The Boost deal isn’t “done done” yet and already Dish and T-Mobile aren’t getting along.
According to a Lightreading post (link below) and based on a recent FCC filing, Dish has complained that T-Mobile inappropriately used Dish’s spectrum as a marketing ploy during COVID-19 lockdowns.
“Since T-Mobile gained temporary access to Dish’s 600MHz spectrum on March 15, the company has publicized the capacity benefits of this spectrum in press statements, tweets and advertisements in an apparent effort to acquire new subscribers. This includes television commercials highlighting the doubling of their 600 MHz capacity,” a Dish executive complained to a T-Mobile executive in an email included in the filing. “The purpose of Dish’s initial [spectrum] grant was to help T-Mobile increase capacity during the crisis to serve customers, not to use Dish’s spectrum as part of a commercial marketing effort.”
Those advertisements appear to have raised Dish’s ire. This doesn’t appear to be breaking up the Boost deal, but LightReading calls the filing “noteworthy.”
Dish’s concerns were contained in a filing that T-Mobile made to the FCC requesting that the agency extend the term of the spectrum loan from Dish through June. T-Mobile did respond to Dish’s complaints in the filing:
“T-Mobile’s communications to customers and others provided the assurances that consumers want that T-Mobile’s network will be able to continue to deliver T-Mobile’s industry-leading service during this pandemic,” T-Mobile wrote, disputing Dish’s claim that its ads represented an attempt to acquire new subscribers. T-Mobile said the spectrum helped it navigate a 57% increase in hotspot tethering on its network.
This isn’t the first time T-Mobile and Dish have clashed over spectrum. In 2018, prior to their agreement with the Department of Justice last year, T-Mobile accused Dish of a “cynical effort to hoard valuable spectrum assets.”
Read the entire article here.
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