Dish Network co-founder and chairman Charlie Ergen underscored the organization’s commitment to building a 5G wireless network on the present Q4 2020 earnings call. He restated the goal to bring 5G online in its first significant cities before the finish of Q3 2021 — that is the period running from July through September — and was bullish on Dish’s ability to support the US’s somewhat dismal global position in terms of wireless network offerings.
Ergen went through a few minutes on the present call recapping what the organization has done as such far in its network-building effort. With its securing of Boost Mobile a year ago, it’s as of now offering prepaid service as a MVNO on T-Mobile’s network, yet it has additionally been aggregating its own spectrum to take the action to a full-fledged carrier. That is a decent sign for wireless competition in the US; with Sprint no longer accessible as a choice, Dish is situated to step up as a fourth significant carrier option. What’s more, it sort of needs to satisfy the conditions of the T-Mobile-Sprint consolidation.
Keeping that in mind, Dish made low-, mid-, and high-band spectrum buys a year ago, and it’s assessed to have spent $2 billion in the new C-band auction. With access to these various types of spectrum, Dish has the bits of the so-called 5G “layer cake” that will assist it with building up service with wide coverage.
“This isn’t our first rodeo,” Ergen said, stressing his confidence in the company’s ability to execute, despite the considerable risks. He didn’t stop there either; Ergen believes Dish can “help the United States actually start leading again in wireless.”
Possibly he’s correct. There’s a major challenge in front of Dish, however, the organization doesn’t confront one of the difficulties tormenting the significant carriers at this moment: keeping 4G information streaming while at the same time adding 5G. This has led Verizon and AT&T, specifically, to go to a technology called Dynamic Spectrum Sharing, or DSS, with poor results. Tragically, the bar is very low right now for US networks, which may assist Dish with getting a running beginning.
