Dish to pay T-Mobile $100 million to amend 800MHz spectrum option

Dish to pay T-Mobile $100 million to amend 800MHz spectrum option،

We followed the exchanges between Dish and T Mobile compared to the former’s $3.59 billion option to purchase 13.5 MHz of 800 MHz low-band spectrum from T Mobile. The option dates back to the complicated deals that were made to gain approval from the FCC and DOJ. T MobileThe $26 billion acquisition of Sprint. This agreement allowed T Mobile to secure Sprint’s holdings in the 2.5GHz mid-band spectrum, giving it the lead in the battle to become the 5G king in the United States

Last month, when we last checked in on this mobile soap opera, T-Mobile asked the court not to grant Dish additional time to exercise its option. The satellite provider’s current financial situation and inability to secure a loan or sell debt at a decent interest rate prevents it from buying the airwaves at this time. However, the two parties reached an agreement and a filing yesterday with the Securities and Exchange Commission (via FierceWireless) of Dish states that he and T Mobile have accepted an amendment which modifies the license purchase contract.

The new option exercise date is April 1, 2024, which ironically is not only April Fool’s Day, but also the fourth anniversary of T Mobilecloses its acquisition of Sprint. The amendment requires Dish to make an upfront payment of $100 million to T Mobile towards the spectrum purchase price of $3.59 billion. Payment must be made no later than three days after the United States District Court for the District of Columbia enters an amended final judgment.

Former T-Mobile CEO John Legere was running the carrier when it awarded the 800 MHz spectrum option to Dish - Dish paid T-Mobile $100 million to change the 800 spectrum option MHz.

Former T-Mobile CEO John Legere was running the carrier when it issued the 800 MHz spectrum option to Dish.

But, and it’s a big but, T Mobile now has the ability to shop on the 13.5 MHz or 800 MHz airwaves and if it finds an alternative buyer it must still give Dish the opportunity to meet the alternative buyer’s new price. This helps with a previous complaint filed by T Mobile that the value of 800 MHz spectrum will decline pending Dish exercising or declining the option as licenses begin to expire in March 2028.

The amendment was approved by the Antitrust Division of the United States Department of Justice and will take effect once the district court issues a final amended judgment.

You may be wondering if Dish has a GoFundMe account or why it’s optimistic about being able to pay for spectrum in the near future. An upcoming merger with EchoStar, a distribution deal with Amazon and other potentially fruitful partnerships have Dish expecting to be much better off before the amendment ends on April 1.