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FCC tasks Dish with building 70 percent of its AWS-4 LTE network in 7 years
The fellas at the FCC may have given Dish Network the green light to pilfer the AWS-4 spectrum for its upcoming LTE plans, but it didn't do so without leaving a few lingering strings. Dish is expected to build out the proposed network at a rate of ten percent per year, and faces serious consequences if it misses the proposed goals. If the company fails to make a 40 percent rollout in four years, for instance, Dish will be expected to polish off the remaining 30 percent in just two years instead of three. The company has seven trips around the sun to claim the entirety of its proposed market, too -- the FCC says Dish's license to uncovered areas will automatically expire if it doesn't have 70 percent of the network ready within the alloted timeframe. Competing networks are concerned that Dish may intentionally fall short of this goal, covering the most profitable markets at the expense of losing coverage in less lucrative, rural areas. The feds put out some guidelines on power limitations too, and the fate of the contested H band is still up in the air. Eager to sift though the federal declarations? Skip on over to the source links below and jump in -- it's only a cumulative 216 pages of legalese.
FCC gives Dish Network its blessing to use AWS-4 spectrum for 4G data
After a lengthy review period, the FCC has finally voted in favor of Dish Network's request to use its AWS-4 wireless spectrum for 4G LTE data services. Now that the FCC removed regulatory barriers that previously restricted that 40 MHz of satellite spectrum from being used for land-based broadband, Dish says it "will consider its strategic options," whatever that means. Dish didn't get everything that it wanted however, as the FCC also approved a proposal that could lead to the auction of the H block of spectrum in 2013. Dish would prefer this spectrum go unused as a buffer for its own, but other wireless companies like Sprint are reportedly interested in it. Although rumors have circulated about partnerships with everyone from T-Mobile to Google, we'll have to wait and see what Dish Network actually does going forward, but avoiding the LightSquared treatment surely has the folks in Englewood, Colorado breathing easier.
Dish warns the FCC its 4G LTE might come in earnest as late as 2016
Dish has been tranquil about facing a longer FCC review period for its planned LTE-based 4G network, and now we might have an idea as to why. The satellite TV giant is telling the FCC that it only expects coverage to reach up to 60 million potential customers "within four years," or about 2016 -- six years after MetroPCS and Verizon first flicked their respective 4G switches. This is also assuming that the 3GPP cellular standards group clears the AWS-4 frequency band for LTE use. There's speculation that Dish is giving the extra time so that it can sell the spectrum later, but we'd take the safe road and assume Dish is serious. After all, AT&T wouldn't be trying to set tough conditions for Dish's LTE if it didn't think there was possibly significant competition on the way.
