Dish May Cast a Wider Net

Having abandoned efforts to buy Sprint Nextel, Dish Network's next move may be to resurrect merger talks with satellite rival DirecTV or re-engage wireless carrier T-Mobile US, analysts said.

Dish earlier this year held preliminary discussions about a possible merger with the wireless phone company, which is majority owned by Deutsche Telekom, according to people familiar with the matter. Dish disclosed its decision on Sprint on June 21 in a regulatory filing, which also said the company would buy back $2.6 billion in debt that it had raised specifically to finance the Sprint bid.