DirecTV is still considering ways of offering 15m satellite television customers high-speed internet access, but whether such services are essential and whether technology needs to be owned or leased are"open questions", said Greg Maffei, chief executive of Liberty Media.

Liberty, controlled by cable industry pioneer John Malone, in December agreed to buy a 38 per cent stakein DirecTV in exchangefor its 19 per cent voting stake in News Corp, the media group controlled by Rupert Murdoch.