead joined EchoStar January 2008 after the satellite services company was spun off from the Dish DBS service. "Dean will be remembered as a true legend in the satellite industry and will remain an eternal inspiration for our employees," said Mike Dugan, CEO and president of EchoStar Corp., in a statement.

Before joining EchoStar, Olmstead was an adviser with Loral Space & Communications. His resume also included stints with DirecTV in Japan, NASA and the State Department. His firsts include installing an all-digital satellite center (in Japan) and developing the first U.S. Ka-band Spot beam satellite at NASA. He was a member of the Space Technology Hall of Fame. Survivors include his wife, Mara.

The family has requested that donations be sent to the Arthur C. Clarke Foundation (Olmstead was a patron of the foundation) or the Society of Satellite Professionals International. A family service will be held in Washington State, with a memorial service in Washington DC to follow. A date has not yet been announced.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.