Price: Starting at $85.99/mo.
Channel count: 190–290+
Internet Download Speeds: 6–115 Mbps
| Channel count | Download speed up to | Introductory price* | Details |
| 240+ | 25 Mbps | $112.99/mo. | View plans |
| 190 | 6 Mbps | $85.99/mo. | View plans |
| 190+ | 6 Mbps | $95.99/mo. | View plans |
| 240+ | 25 Mbps | $105.99/mo. | View plans |
| 290+ | 115 Mbps | $132.99/mo. | View plans |
Unlike many of its competitors, DISH doesn’t have its own internet service to offer with TV—if you want to bundle internet service with DISH satellite TV, it’ll come from a third party.
And that third party is Frontier, an internet service provider that covers about 30 states in the continental US. Depending on your neck of the woods, you’ll be able to get hooked up with either blazingly fast fiber-optic internet, adequately speedy cable internet, or the “Is Pepsi OK?” of internet connections, DSL (digital subscriber line).
Spoiler: If you’re literally in a neck of the woods—a rural area with little to no internet infrastructure—DSL via copper telephone lines or satellite internet might be your only option. Enter your ZIP code into our availability map to find out.
We like this package for the numbers: over 240 channels with 25 Mbps of download speed for $112.99 a month isn’t bad for a satellite TV/broadband internet combo.
The more expensive bundles don’t add much in the way of essential channels, and the cheaper ones max out at an internet speed of just 6 measly Mbps, which we can’t in good conscience recommend to anyone.
Frontier Preferred Internet is also more likely to be available in your area, either in DSL or cable form. Frontier FiOS (fiber-optic internet) covers only small percentages of six states right now, and there are no DISH bundle options with FiOS (Frontier will instead direct you to their own FiOS TV service).
From A&E to VICELAND, the America’s Top 200 package has all of the channels we like, plus several we’ve never even heard of (like Z Living–-what?). Combined with 25 Mbps of internet speed—which can handle a small household of surfers and streamers easily—it’s a TV/internet bundle with a manageable price tag.
Also: an extra $10 a month will get you digital phone service if you’re into landlines. We aren’t, but you do you.
| Introductory price* | Channel count | Download speed up to | |
| $112.99/mo. | 240+ | 25 Mbps | View plans |
| $85.99/mo. | 190 | 6 Mbps | View plans |
| $95.99/mo. | 190+ | 6 Mbps | View plans |
| $105.99/mo. | 240+ | 25 Mbps | View plans |
| $132.99/mo. | 290+ | 115 Mbps | View plans |
*With 2-yr. agmt. on new DISH service. Actual speeds may vary. Installation, equipment fees, taxes & other fees apply. Services subject to availability and all applicable Frontier terms & conditions. Data as of 09/09/19. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
| Introductory price* | Channel count | Download speed up to | |
| $122.99/mo. | 240+ | 25 Mbps | View plans |
| $105.99/mo. | 190+ | 6 Mbps | View plans |
| $115.99/mo. | 240+ | 6 Mbps | View plans |
| $112.99/mo. | 190+ | 25 Mbps | View plans |
| $142.99/mo. | 290+ | 115 Mbps | View plans |
*With 2-yr. agmt. on new DISH service. Actual speeds may vary. Installation, equipment fees, taxes & other fees apply. Services subject to availability and all applicable Frontier terms & conditions. Data as of 09/09/19. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
Besides a slightly lower price on combined services, bundling DISH with Frontier can also get you up to three months of free premium channels and packages free (a standard new-subscriber perk from satellite and cable providers—but still nice to have).
DISH unique features
Believe it or not, there was a time when satellite and cable receivers didn’t come with a built-in DVR; you had to buy one separately and pair them up yourself (big ups to TiVo, the original add-on DVR, which turns 20 this year).
Now, every TV provider has gotten into the DVR game—but none have gone bigger than DISH’s Hopper® 3, the most powerful receiver/recorder on the market. It can record up to 16 channels simultaneously, has 2 TB (2,000 hours) of storage capacity, and can power up to six Joeys (secondary receivers) throughout a household. If that doesn’t meet your viewing needs, you might be an unknowing cyborg.
But if you don’t need all of the features of the Hopper 3—it has so many more that you might want to check out our device review—DISH also offers straight-up receivers. The Wally (yes, there’s a kangaroo theme here) is a single-channel, non-DVR HD receiver with built-in apps like Netflix and Pandora, and the Duo VIP 222k can power two TVs (but only one in HD).
For new subscribers, DISH will throw in three months of SHOWTIME, STARZ, and the DISH Movie Pack for free. But if you don’t cancel before those 90 days are up, monthly charges will kick in, so watch the calendar. (Also, if you cancel service early, expect to pay a steep early termination fee.)
DISH also offers exclusive, if minor, perks for customers aged 55+, active and veteran military personnel, and first responders. For two years, all three qualifying groups get DISH’s Stars & Stripes channel pack (nine channels, including American Heroes and Smithsonian), one free on-demand movie rental, and a Hopper upgrade with DISH Anywhere. In all, a $250 value.
It seems that satellite internet service could be paired up with satellite TV through the same rooftop dish, right? Unfortunately, it’s not that simple—it would require two separate dishes.
Viasat and HughesNet, the only satellite internet providers in the US, do offer DISH “bundles” in some parts of the country, but you’d want to sign up for them only as a last resort.
If you’re in a remote area with no internet infrastructure, not even phone lines, satellite internet would be your only option. But, even with recent technology upgrades, satellite internet is relatively slow and unstable (and yet still expensive).
Satellite internet also operates differently from satellite TV, hence the separate dish. It’s neither cheap nor convenient; we’d advise researching any other internet alternatives first.
Digital phone, such as the service offered by Frontier, is transmitted over the internet rather than traditional phone lines (even if your internet, like DSL, uses those same lines). It’s also known as VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) service.
The advantages of digital phone service include unlimited calls, fewer (if any) long-distance fees, and a huge variety of cloud-based phone options (voicemail, caller ID, call forwarding, etc.). It’s essentially phone service without the phone company.
On the downside, unlike traditional phone service, if your internet or power goes out, so does your VoIP phone. Also, not all digital phone services are connected to emergency services as standard phones are automatically.
Despite the name, DISH’s America’s Top 200 package actually features over 240 channels—not that you’ll want them all.
We’re here for the Paramount Network (gotta have that Yellowstone) and Turner Classic Movies (ditto, bonafide westerns), but Reelz? Or the Game Show Network? Filler at best.
Here are a few of our favorite channels included with our recommended DISH package, America’s Top 200:
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