Dish will acquire Republic’s 200,000 wireless customers
Earlier this week, Dish Network revealed plans to acquire Wi-Fi-first mobile virtual network operator Republic Wireless, a move that will transfer about 200,000 wireless customers over to Dish’s care. While the financial terms of the deal have not yet been disclosed, Dish did say that the acquisition will boost its 5G network, which is expected to launch later this year.
Republic’s push-to-talk business division that has set out develop its own kind of walkie-talkie device primarily for children and professional team communication will remain a standalone business once the deal closes.
Republic operates as an MVNO on the T-Mobile US network, as Dish itself is doing until it builds out its own network infrastructure.
This acquisition is reminiscent of Dish’s August 2020 takeover Ting Mobile’s assets, which gave Dish access to the carrier’s customers and its parent company Tucows’ backend mobile services.
“Republic has created a loyal following and established a brand known for innovation, customer service and value. We plan to build upon that strong foundation,” said John Swieringa, group president of retail wireless and Dish COO. “As we continue to grow our retail wireless business, Republic broadens our existing customer base and positions us to deliver even more value to the market, expanding our portfolio of mobile solutions to meet a variety of customer needs. We look forward to welcoming Republic customers to the Dish family.”
In its efforts to become a facilities-based player in the telecom space, Dish purchased T-Mobile’s 9 million Boost Mobile customers last year as part of a settlement with the Department of Justice that allowed the T-Mobile US/Sprint merger to move forward, and also secured 800 MHz spectrum from Sprint to add to its existing spectrum holdings as well as access to existing network sites for build-out purposes.
The new carrier has previously committed to offering standalone 5G broadband coverage to 70% of Americans by June 2023.
