Dish expects to launch the 5G network this year

Dish Network is doubling intention to launch 5G network in big cities until September, The Verge reports. Since Dish acquired Boost Mobile last year, which puts the company in a unique position to compete with existing mobile operators, and Ergen said during the company’s revenue call today that Dish can “help the United States start driving wireless again.” Whatever that means.

As part of the T-Mobile / Sprint merger, the Federal Communications Commission required T-Mobile for sells some stakes, including Boost Mobile. (Virgin Mobile customers have been moved to the Boost Mobile network before the merger, because it was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sprint at the time.) Dish is also allowed to use the T-Mobile network for the next seven years as it builds its own wireless network. Basically, Dish’s goal seems to make Boost Mobile the fourth largest wireless operator in the United States and offer 5G services, exceeding the prepaid plans they currently offer. Piggy support on the T-Mobile network seems to be helping Dish competes quite a lot in the market.

But Dish has it too bought constantly wireless spectrum in the last few years, starting all the way back in 2013. It has a low, medium and high levelband spectrum, ideal to be able to offer customers a fast and reliable 5G service, but is also waiting for the auction results for the coveted C band spectrum. These will not be available until early next month.

The C band spectrum is like the “holy grail” of wireless broadband spectrum. It is a massive 280 MHz spectrum, comprising almost 5,700 mid-band licenses between 3.7 GHz and 3.98 GHz. There is not as much traffic on these waves and, since there are a lot of them, every 5G wireless operator is fighting for some real estate.

Being the smallest carrier, Dish is estimated to have bid around $ 2 billion to get as many C-band tracks as possible, according to analysts Raymond James, while other major operators that have already established their 5G networks could bid for between $ 11 billion and $ 30 billion. Dish certainly won’t have the size of T-Mobile or Verizon anytime soon, but more competition never hurts.