Special thanks to Tom Speer and the team at Satellite Guys for this tip!
Sometimes you just have to own who you are. And sometimes, little things that never made a difference to anyone else might make a difference to you. If you have a Ph.D., for example, you might correct someone when they call you Mr., Mrs., Ms., Miss, or Mx. (or whatever else is appropriate to you.) You might ask them to call you Dr. instead. This is one of those cases.
The team at Satellite Guys has obtained a copy of a letter, sent to the FCC, informing them that DIRECTV satellites are heretofore to be referred to with a “D” instead of a “T.” It’s a little change, but it’s the latest indication of how much DIRECTV wants to distance itself from the AT&T days.
Here’s the way I understand it.
Prior to 2015, DIRECTV referred to its satellites with the company name, followed by a number. For example, DIRECTV-3. (The older form, DirecTV-3, was used at one point but in 2007 the company stopped using that form.) After DIRECTV’s purchase by AT&T, all satellites were referred to internally with the letter T only, in other words, T5.
At one point, I was told by a knowledgeable source that the older satellites, that is any satellite launched prior to 2015, should still be referred to as DIRECTV-3 (and the like.) I was told that there was no way to “rename” a satellite in the FCC database. Therefore the latest satellites would be known as T15 and T16 but older ones would keep the DIRECTV name.
I don’t know if that was true then. It’s not clear whether or not you could actually rename a satellite at that time. But, it seems to be possible now. Take a look at this document courtesy of Satellite Guys:
DirecTV-satellite-renamingClick here to view full-screen or download.
This letter, which seems to come from DIRECTV-hired attorneys, is telling the FCC that regardless of what they were called before, the correct form is now “DIRECTV D10,” “DIRECTV D9S,” and so forth.
Why this matters
Let’s be honest, it doesn’t. As long as everyone agrees what a satellite is called, and the satellite is broadcasting proper information, it could be called Evelyn for all anyone cared. But it’s a principled move.
DIRECTV is still 70% owned by AT&T. That may change in the future but for now it’s true. However, AT&T does not operate the company or have any real power in how it’s run. For my money, that’s probably a good thing. The AT&T years were not good to DIRECTV. This is a cry out to the people who care about these things. It says “We’re not AT&T anything anymore. We’re our own thing.” And I, for one, congratulate them for it.
Will AT&T completely divest itself of DIRECTV?
There are so many rumors that AT&T will sell its share in DIRECTV that it seems to be taken for granted. Neither I nor any staff member of this blog will comment on that rumor. Signal Group, LLC is the parent of this blog and is also a DIRECTV dealer. So I’m really not able to comment on it at all. I’m just mentioning it because it’s out there.
For now, whatever company owns DIRECTV, they can beam with pride knowing that all their satellites once again bear their name.
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