US satellite broadcaster Dish Network has said it will “potentially” take part in the FCC’s upcoming broadcast spectrum auction, as it considers ways to monetise the billions of dollars of airwaves it has amassed. Meanwhile, T-Mobile US has said it raised US$4bn in Q4 2015 to spend at the auction.
US satellite broadcaster Dish Network (NASDAQ:DISH) has said it will “potentially” take part in the FCC’s upcoming broadcast spectrum auction, as it considers ways to monetise the billions of dollars of airwaves it has amassed. Meanwhile, T-Mobile US (NYSE:TMUS) has said it raised US$4bn in Q4 2015 to spend at the auction.
Dish’s Charlie Ergen said in a presentation on its Q4 2015 results that it filed an application with the FCC to “potentially participate” as a bidder in the auction, set to begin on 29 March.
The DTH operator noted that it has invested more than US$5bn since 2008 to acquire certain wireless spectrum licences and related assets, noting that the licences are subject to certain interim and final build-out requirements. In addition, it has invested more than US$10bn in spectrum via subsidiaries Northstar Wireless and SNR Wireless.
Colorado-based Dish cited the auction as a potential cause for “significant” additional expenses as it considers options for the commercialisation of its wireless spectrum. Other expenses may relate to wireless testing, wireless infrastructure and research and development.
Wells Fargo analyst Marci Ryvicker said she does not think Dish will be a significant bidder, if it chooses to participate at all.
Ergen has, however, made no secret of his ambitious wireless plans, saying he hopes to build a wireless network to rival those of the major US mobile carriers.
In January, AT&T (NYSE:T) and T-Mobile US (NYSE:TMUS) submitted filings with the FCC asking it to issue a declaratory ruling stating that Dish and two of its designated entities (DEs) – namely Northstar and SNR – have defaulted on past auction payments, so should pay more to participate in the upcoming auction.
Last October, the Dish affiliates surrendered US$3.5bn of the US$13.3bn of spectrum licences they acquired at the AWS-3 auction after the FCC determined they did not qualify for DE discounts given their ties to the pay-TV provider.
Dish argued in its own filing that the wireless operators had provided no basis to treat it and the DEs as former defaulters, saying “AT&T’s filing, like that of T-Mobile, is nothing more than a transparent effort by an established wireless operator to create obstacles to limit participation in the upcoming auction for broadband spectrum that is critical for new wireless market entry”.
Meanwhile, T-Mobile CFO Braxton Carter said during a conference call on his company’s Q4 2015 results that it had raised US$4bn that quarter to fund its participation in the upcoming spectrum auction.
AT&T and Verizon are also expected to take part in the auction, while Sprint has confirmed it will sit it out. The mobile operators could go head to head with cable giant Comcast and potentially some investment and technology firms.
