Dish Network is selling $23 billion worth of its 5G spectrum licenses to AT&T in a deal that marks the end of Dish’s aspirations to become the fourth major wireless carrier. The sale will allow Boost Mobile, which Dish owns, to primarily operate on AT&T’s growing network.
As part of T-Mobile’s acquisition of Sprint in 2019, the Department of Justice required another company to replace it as the fourth major wireless carrier. Dish acquired Boost Mobile from Sprint for $1.4 billion and has spent billions acquiring spectrum to build its own 5G network, which covered around 80% of the US population last year.
However, Dish struggled to repay debt and eventually rejoined EchoStar, its parent company since 2008. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had criticized Dish’s slow expansion and questioned its use of spectrum. Despite this, FCC chair Brendan Carr recently stated that he was not concerned with having a fourth mobile provider in the US.
The deal will allow Boost Mobile to survive by using AT&T’s towers and T-Mobile network for connectivity. EchoStar will also become a hybrid mobile network operator, operating on its own network as well as using other companies’ infrastructure. The company plans to decommission parts of Boost Mobile’s wireless network over time.
AT&T expects the deal to strengthen its 5G offering across virtually every market in the US. The acquisition is expected to close in mid-2026 and will give EchoStar the funds to pay down debt while exploring other “strategic opportunities” for its remaining spectrum.
Source: https://www.theverge.com/report/766038/dish-echostar-spectrum-att-sale-fourth-carrier