Now that AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) has agreed to acquire satellite TV provider DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV) for around $49 billion, the nation’s other large satellite service, Dish Network Corp. (NASDAQ: DISH), needs to find a partner or risk being marginalized to the point of extinction. We noted some of the possibilities, including the company being acquired by Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ). But Verizon’s CEO said Tuesday morning that such an acquisition is “somebody’s fantasy.”

Fiercewireless.com reports that Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam told the J.P. Morgan Global Technology, Media and Telecom Conference that there had been no discussions between Verizon and Dish and that no discussions were happening now. He also said that Dish has “some interesting assets” and that there are things that the two companies could collaborate on. But, he said:

I don’t feel that owning a satellite company is something I find intriguing.

What McAdam means is that he does not think satellite TV is where the action is and he is happy to see AT&T spend its money on a dead technology. After all, he just spent $130 billion to buy the 45% of Verizon Wireless his company did not already own, and Verizon’s bet is on mobile and over-the-top streaming, not ancient technology like satellite.

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Dish may be in real trouble. It claims 14.1 million pay-TV subscribers, compared with about 20 million at DirecTV, but like every other pay-TV provider, cable or satellite, subscriber numbers are falling. Dish tried to take a run at the wireless market with an offer for Sprint Corp. (NYSE: S), but it couldn’t play in the same league as Softbank. The satellite company does own a fair amount of wireless spectrum, but its spectrum holdings have yet to be monetized and it is not clear if Dish can pull it off.

Dish needs a partner, and with AT&T and Verizon out of the picture, that leaves just Sprint and T-Mobile US Inc. (NYSE: TMUS). Sprint may be readying an offer for T-Mobile, and if an offer is made and accepted then Dish is out in the cold again. If no offer is forthcoming, T-Mobile’s parent, Deutsche Telekom, will likely have asked for a price Sprint was unwilling to pay and that Dish probably will not want or be able to pay either. But Dish may have no choice.

Shares were down about 3% in late morning trading Tuesday, at $57.57 in a 52-week range of $37.30 to $64.52.

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