IT COST DISH NETWORKS 100,000,000 CLEVELANDS to get an extension to acquire spectrum. The DOJ and T-Mobile agreed to the June 30 deadline proposed last week. A DC Judge signed off on it Monday.
A U.S. District Judge for the District of Columbia signed off on an agreement Monday to give Dish Network additional time to buy 800 MHz licenses from T-Mobile.
Judge Timothy Kelly accepted a motion filed last week by the two companies and the Department of Justice. Judge Kelly granted the consent motion “with no party to this action opposing the requested relief,” said his signed order.
The option to buy the licenses was an agreement tied to T-Mobile’s acquisition of Sprint, aimed at helping Dish emerge as the fourth national wireless provider.
However, Dish missed an August deadline to buy the licenses and asked for an extension until June 30. The new deadline is April 1. Dish also agreed to pay T-Mobile a $100 million extension fee.
Dish said it needed the extension due to “unprecedented turbulence in the global capital markets” that made the cost of purchasing the spectrum “substantially more onerous than anticipated.”
If Dish didn’t buy the spectrum, T-Mobile would be required to auction it.
The amended final judgment filed on October 23, 2023, is available here. It is available here.
Dish Network, T-Mobile, and the DOJ filed their motion last Wednesday agreeing to give Dish extra time to buy 800 MHz licenses from T-Mobile. DOJ previously filed in support of giving Dish until April 1 to buy the spectrum or pay a $72 million fee for walking away from the deal.