How Loopholes Turned Dish Network Into a ‘Very Small Business’

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Charles Ergen, the billionaire who controls the satellite-TV provider Dish Network, and his company are about to make a cool $3.25 billion -- courtesy of the American taxpayer. This windfall came from a recent successful auction of wireless spectrum that raised more than $40 billion for the American treasury. But it will be $3.25 billion less than it ought to be, if Ergen and his clever lawyers have their way.

The reason is that Dish Network bid for licenses through a newly formed vehicle that claimed to be a “very small business” under the Federal Communications Commission rules and was entitled to a 25 percent discount. Through sleight of hand and aggressive use of partners and loopholes, Dish turned itself into that very small business, distorting reality and creating an unfair advantage.


How Loopholes Turned Dish Network Into a ‘Very Small Business’