DISH Launches OnTech Home Service Unit

Dish Launches OnTech Home Service Unit

Most of us think of Dish Network as a satellite TV and internet provider. A few of us know it as the parent company of Sling TV, a semi-independent internet video streaming platform. Almost nobody, though, thinks of it as a general home service provider.

DISH seeks to alter this impression. The satellite system operator wants you to think of it as your source for a wide variety of home services, including some that have little or no connection with its own core video platforms.

Dish Branches Out

With this in mind, Dish announced the formation of OnTech Smart Services on June 17. OnTech is a direct-to-consumer division for installation, configuration, and maintenance of home automation, security, and audio products. OnTech will handle the most popular smart electronics and appliance brands. Among others, these will include Google Nest, Klipsch Audio, Linksys, Ring, WeMo, and Yale.

For most home service calls, OnTech will charge a flat fee of $99.00. For this fee, OnTech’s technicians will assist with wiring, mounting TV sets, navigating menus, and trouble-shooting. A few services, such as set up of mesh WiFi networks, will cost extra.

What’s Different?

Of course, DISH has provided installation and repair services for decades. But these were only for customers of its own video and internet products, and DISH technicians repaired or serviced only its own branded video and web equipment. OnTech is more like Best Guy’s Geek Squad. Now, for the first time, DISH doesn’t confine its services to its own subscribers or its own house brands. Jeremy McCarty, the VP of OnTech Smart Services, said: “We’ve been offering these services to DISH customers for several years now. This is about bringing those services to everyone.”

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