Dish Networks L.L.C. (DISH) appears to be the latest player looking to get in on the burgeoning mobile broadband space.
According to published reports, Dish networks has filed for a waiver with the Federal Communications Commission to consolidate its spectrum assets with those of recently acquired TerreStar Network Inc. TerreStar had previously announced plans to launch a satellite/terrestrial mobile network similar to the type planned by LightSquared.
Dish has said it wants to deploy a mobile broadband network using LTE technology and the potential of 40 megahertz of spectrum it will control. During the FCC’s 700 MHz spectrum auction in 2008, Dish Networks bid nearly $712 million and won 168 licenses for 6 megahertz of unpaired spectrum in channel 56 throughout most of the country except for major cities in California, Arizona and the Northeast. Dish’s license holdings cover 76% of the U.S. population.
LightSquared is currently mired in a dispute with the GPS community over interference issues between LightSquared’s spectrum assets and commercial GPS receivers that is currently in need of resolution at the FCC level. LightSquared recently signed a spectrum hosting agreement with Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) to help facilitate its buildout plans.
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