FCC might reject Dish's "small business" discounts from last auction

[Yespage]

Yes. As far as I know.

Then that'd be incredibly stupid for the FCC to stop Dish from doing it. But it is government after all. To the highest bidder goes the spoils.

 

[RONZ]

In my area AT&T does not provide wireless phone or data services

 

[whitewolf8214]

Analysts: With new $3.3B bill, Dish Network risks credit downgrade if it borrows
Aug 18 2015, 17:06 ET | By: Jason Aycock, SA News Editor

Dish Network (DISH -0.8%) could face a credit downgrade now that it has to pony up an additional $3.3B to pay full price for wireless spectrum, Bloomberg analysts say.
The FCC denied discounts to Dish and its two small-business partners, SNR Wireless and Northstar Wireless, for the agency's AWS-3 spectrum auction held in January, meaning that the two companies need to pay full price of $13.3B even if the case is litigated.
Dish Network might fund that bill with additional paper that would add some $200M in interest costs based on a debt load of about $17B, and lead to downgrades by credit raters.
Charles Ergen, Chairman of Dish Network, is keeping options close to the vest. The company has 30 days to challenge the FCC or pay the bill -- or it could abandon the airwaves it won, after paying a 15% penalty. On the other hand, if it pays the full price, Dish Network is free of restrictions placed on discounted airwaves.
Sanford Bernstein's Paul de Sa figures Dish is headed to court, but researcher Tim Farrar thinks payment is coming: "I think Charlie will just pay up and not sue ... Suing the FCC is not a good outcome when he needs their help going forward."
http://seekingalpha.com/news/273501...sks-credit-downgrade-if-it-borrows#email_link

 

[MikeD-C05]

I wonder where Charlie will get the extra money to pay the full $13 billion for those spectrum assets? He is already 17 billion in debt now. Putting more debt on a company, that is steadily losing subs just about every quarter ,doesn't sound too smart to me.

 

[ChadT41]

He could invest personal investment to it, use it as a tax break, and then take a larger percentage of the company. Then sell that back for a profit, virtually becoming his own Loan officer for his company.

 

[MikeD-C05]

He could invest personal investment to it, use it as a tax break, and then take a larger percentage of the company. Then sell that back for a profit, virtually becoming his own Loan officer for his company.

Sounds like a Donald Trump move!

 

[Yespage]

I wonder where Charlie will get the extra money to pay the full $13 billion for those spectrum assets? He is already 17 billion in debt now. Putting more debt on a company, that is steadily losing subs just about every quarter ,doesn't sound too smart to me.

Taking on more debt will lower his debt rating, but on the other hand, the spectrum he holds may double in value, which is worth much more than the $3.3 billion in extra debt.

 

[dare2be]

People keep saying that ATT and Verizon also used shell companies to get the small business discount, but nowhere have I seen proof of this. We know the name of the company Dish used (name escapes me at the moment), but what were the names of the companies that ATT and Verizon used?

 

[whitewolf8214]

Dish Network gets extra time from FCC on $3B spectrum issue
Sep 17 2015, 13:20 ET | By: Jason Aycock, SA News Editor

Dish Network (NASDAQISH) is up 3.7% amid news that it's getting extra time from the FCC on the dispute over its $3B in wireless spectrum auction discounts.

The FCC had released an order denying the discounts to Dish in August. The agency is giving Dish until Oct. 1 to submit payment or a credit letter, after Dish noted "new and complex business issues" in asking for extra time.

There's been a hint of buyout chatter around the satellite broadcaster; meanwhile, Verizon's (NYSE:VZ) Lowell McAdam says they'll talk to Dish about spectrum but not buying the whole company. http://seekingalpha.com/news/278410...time-from-fcc-on-3b-spectrum-issue#email_link

 

[Tampa8]

In my area AT&T does not provide wireless phone or data services

Luzerne PA?

 

[RONZ]

Luzerne PA?

Luzerne MI

 

[whitewolf8214]

Dish Network's deadline to pay FCC $3.3B looms, sparking talk of Verizon deal http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/b...deadline-to-pay-fcc-3-3b-looms.html?ana=yahoo

Dish Network Corp. has a week left to find $3.3 billion and decide whether to pay the full tab to the Federal Communications Commission for $13.3 billion in wireless network frequencies Dish won at auction.There's been speculation the Douglas County-based satellite TV company (Nasdaq: DISH) is trying to work a big deal, possibly with Verizon Communications Inc., by the Oct. 1 FCC deadline to help fund the spectrum purchase.Charlie Ergen, CEO and co-founder of Dish Network Corp., has hinted he might spin off some of the company's wireless frequencies so they can be leased to mobile phone carriers. speaks during a House communications and technology subcommittee hearing in Washington in 2012.Charlie Ergen, CEO and co-founder of Dish Network Corp., has hinted he might spin off… moreVerizon CEO Lowell McAdam has regularly batted away rumors in recent months that it could buy Dish the same way AT&T (NYSE: T) bought Dish's satellite TV rival, El Segundo, California-based DirecTV.McAdam has been unequivocal in public statements that Verizon isn't interested in acquiring a traditional pay-TV business like Dish.But, according to the Wall Street Journal, McAdam said at an industry conference last week that Verizon (NYSE: VZ) has been discussing other kinds of business arrangements with Dish CEO and Chairman Charlie Ergen."We've had discussions about how we could provide him megabytes and he could pay for it in spectrum," McAdam told the Journal.

 

[DishSubLA]

Sling was a good acquisition and Hughes seems to be doing well at Echostar. AT&T and Verizon have played this auction game before. But the FCC never stepped on their feet. I don't think they (the FCC) really want competition in wireless.

Correct about AT&T and Verizon having done the same thing with equal "lipstick on a pig" companies to qualify for the discount, and considering who the Chairman of the FCC is, you hit it right on the head!

 

[whitewolf8214]

WSJ: Dish affiliates returning some auctioned wireless spectrum
Oct 1 2015, 17:13 ET | By: Jason Aycock, SA News Editor
Dish Network (NASDAQISH) affiliates are surrendering some wireless spectrum back to the government after their application for $3.3B in small-business discounts was denied, The Wall Street Journal reports.Today was the deadline for a letter of credit arranging for the $3.3B payment due. The designated entities -- Northstar Wireless and SNR Wireless -- will pay a penalty (reportedly about $413M) after defaulting on about 200 licenses.Dish affiliates had taken nearly half of the licenses sold in January's AWS-3 FCC spectrum auction, but the $13.3B in bids had incorporated a $3.3B discount that they had applied for. That was denied when the FCC determined that Dish Network was effectively in charge.The DEs will keep about $9.8B of the licenses won at auction. The rest is set to be re-auctioned.Dish Network is down 0.8% after hours. http://seekingalpha.com/news/280847...g-some-auctioned-wireless-spectrum#email_link

 

[Yespage]

How can you default if after winning the bid, the winning bid is jacked up by the auction host?

 

[rad]

I wonder who's really going to be paying this $413M penalty? Will it be Northstar, SNR or Charlie that has to pony up the $'s?

 

[ChadT41]

How can you default if after winning the bid, the winning bid is jacked up by the auction host?

The same way you can change the rules and charge more than you said you would charge for the winning bid...

 

[whitewolf8214]

Analyst: Dish spectrum surrender keeps Verizon options open
Oct 2 2015, 13:34 ET | By: Jason Aycock, SA News Editor
Despite earlier thoughts that Dish Network's (DISH -0.7%) Charlie Ergen would sue or pay up over the denied $3.3B small-business discounts in the FCC spectrum auction, the company and affiliates decided to surrender spectrum for re-auction.That might mean a deal with Verizon (VZ -0.4%) isn't dead, though, Jefferies analyst Mike McCormack notes, as the surrendered blocks are closer to spectrum owned by AT&T and T-Mobile, whereas "It is possible that the selected licenses were chosen in such a fashion as to not impact a potential future sale of the portfolio to Verizon."After meeting with Verizon execs this week, he heard again that the company isn't interested in an outright acquisition of Dish. "Verizon would be open to a transaction for the spectrum, but not at any cost," he writes. "(Verizon CFO Fran Shammo) pointed out that a wholesale spectrum lease model would be a very complex transaction and that Verizon would prefer a transaction that offered perpetual benefits."The surrendered airwaves are likely to be re-auctioned in the broadcast incentive auction set for March 29, and Dish will be eligible to re-bid for them. http://seekingalpha.com/news/281033...rrender-keeps-verizon-options-open#email_link

 

[whitewolf8214]

DISH Surrenders Few Spectrum Licenses on Discount Denial http://finance.yahoo.com/news/dish-surrenders-few-spectrum-licenses-161004866.html

Ever since DISH Network Corp. DISH failed to avail the $3.3 billion discount in the AWS-3 spectrum auction, the market.Yesterday, DISH's affiliates – Northstar Wireless and SNR Wireless – gave up 197 spectrum licenses worth $3.3 billion to the FCC as they were denied the discount. Moreover, the affiliates had to pay a penalty of $413 million to the FCC for failing to make the payment within the stipulated period.We remind investors that in Jan 2015, FCC concluded this AWS-3 spectrum auction which registered a record-breaking bid value of $44.89 billion. Notably, AT&T Inc. T emerged as the top bidder, spending $18.2 billion followed by DISH's $13.3 billion, Verizon CommunicationsInc.'s VZ $10.4 billion and T-Mobile US Inc.'s TMUS $1.8 billion.Thus, DISH secured 702 licenses by winning 25 MHz of AWS-3 spectrum, including 13 MHz of paired spectrum. Interestingly, the company had participated in the auction via three designated entities (DE) – American AWS-3 Wireless, Northstar Wireless and SNR Wireless.Immediately after the FCC declared the name of the auction winners on Feb 2, 2015, DISH claimed a 25% discount on the total value of the bid, under FCC's "DE" program. This implied that DISH would have to pay just around $10 billion to acquire all the licenses that it has won.However, in Aug 2015, the FCC unanimously voted against DISH's claim of a $3.3 billion discount. This was undoubtedly a major setback for the company.Meanwhile, the 197 licenses surrendered will be put up for sale post the FCC's broadcast airwaves auction scheduled for early 2016. Moreover, if the total bids in the re-auction fall below $3.3 billion, DISH and its affiliates will have to compensate for the difference.

 

[whitewolf8214]

Deutsche Bank launches Dish at Buy on spectrum risk/reward profile
Oct 8 2015, 11:39 ET | By: Jason Aycock, SA News Editor
Dish Network (NASDAQISH) is up 0.8% after a bullish launch from Deutsche Bank, which initiated the stock at Buy.It's got a $92 price target; shares closed yesterday at $61.04, a 50%-plus implied upside.The outlook looks good for an "enviable" mid-band spectrum stash that analyst Bryan Kraft says has at least three potential buyers or lessees in Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile."While the ultimate path to monetization isn't entirely clear, we find the risk/reward compelling with a current market-implied valuation of $1.42 per MHz*POP," Kraft writes. "We ascribe $44B (after-tax) to the value of DISH's spectrum portfolio ($2.47 per MHz*POP pre-tax), and we see potential upside if the spectrum is monetized tax efficiently, or DISH secures a higher per MHz*POP value due to the asymmetric (downlink/uplink) proportions of its spectrum licenses."Earlier this week, J.P. Morgan lowered its price target on Dish to $85, from $87, while maintaining an Overweight rating. http://seekingalpha.com/news/281910...uy-on-spectrum-risk-reward-profile#email_link