Dish–The New Broadband Player

Dish Network has been quietly building out its new cellular networks and plans to launch in 25 major markets and over one hundred smaller markets before June 2022. This company is shooting to stay on track for its commitment to the Federal Communications Commission to cover 20% of the US population by this summer and 70% by June 2023. The company is running about six months behind its hoped-for schedule but says it is catching up. The company says that it will have the most advanced network in the country, which makes sense since everything will be new. Dish still says that it intends to be ‘disruptive’ in its cellular pricing. Boost Mobile’s plans all include unlimited voice and text and vary by the amount of broadband purchased. The company sells 1 GB of data for $10 per month and 10 GB for $35 per month. The most expensive product is 35 GB of cellular data plus 30 GB of hotspot tethering for $60 per month. This is all good news for consumers. But don’t expect to see anything other than cellular ads when you watch a sporting event or popular show this fall. We’re likely to see a cellular advertising war like nothing we’ve seen before. It’s fairly obvious that in a market with 95% cellphone penetration not all of these companies are going to be winners. The companies with the most to lose are Verizon and AT&T – so they’ll advertise non-stop as well.