Dish invested quite a lot of money trying to build its 5G network. After acquiring Boost Mobile from T-Mobile last year, Dish was allowed to use the Uncarrier’s network for the next seven years, but its 5G network will be ready much earlier.
During today’s Q4 2020 earnings call, Dish Network’s co-founder and chairman Charlie Ergen reaffirmed the company’s commitment to launch its 5G network by the end of Q3 2021, at least in several major cities, The Verge reports.
If the information provided by Ergen proves to be accurate, Dish customers should be expected to get access to the carrier’s 5G network anytime between July and September. In the last several years, Dish spent billions on low, mid, and high-band spectrum needed to build its network.
On top of that, Dish recently bid on the C-band spectrum, the famous set of airwaves meant to save the state of 5G in the United States. For non-tech savvy, C-Band is a frequency used for satellite TV but got replaced in the meantime. Currently, C-Band is used for the satellite downlink for broadcast television distribution and it’s one of the most popular 5G bands in the world.
Well, Dish plans to acquire some C-Band too, so it auctioned for some C-Band spectrum last week, it’s just that the results won’t be announced until early next month. It is estimated that Dish spent around $2 billion specifically to acquire C-Band spectrum, so it looks like the fourth major carrier in the US is very serious about its 5G plans.
