Earlier today, Dish Network held its Q4 2020 earnings call. In the call, company co-founder and chairman Charlie Ergen highlighted its commitment to build a 5G wireless network and launch it in its first major cities before Q3 2021 ends.
In the early part of the call, Ergen gave a recap on what the company has been doing with its network-building effort. After it acquired Boost Mobile last year, Dish has continued to offer prepaid service as an MVNO running on T-Mobile’s network. Despite this, they have been working on accumulating its own spectrum to turn Boost into a full-fledged carrier.
This is evidenced in the low-, mid-, and high-band spectrum that Dish purchased last year. In fact, they were estimated to have spent $2 billion in the recently conducted C-band auction. With these new spectrum, Dish already has the components of the 5G “layer cake”, which will help provide wide coverage and fast network service.
When Dish is able to turn itself into a full-fledged carrier, it will definitely mean good news for the US wireless market since it will help create healthy competition among carriers.
You can read more about the earnings call here.
