UPDATE A federal court judge has okayed the agreement between DISH Network (NASDAQ: DISH) and T-Mobile (NASDAQ: TMUS) to give DISH more time to buy T-Mobile’s 800 MHz spectrum. Approval was expected. The seven-month extension, to April 1, 2024, was suggested by the Department of Justice.
Inside Towers reported last week that New Street Research believed the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia would approve the deal since all parties favored it. DISH will pay a $100 million extension fee to T-Mobile as part of the agreement.
If, for some reason, DISH does not buy the 800 MHz licenses, T-Mobile must divest them “to an alternative purchaser to be determined by auction,” wrote U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Kelly in his decision. The auction must be conducted within six months of DISH declining to purchase the licenses, or by October 1, 2024, whichever is earlier.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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