Satellite TV provider Dish Network said regulators have sent it mixed messages about its prospects for competing in the wireless market.
Dish Chairman Charlie Ergen said during the company’s second-quarter conference call that the Federal Communications Commission’s decision to deny a $3.3 billion credit it gave to two of Dish’s affiliates in the last spectrum auction, which ended in January, has likely killed its plans to pursue a reported merger with wireless provider T-Mobile. And he suggested the company may sit out the next wireless auction of TV broadcast spectrum set for early next year.
For several years, Dish has been amassing a treasure trove of wireless spectrum or the airwaves that carry text messages, voice calls, streaming video and Internet content to mobile devices. The company emerged as the second-highest bidder in the FCC’s so-called AWS-3 auction, which generated a record $45 billion in revenue for the federal government. Dish’s participation in the auction not only helped drive up prices but also ensured that AT&T and Verizon, which together control more than 70 percent of the wireless market, did not walk away with all the spectrum licenses in the auction.
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