Dish Network is leading the race to scoop up the assets the Justice Department says Sprint and T-Mobile must divest to save their $26 billion merger
Dish Network Corp. Chairman Charlie Ergen. Photo: Andrew Kelly/Reuters By Drew FitzGerald, Sarah Krouse and Brent Kendall Updated June 14, 2019 5:54 p.m. ET Dish Network Corp. is leading the race to scoop up assets that the Justice Department says Sprint Corp. and T-Mobile US Inc. must sell to save their $26 billion merger, according to people familiar with the matter.
Justice Department officials want the buyer to keep together assets it purchases, people familiar with the matter said. Dish, meanwhile, has amassed vast amounts of wireless spectrum over the years that it needs to put to use or risk losing its licenses. New Street Research analysts estimate at least $35 billion of spectrum is at risk.
Now T-Mobile has agreed to buy Sprint, the U.S. wireless industry is about to be dominated by three major players. But how did we go from the days of one giant landline monopoly to four competitive cell companies? Illustration: Shaumbe Wright/WSJ Mr. Ergen spent the better part of a decade in pursuit of other telecom companies, joining talks to acquire MetroPCS, Clearwire and DirecTV, among other firms.
“He’s screwed it up for himself in the past by overplaying his hand,” Mr. Chaplin said, though he described Mr. Ergen as “exceptionally bright and perfectly capable of extracting a good deal for himself.” Dish doesn’t offer cellphone service and doesn’t directly compete with either wireless carrier. The company is building a bare-bones 5G network using spectrum it has amassed at auctions over the past decade.
That strategy has put Dish in the crosshairs of FCC officials, who are concerned that Mr. Ergen is squatting on valuable airwaves. The agency last year warned the company that it could take away some of its licenses unless it can credibly demonstrate it expects to use them to serve customers.
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