Dish Cash Hoard Signals Wireless Possibility

Dish Network has amassed a record amount of cash through bond sales as the second-largest U.S. satellite-television provider seeks to expand into the wireless business to offset a decline in its core customer base.

Dish brought its cash on hand to $5.6 billion on June 30 from about $2.7 billion in the first quarter, KDP Investment Advisors Inc. calculated. It issued $2.9 billion of five- and 10-year notes in separate sales in May and July, including $1 billion last week. The company, led by Chairman Charlie Ergen, is expanding into wireless after losing customers in six of the last nine quarters as competition from DirecTV and cable providers pressures revenue and climbing programming costs boost expenses. Dish spent about $3 billion to buy wireless spectrum from DBSD North America Inc. and TerreStar Networks Inc. that it hopes to use to expand into mobile video, pending approval from the Federal Communications Commission.