From CNET: Satellite TV provider Dish Network said regulators have sent it mixed messages about its prospects for competing in the wireless market.
Dish Chairman Charlie Ergen said during the company's second-quarter conference call that the Federal Communications Commission's decision to deny a $3.3 billion credit it gave to two of Dish's affiliates in the last spectrum auction, which ended in January, has likely killed its plans to pursue a reported merger with wireless provider T-Mobile. And he suggested the company may sit out the next wireless auction of TV broadcast spectrum set for early next year.
For several years, Dish has been amassing a treasure trove of wireless spectrum or the airwaves that carry text messages, voice calls, streaming video and Internet content to mobile devices. The company emerged as the second-highest bidder in the FCC's so-called AWS-3 auction, which generated a record $45 billion in revenue for the federal government. Dish's participation in the auction not only helped drive up prices but also ensured that AT&T and Verizon, which together control more than 70 percent of the wireless market, did not walk away with all the spectrum licenses in the auction.
Dish's spectrum combined with its satellite video offerings and its new Internet streaming TV service made it one of the few companies capable of entering the wireless market to compete with AT&T and Verizon. But Ergen said the FCC's decision to deny it the bidding discounts sends a "strong signal" to the company that a new entrant like Dish won't be able to get into the marketplace even if it buys its way in. This is in spite of the fact that this FCC in particular has been very supportive of outside competition.
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