DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ: DISH) yesterday reported revenue totaling $4.10 billion for the quarter ending September 30, 2022, compared to $4.45 billion for the corresponding period in 2021. The company said it has 10,000 5G sites deployed and it continues to build out at a pace of 1,000 per month.
The company said it is committed to building a facilities-based 5G broadband network capable of serving increasingly larger portions of the U.S. population at different deadlines, including 20 percent of the U.S. population by June 2022, and 70 percent of the U.S. population by June 2023. If by June 2023, DISH is offering 5G broadband service to at least 50 percent of the U.S. population but less than 70 percent of the U.S. population, the 70 percent June 2023 deadline will be extended automatically to June 2025. The company said it may be subject to certain penalties if the deadline is not met, however.
DISH also announced that it plans to offer approximately $2 billion aggregate principal amount of its senior secured notes. The net proceeds of the offering are intended to be used for general corporate purposes, including the buildout of wireless infrastructure. The $2 billion is intended to fund the company through the 70 percent milestone in June 2023.
“It would also come close to fully funding the final milestone for the 600 MHz licenses specifically,” said Jonathan Chaplin of New Street Research, “which require coverage of 75 percent of each PEA where DISH has a license, by June 2025. In the likely event that they raise more than $2 billion, they would likely fully fund the final milestone for 600 MHz. This materially lowers the risk of DISH losing that spectrum, which improves its value as security for the deal. We suspect the 600 MHz spectrum was chosen because it is critical to DISH’s network aspirations.”
DISH CEO Charlie Ergen said his company has invested a total of over $30 billion to acquire certain wireless spectrum licenses although the licenses are subject to certain interim and final build-out requirements, as well as certain renewal requirements.
“We plan to commercialize our wireless spectrum licenses through the completion of the nation’s first cloud-native, Open Radio Access Network based 5G network,” Ergen said. “We will need to make significant additional investments or partner with others to, among other things, complete our 5G Network Deployment and further commercialize, build-out and integrate these licenses and related assets and any additional acquired licenses and related assets, as well as to comply with regulations applicable to such licenses.”
Reader Interactions