Dish Network is looking to use its recently acquired broadband spectrum to transform itself into a 4G wireless network provider. The Texas-based satellite broadcaster asked the Federal Communications Commission on Monday to allow it to build out a hybrid satellite-terrestrial LTE network that will enable the company to deliver bundled TV and broadband services.
Many analysts consider Dish Network to be at a disadvantage in the content delivery space because, unlike many cable companies, it can only provide a singular service. Meanwhile, competitors like Comcast and Time Warner are attracting consumers with triple play packages that bundle TV, Internet and home phone services at a discounted rate.
This inequity is why no one was surprised when Dish Network went out earlier this year and acquired fellow satellite provider DBSD North America and bankrupt telecommunications firm TerreStar Networks, which was sitting on roughly 20 megahertz of wireless spectrum.
Dish Network will now look to use those spectrum assets to improve its delivery model as well as compete with carriers like AT&T, Verizon and Virginia-based wireless startup LightSquared, which received approval for a similar deal from the FCC in January, but has since been told that it can't launch the network in its current form.
The FCC put the brakes on the LightSquared launch after government tests revealed that the proposed network would interfere with GPS receivers used by the Coast Guard, NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration, among other organizations.
LightSquared has since proposed to fix the network by using a lower spectrum band from satellite firm Inmarsat, but critics aren't buying it.
Dish Network owns a different band of spectrum than LightSquared, meaning it most likely won't need to concern itself with GPS interference, Tim Farrar, analyst at research firm TMF Associates Inc., told the Wall Street Journal.
"Dish is now in a perfect position to replace LightSquared as the FCC's favored option for providing additional wireless competition," he added.
In its filing, Dish said that is will develop a "reasonable, attainable buildout schedule" for the network, which should be available for commercial devices by 2014.
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Beecher Tuttle is a MobilityTechzone contributor. He has extensive experience writing and editing for print publications and online news websites. He has specialized in a variety of industries, including health care technology, politics and education. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.
Edited by Rich Steeves
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