Dish Network said it plans to participate in the upcoming AWS-3 and 600 MHz incentive auction, according to a filing with the Federal Communications Commission.
The FCC plans to conduct the AWS-3 auction, which will include 65 megahertz of both licensed and unlicensed spectrum in the 1.7/2.1 GHz band, later this year. The more complex incentive auction is currently scheduled to begin in mid-2015.
The company, which does not currently offer wireless communication services, recently bolstered its spectrum portfolio by acquiring all of the H-Block licenses up for bid in the government’s recent spectrum auction. Dish now controls spectrum around the 2 GHz band as well as a smaller slice of spectrum in the 700 MHz band.
Dish has been rumored to be in talks with a number of wireless operators regarding network sharing arrangements that would allow Dish to utilize its spectrum holdings without having to spend the billions of dollars necessary to build out its own network.
One carrier not interested in a deal appears to be Verizon Communications. According to The Wall Street Journal, Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam said in an interview with CNBC that the company was not looking to acquire Dish. McAdam cited Verizon’s recent $130 billion deal to acquire full control of Verizon Wireless as removing the need for a deal. McAdam has made previous statements at an investor conference earlier this year.
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