Dish Is Ready To Bid On T-Mobile

Dish Network Chairman Charles Ergen wants Dish to become a wireless carrier. Ergen was shot down twice when Dish was outbid by SoftBank for Sprint, and outbid by Sprint for Clearwire. Ergen also put in a bid for bankrupt third party network provider LightSquared only to see another party interfere yet again.

Earlier this year Dish finally won an auction for H-Block spectrum for $1.56 billion. Which made Dish the fifth largest holder of spectrum. Ergen has said he would let Sprint bid on T-Mobile. If Sprint's attempt to buy T-Mobile fails Dish will step in to buy the fourth largest U.S. carrier. Ergen says that Dish doesn't have cash flow to outbid Sprint for T-Mobile, Ergen would rather sit on the sidelines to see how a Sprint T-Mobile deal pans out. 

Earlier visits to the FCC and FTC by Sprint chairman Masayoshi Son, and Sprint CEO Dan Hesse, went poorly for the nation's third largest carrier, which doesn't look good for a Sprint T-Mobile deal. However, regulators like the possibility of Dish becoming the fifth largest wireless carrier in the U.S. 

The FCC has already approved Dish's request to use some of its recently purchased H-Block spectrum for satellite transmissions, as a conduit for cellular calls and data.

Source: Bloomberg

Dish Network Reportedly Makes $2B Offer For LightSquared Spectrum

Dish Network is quite interested in entering the wireless business, and according to a new report, the company is now targeting LightSquared as a way to bolster its existing spectrum holdings. Source speaking to Bloomberg claim that Dish chairman Charlie Ergen recently offered to buy LightSquared's spectrum for $2 billion. The offer was reportedly made on May 15, and LightSquared's is said to have until May 31 to make a decision. Neither company has officially commented on the rumors, but the tipsters claim that LightSquared would use the funds to pay off its secured debt. 

LightSquared previously tried to build out its own 4G LTE wireless network, but the FCC shot down its plans to do so over concerns that its spectrum could interfere with GPS systems. Things went downhill from there, with Sprint ending its spectrum hosting agreement with LightSquared, followed by the company's decision to file for bankruptcy. LightSquared submitted new network plans with the FCC toward the end of 2012, but the federal agency has yet to approve that spectrum for use in a wireless network.

Meanwhile, Dish's spectrum has already been a go ahead by the FCC for use in a wireless network, and since then the company has been trying to find a partner to help it break into the wireless industry. The company has already made offers for Clearwire and Sprint, and now Dish apparently sees LightSquared as a good way to help it bolster its existing spectrum. Considering how desperate Dish has been to get into the wireless business, it's no surprise to see that it's now gunning for LightSquared's spectrum, especially after the issues that LightSquared has been having getting approval for its own network.

We'll have to wait until May 31 to see how this matter plays out, but it'll be interesting to see if Dish can snag LightSquared's spectrum and how that could influence Dish's potential deal with Sprint. It's also worth noting that Bloomberg's sources claim that Dish's offer is a "stalking horse agreement," which means that other company's could come in with a higher bid for LightSquared's spectrum. The next 11 days could be quite a bit more exciting than we'd previously anticipated, stay tuned for more details as they emerge. 

Source: Bloomberg

Deutsche Telecom Would Consider A Merger, But Won’t Sell T-Mobile

While addressing shareholders at the company’s annual meeting in Cologne, Germany, Deutsche Telekom CEO Rene Obermann told investors that a complete takeover of T-Mobile USA was out of the question after AT&T’s very public failed bid last year. Obermann did tell investors that it was considering all other options, including a potential merger of its T-Mobile USA business unit with another organization.

There are several options on the table in such a scenario; Sprint has had its eye on T-Mobile USA for a while, and a combined company would present a large competitor to AT&T and Verizon. Such a scenario is unlikely, however, as the technology these companies employ is so different that it would be extremely costly to make the networks compatible.

The more likely potential suitor is MetroPCS, as recent rumors have suggested that the two companies are actively speaking about a possible merger. Bloomberg reported a few weeks back that the company was essentially looking to do a joint venture with MetroPCS, with Deutsche Telekom holding the majority stake of the combined company. The deal could be similar to the Everything Everywhere carrier in the UK, a joint venture between T-Mobile and Orange. Deutsche Telekom is also considering a network sharing agreement with MetroPCS or Sprint, which would have the companies sharing spectrum but maintaining their current status as standalone organizations.

Meanwhile, it’s business as usual for T-Mobile USA. The company is beginning to actively build out an LTE network over the next two years. Time will tell the fate of T-Mobile USA, though the message from Deutsche Telekom is still crystal clear.

T-Mobile Looking To Merge With MetroPCS

T-Mobile’s parent company, Deutsche Telekom AG, has reportedly been discussing a potential merger with MetroPCS, according to Bloomberg. The talks come as T-Mobile continues to suffer from large subscriber defections, having lost 802,000 net customers in the fourth quarter of 2011 alone. Deutsche Telekom is considering a stock-swap transaction that would give the German company control over the combined entity, which would be publicly listed, although an outright sale of T-Mobile is possible too. T-Mobile, the nation’s fourth largest carrier, has been looking for options since its failed merger with AT&T last November. MetroPCS has 9.5 million subscribers as of January 2012 and operates the fifth largest wireless network in the United States.