FCC Extends DISH's Buildout Deadline. Will that be enough?

To no real surprise, DISH requested and was granted an extension by the FCC to build out its network. Originally committed to building out 75% of the population in each of 416 Partial Economic Areas in the US by June of next year, they now have until December 2026. The surprising part is that the FCC approved it in a matter of days and without any real public discourse. This was clearly pre-negotiated between DISH and the FCC. Which begs the question: why was the public left out of the discussion??And the other carriers?

Most likely, because DISH had met its previous obligations or exceeded them and the FCC clearly believes that a 4-carrier market is better than 3-carriers. Additionally, to gain approval, DISH committed to the following:

1. Coverage over 80% of US population by end of 2024
2. Increased population requirements for each PEA from 70 or 75% to 80 or 85%. (not that hard to do)
3. Echostar will offer a nationwide affordable 5G plan—at least 30GB per month at $25 or less.
4. 24K 5G sites by 6/14/2025 (above the 15,000 requirement in June, 2023)
5. DISH will load at least 75% of new subs with compatible devices on its network (as opposed to using the MVNO it has with AT&T or TMO)

So, what does this mean?

• DISH can wait a bit longer to borrow more capital and take advantage of slightly lower borrowing costs.
• Echostar stock holders (SATS) did well over the two weeks. The stock is up nearly 40% over that time frame. It seems like some investors knew about the pre-negotiated agreement in advance of DISH submitting it and the FCC approving it.
• AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon each benefit by getting even more time to build out and enhance their networks in advance of DISH in the areas where DISH hasn’t built yet.
• DISH will deploy 4,000 or so more sites by June 2025. Unsure whether this means that DISH will build out new areas or expand/infill existing markets.
• DISH may still end up going bankrupt. While delaying capex expenditures will help DISH try to right the ship with less pressure, they still need to reverse subscriber losses. DISH has fewer subs now than they inherited from Sprint.?
• Still may be a net positive for the tower industry. A delay in buildout is better than no buildout.

Ultimately, the FCC may have put itself in this position. They did their best to mandate that DISH build out a nationwide network, but the FCC didn't actually require DISH to try to market the network. (When's the last time you saw a DISH wireless ad?) (Author's note: a DISH marketing person reached out after reading this post and claims that they are marketing in her market under the Boost name. The last figures I could find for DISH marketing were $100M in 2022, which is 15-20 times less than what AT&T or Verizon was spending at the time.)

If you have questions about a DISH lease, please see our page on DISH Wireless cell tower leases. (We can't help you get DISH to lease your property.)