Dish expects to launch its 5G network this year

Dish Network doubles intention to be 5G network big cities by September The edge reports. Since Dish acquired Boost Mobile last year, that puts the company in a unique position to compete with existing cellular carriers, and Ergen said during the company’s earnings call today that Dish can “help the United States to truly become a leader in wireless communications again.” Whatever that means.

As part of the merger between T-Mobile and Sprint, the Federal Communications Commission requires T-Mobile to sell some of its holdings, including Boost Mobile.Virgin Mobile customers have been moved to the Boost Mobile network prior to the merger, as it was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sprint at the time.) Dish will also be allowed to use T-Mobile’s network for the next seven years as it builds its own wireless network. In fact, Dish’s goal seems to be to make Boost Mobile the fourth largest wireless provider in the US and Providing 5G service, going beyond the prepaid plans it currently offers. P.iggy backup on T-Mobile’s network seems to help Dish compete fairly in the marketplace.

But Dish also has steadily buying up wireless spectrum in recent years, starting in 2013. It owns low, medium and highband spectrum, which is ideal for providing customers with fast, reliable 5G service, but it is also waiting for the auction results of the coveted C-band spectrum. They will not be available until the beginning of next month.

The C-band spectrum is like the “holy grail” of wireless broadband spectrum. It’s a massive 280 MHz spectrum, with nearly 5,700 mid-band licenses between 3.7 GHz and 3.98 GHz. There isn’t that much traffic on these waves, and since there are many, every 5G wireless provider has competed for some air wave real estate.

Dish is estimated to be the smallest courier offer about $ 2 billion to get as many pieces of the C band as possible, according to to Raymond James analysts, while the other major carriers that have already set up their 5G networks can offer between $ 11 and $ 30 billion. Dish certainly won’t be as big as T-Mobile or Verizon anytime soon, but more competition never hurts.