T-Mobile tells court to deny Dish’s request for extension in 800 MHz deal

T-Mobile told a Washington (DC) court not to grant Dish Network’s request for more time to purchase T-Mobile-s 800 MHz spectrum, essentially saying a deal’s a deal and other potential buyers are in the wings. Dish asked the US District Court for the District of Columbia to give it 10 more months to get the financing together to buy T-Mobile’s 800 MHz spectrum for about $3.6 billion. Dish cited the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and other macroeconomic conditions that led to substantial inflation and rising interest rates since a Final Judgment was issued in April 2020. Dish argued that refusing to modify the terms of the final judgment would harm the public interest because the spectrum is an essential component of its 5G network. However, T-Mobile said Dish doesn’t need the 800 MHz spectrum to meet 5G buildout requirements and suggested the spectrum could be put to better use if it were sold to another buyer. Plus, T-Mobile told the court, it’s not a sure thing that Dish will have the funds to buy the spectrum in 10 months.