Reports emerged late on June 26th that formal discussions between Dish Network and its potential involvement in the $26 billion (€22.8bn) merger between US telco giants Sprint and T-Mobile are expected to continue into next week, or even beyond.

Business news channel CNBC reported that T-Mobile (and its parent company Deutsche Telekom) might be resisting complying wholly with Dept. of Justice demands that – somehow – a 4th national network operator remain in place after the merger.  Which is where Charlie Ergen and Dish come into the story.

CNBC stated: “Where does it all end up? Well, at least it appears it’s going to extend into next week,” CNBC said. “Don’t forget the Germans here; they’ve got a big, important role to play.”

As an update, the FCC has approved the T-Mobile/Sprint merger, and is backing the concept because of the potential of a national 5G network emerging. However, 13 US State governments are objecting to the merger saying that reducing the number of national networks from 4 to 3 would be anti-competitive.

Dish, already with a comprehensive portfolio of spectrum assets, is seen as potentially the new 4th cellular operator.

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