EchoStar Satellite Services, a division of EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ: SATS), has an agreement to deliver its ViP-TV™ video transport service to Ringgold Telephone Company (RTC), a provider of converged communications to more than 11,000 access lines in northern Georgia — Ringgold will receive transport of up to 42 popular HDTV channels to its IP headend.

RTC provides digital interactive video service NexTV® to its subscribers along with telephone and Internet access, all via a broadband connection. The ViP-TV delivered IP channels will be available immediately to RTC subscribers. With the additions, RTC now offers a total of 48 HD channels. EchoStar’s ViP-TV transport service is capable of delivering a secure, MPEG-4 encoded IP stream of approximately 275 popular, broadcast-quality TV and music channels from a satellite located at 85 degrees West. ViP-TV can also provide satellite-delivered local TV channel aggregation in a telco’s designated market area in HD and SD (where available).