Dish Network said it has met a critical Federal Communications Commission buildout deadline, declaring that its new 5G Open Radio Access Network (ORAN) reaches 240 million Americans, or 70% of the U.S.
In a Thursday morning press release, Dish called meeting the benchmark a “milestone,” and also said that has “satisfied all other June 14, 2023 FCC commitments,” including launching over 15,000 5G sites.
Getting technical, not reaching Thursday’s already extended deadline would force Dish to relinquish spectrum licenses in the AWS-4 (2000-2020 MHz / 2180-2200 MHz), lower 700 MHz E block and AWS H block (1915-1920 MHz/1995-2000 MHz) bands.
“Our teams have worked tirelessly for years, and this achievement is a testament to their dedication and commitment as we grow the world's first and only 5G cloud-native Open RAN network,” Dave Mayo, executive VP of network development for Dish Wireless, said in a statement.
Added John Swieringa, president and chief operating officer for Dish Wireless: “We have made significant progress on our network buildout, and can now focus on monetizing the network through retail and enterprise growth. With more markets across the country offering the Dish 5G network for voice, text and data services, our business can start realizing the benefits of owner economics.”
New Street analyst Jonathan Chaplin called the announcement as a “positive step for Dish’s network economics,” noting the company will have to rely less on expensive MVNO usage of other providers’ networks. Further, Chaplin noted that customers with compatible devices on networks for Dish’s prepaid Boost Mobile service “can now actually roam onto Dish’s own network in many markets.”
But Dish is hardly out of the woods. It has another 2025 FCC deadline to reach 75% of the U.S. population with 5G. It's going to need to come up with another $2 billion to $3 billion to accomplish that task, which will probably require another 15,000 or so 5G sites as Dish enters rural areas.
Capital markets are being approached, and Thursday’s deadline must be officially certified by the FCC before any money can change hands.
Dish could be sitting on its hands for a while.
Dish “has 30 days to file a report that certifies this with the FCC,” Lightshed Partners analyst Walter Piecyk wrote in a note to investors Thursday.
“Unfortunately, we do not expect the FCC to comment on the matter for the foreseeable future, if ever,” Piecyk added. “We believe the FCC should accelerate and publicize its evaluation process. We recognize that there is real work associated with the Wireless Bureau’s evaluation. However, the absence or delay of a public certification provides an incremental hurdle for Dish to raise needed capital. Conversely, if Dish did not build the network that was promised, the FCC should not hesitate to begin any process to reclaim and reauction the spectrum to those who would use it. While this would inevitably trigger litigation, why not start that process sooner rather than later? Is that not in the public interest to put spectrum in use?”
