Dish and T-Mobile Set to Expand 5G Agreement

Dish said that it has reached an agreement with T-Mobile to use the T-Mobile Ultra Capacity 5G network to provide connectivity to Dish mobile customers and to customers of Dish’s retail wireless brands, including Boost Mobile. The agreement requires Department of Justice (DOJ) approval, and the DOJ must make a decision no later than August 14, 2022. Dish recently launched 5G service in markets covering 20 percent of the US population but needs to use another carrier’s network to provide coverage in areas where it doesn’t have its own facilities. T-Mobile uses the Ultra Capacity 5G name for service delivered over the mid-band spectrum that the company acquired when it merged with Sprint. That network covers at least 80 percent of the carrier’s customers. The news about the Dish and T-Mobile agreement comes a bit less than a year since Dish reached an agreement to use the AT&T 5G network. Dish stated that AT&T would be the “primary network services partner for DISH MVNO customers.” The company also stated that AT&T would provide service for Boost, Ting and Republic customers – three brands that Dish uses in addition to the Dish brand.