Bloomberg Businessweek: Dish Asks Regulators to Reject AT&T Call for Rapid Network Build

[Mojo Jojo]

From
Dish Asks Regulators to Reject AT&T Call for Rapid Network Build - Businessweek

:

Dish Asks Regulators to Reject AT&T Call for Rapid Network Build

February 03, 2012, 3:23 PM EST

By Todd Shields



Feb. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Dish Network Corp. asked U.S. regulators to reject AT&T Inc.’s call to require the rapid construction of a wireless phone network on airwaves that Dish seeks to acquire.
Dish, the second-largest U.S. satellite-television provider, plans a nationwide high-speed network on spectrum acquired from DBSD North America Inc. and TerreStar Networks Inc. The deal needs clearance from the Federal Communications Commission.



AT&T in a Jan. 26 filing asked the FCC to require a fast- track buildout by Englewood, Colorado-based Dish, saying airwaves must be put to use promptly to cope with rising demand from wireless devices such as smartphones and tablet computers. Dallas-based AT&T, the second-largest U.S. wireless carrier, proposed a requirement of network coverage for 100 million people within 33 months.
“The overly aggressive and unrealistic schedule AT&T advocates would likely set Dish up for failure or force Dish into unfavorable business arrangements” with large carriers, Jeffrey Blum, Dish senior vice president, said in a filing posted today on the FCC website.



Analysts, including Stifel Nicolaus & Co.’s Christopher King, have said that Dish may be an acquisition target for AT&T, which is under pressure to add capacity to accommodate network traffic growth and keep up with Verizon Wireless. In December, AT&T abandoned its $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile USA Inc. in the face of regulators’ opposition, withdrawing from a deal that would have given it more airwaves.
Dish should be allowed to wait for equipment that meets an advanced standard, and building now would “waste precious resources that are better spent developing a next-generation network,” Blum wrote in the filing dated yesterday.



--with assistance by Scott Moritz in New York. Editors: Michael Shepard, Steve Walsh



To contact the reporter on this story: Todd Shields in Washington at tshields3@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Shepard at mshepard7@bloomberg.net

[nelson61]

They have bigger problems than buildout.
The spectrum is licensed for satellite mobile service only. If they don't get their requested terrestial variance, they can kiss most of their upfront money already spent goodby.

[nelson61]

The lightsquare rejection is good news for Dish. Takes a bunch of spectrum off the market and adds FCC pressure to grant Dish variance for terrestial use.


LightSquared Blow Leaves Falcone Few Options to Salvage Value From Assets - Bloomberg

"In addition to the dominant wireless carriers, benefactors from LightSquared’s rejection could include
Dish Network Corp. (DISH)


, which is also seeking approval for its wireless spectrum and whose airwaves don’t have “any of the same kind of issues” as LightSquared, Piecyk said. Dish, the second-largest U.S. satellite-television provider, acquired airwaves from the bankruptcies of satellite companies DBSD North America Inc. and TerreStar Networks Inc. Dish is seeking a waiver to convert the airwaves to mobile-phone spectrum"