Dish Pressing its Case at FCC

SHARE THIS ARTICLE

UPDATE Dish executives are wasting no time lobbying the FCC to approve the T-Mobile acquisition of Sprint and Dish’s efforts to become a fourth national wireless network. Dish spoke with several FCC Commissioners and their staffs July 26, the same day the Department of Justice announced its settlement with T-Mobile, Sprint and Dish.

Dish Chairman Charlie Ergen, EVP Corporate Development Tom Cullen and SVP Public Policy & Government Affairs Jeffrey Blum called FCC Commissioners Michael O’Rielly, Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks, to discuss the commitments Dish agreed to as part of the transaction, according to a Commission filing.

 “Dish explained that the DOJ’s Proposed Final Judgment and the related agreements with Sprint and T-Mobile solve the competitive harms of the transaction as it was originally proposed by, among other things, facilitating DISH’s entry into the wireless market as a fourth nationwide facilities-based competitor,” Blum wrote.    

DISH also outlined the commitments it made to the FCC regarding its 5G broadband deployment. “Taken together, these commitments and arrangements will accelerate DISH’s competitive entry into the wireless market, benefit consumers across the country, and promote America’s leadership in 5G,” states Blum.

While the DOJ approved the transaction, the FCC has yet to issue its official decision. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, and Commissioners Michael O’Rielly and Brendan Carr have said they’re inclined to approve the merger. However, Rosenworcel and Starks first want the deal to be put out for public comment.

August 5, 2019     

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.