US telco T-Mobile has called on the FCC to stop local DTH firm Dish Network and its designated entities (DEs) SNR and Northstar from bidding in the AWS spectrum re-auction.
US telco T-Mobile (NASDAQ:TMUS) has called on the FCC to stop local DTH firm Dish Network (NASDAQ:DISH) and its designated entities (DEs) SNR and Northstar from bidding in the AWS spectrum re-auction.
The DEs recently surrendered US$3.5bn worth of spectrum licences that they won on behalf of Dish in the original auction earlier this year, after the regulator said they did not qualify for small business discounts because of their ties to the satellite broadcaster.
They had bought US$13.3bn worth of the licences in total – almost half of all those sold – and are keeping the rest of them.
Those being surrendered will become part of next year’s incentive auction of 600 MHz frequencies.
As well as preventing them from trying to buy the AWS spectrum again, T-Mobile said the FCC should force them to make a 50% greater upfront payment if they wish to take part in the upcoming incentive auction.
“[Dish] and entities that the Commission found it controlled (the “Dish DEs”) abused the competitive bidding process and now the Commission must act to keep them from doing so again,” it said.
T-Mobile’s hard line against Dish is particularly interesting because the two have recently been involved in merger talks. Dish has insisted it played by the rules in the AWS auction. Its CEO Charlie Ergen has also said that the denial of discounts was a major blow to competition, adding that it made M&A involving his firm virtually impossible.