DISH Network subscribers have had to listen to all of the stories about DIRECTV’s highly-anticipated HDTV expansion and wonder whether they made the wrong decision about which satellite service would provide the most high-def programming. But after EchoStar held its DISH Network Team Summit last week in Dallas, news has hit the streets that the nation’s second largest satellite company has plans of its own to make a serious high-def push in the very near future.

According to sources from the event, EchoStar CEO Charlie Ergen said that his company will be launching two new satellites sometime later this year to greatly expand its high-definition capacity. The news made its way through a handful of industry press reports and internet message boards, and eventually got picked up by The Rocky Mountain News.

At DISH’s annual dealer event, Ergen reportedly vowed that EchoStar would remain the industry’s HD leader after telling attendees the company would launch two new satellites by the end of the year. Currently, DISH Network carries 32 national high-def channels, more than any other pay-TV provider today.

As of press time, EchoStar had not responded to SkyREPORT’s requests for comment.

In other DISH news, the satcaster said that along with Canadian satellite company Bell ExpressVu and security partner NagraStar, the companies are pursuing alleged satellite pirates north of the border. According to DISH, a Superior Court of Justice in Quebec issued injunctions that allege two web sites were operating to provide consumers with instructional information on how to use piracy technology. Together, the companies have filed civil suits for $5 million against the sites highontech.com and maestro.tv.