Dish is building a 5G network ‘from the ground up’
Dish Network said that it plans to soon release a request for information/request for proposal on telecom transport services, and revealed its intention to provide standalone 5G broadband coverage to 70% of Americans by June 2023.
The fifth in a series of RFPs for different elements of a national network, DISH’s telecom transport services RFI/RFP will reportedly include requests for telecom transport service companies to facilitate lit and dark fiber connectivity to cell towers, buildings and data centers.
In a statement, Dish EVP of Wireless Operations Jeff McSchooler said the company is in the process of building a next-generation network “from the ground up,” and applying “fresh ideas and new partners.”
“We’re seeking input from local and regional telecom transport partners as well as the national providers that have supported our existing video business for decades,” he said. “We see an opportunity to learn from nontraditional partners as well, like utilities and municipalities that may be deploying fiber in their communities. We are exploring varying transport infrastructures to support our aggressive buildout.”
Because Dish is currently dealing with a shortage of fiber installers, and because other big names like Verizon are also focusing on installing new fiber, DISH’s goal will be no easy task. Fortunately for Dish, however, the FCC has recently made it easier for companies to lay fiber by putting a limit on the amount of time cities can delay installs, and once the delay clock runs out, the fiber work is automatically approved.
Previous RFPs released by Dish include a 5G Network RFI/RFP in July 2019, followed by one in September, seeking responses from vendors to provide a software solution for project management, workflows and reporting. Then, there was the Deployment Services RFP in October regarding input for end-to-end deployment services, and then January’s 5G Component RFP, which requested input from vendors about physical assets of the network.
