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                                                                    EXHIBIT 99.1


ECHOSTAR COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION ANNOUNCES THE INCREASE AND COMPLETION OF THE
144A SENIOR NOTES OFFERING BY ECHOSTAR BROADBAND CORPORATION


    LITTLETON, Colo.--Sept. 25, 2000--EchoStar Communications Corporation
    (Nasdaq: DISH, DISHP) today announced that its wholly owned subsidiary,
    EchoStar Broadband Corporation, increased its previously announced offering
    of Senior Notes due 2007 from $600 million to $1 billion, and that the
    offering closed September 25, 2000. The notes will bear interest at an
    annual rate of 10 3/8% and will mature on October 1, 2007. The net proceeds
    of the offering are expected to be used to fund capital expenditures in
    connection with the construction, launch, and insurance of additional
    satellites or for other general corporate purposes (including potential
    strategic acquisitions).


    DISH Network is EchoStar's state-of-the-art direct broadcast satellite
    system with the capacity to offer customers 500 channels of digital video
    and CD-quality audio programming as well as fully MPEG-2/DVB compliant
    hardware and installation. DISH Network, a trademark of EchoStar
    Communications Corporation, currently serves over 4.3 million customers
    nationwide. EchoStar is included in the Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) which
    contains the largest non-financial companies on the Nasdaq Stock Market. For
    more information, contact 1-800-333-DISH (3474) or visit
    www.dishnetwork.com.

    CONTACT: EchoStar Communications Corp.
             Judianne Atencio, Director of Communications
             303/723-2010
             judianne.atencio@echostar.com