The chairman of US satellite TV provider Dish Network has said it is likely it will partner with a wireless operator to build-out the close to US$3bn of 40MHz spectrum it bought last year.
In December 2011 the CEO said it could merge its spectrum…
The chairman of US satellite TV provider Dish Network has said it is likely it will partner with a wireless operator to build-out the close to US$3bn of 40MHz spectrum it bought last year.
In December 2011 the CEO said it could merge its spectrum assets with either T-Mobile USA, Sprint Nextel or Clearwire to create a stronger competitor to AT&T and Verizon. It has also said it could acquire an operator.
The Denver Business Journal reported that chairman Charlie Ergen has said that because Dish is still waiting for approval to utilise the spectrum, it has become riskier for the company to build a network alone.
Ergen did not say what the partnership would look like, but listed tower sharing or an all-out merger as options to consider.
Dish bought US$3bn of spectrum in 2011 by buying bankrupt satellite companies but is still waiting for regulatory approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
In an earnings call on 8 August CEO Joseph Clayton said: “We continue to work with the FCC on the AWS-4 rulemaking process, and we expect a favourable resolution in the next few months.”
Ergen said the lack of a resolution from the FCC has handcuffed Dish and allowed rivals AT&T and Verizon to steal a march on deploying spectrum. It would take more than three years for Dish to build its own wireless network.
