Number 2 satellite television provider, Dish Network, has launched a surprising bid to merge with Sprint in a deal valued at $25.5 billion dollars. The deal would leave Dish shareholders in control of the resulting company.

What is interesting is that the match of Dish and Sprint could provide some interesting technology combinations that could use Sprint’s high-speed Internet capacity to deliver programming over IP to Dish’s receivers. In addition, it could allow Dish customers to access Sprint’s high-speed wireless Internet delivered to an antenna installed on the customer’s roof.

Dish has been looking to extend into wireless for quite some time. It has purchased spectrum and also attempted to purchase Clearwire. The real question is if Dish could get the Sprint deal approved. Experts seem to think that the deal might be a bit easier to complete than some might think. The resulting company could offer a number of new innovative potential product combinations that offer value to consumers.