T-Mobile/Sprint merger: Dish Network role
July 24, 2019
By Chris Forrester
Charlie Ergen’s DTH pay-TV Dish Network definitely has a role in the success of the T-Mobile/Sprint giant merger.
Dish will pay in $5 billion for certain wireless assets, including Boost Mobile, and this has opened the door for a Dept. of Justice approval for the merger.
Dish’s funding is reportedly split two ways, with $1.5 billion going to the acquisition of Boost, and the remaining $3.5 billion taking care of the spectrum assets.
In return, Dish gets a seven-year guaranteed wholesale agreement to retail T-Mobile capacity under its own name. However, Dish has to commit to not selling the new business for three years and thus eliminates the very real threat of a sale to the likes of Amazon, Google or a cable operator.
The deal also allows the DoJ to approve the scheme with Dish Network in place as the nation’s fourth cellular carrier.