By Thomas Gryta, Ryan Knutson and Shalini Ramachandran
AT&T Inc. topped all bidders in the government's record
setting auction of wireless licenses. But it is Dish Network Corp.
that may have pulled off the biggest coup.
The satellite TV broadcaster, working with partners including
BlackRock Inc., beat out wireless market leader Verizon
Communications Inc. for licenses in New York, Chicago and Boston;
won 700 of the more than 1,600 licenses on offer; and came in
second with $13.3 billion worth of bids.
More notable: Dish will only have to pay about $10 billion for
the spectrum, because its bidding came via partnerships that got
more than $3 billion in discounts that the FCC has aimed at small
businesses.
Dish's aggressive showing deepens the intrigue over Chairman
Charlie Ergen's designs on the wireless business. The company and
Mr. Ergen have amassed a trove of valuable wireless spectrum the
past several years, but the company doesn't have a cellphone
network or an agreement with another carrier that would allow it to
start selling wireless plans.
The satellite broadcaster declined to comment on its performance
in the auction, citing FCC anticollusion rules that don't lift for
several more days. "The auction's success is a win for the FCC, the
American Taxpayer, the Public Safety community and small business,"
the company said in a statement.
Dish worked with a number of partners in the auction, including
BlackRock and former FCC wireless chief John Muleta, which bid with
the company in an entity called SNR Wireless LicenseCo LLC, and Mr.
Ergen himself, who was among the partners in another entity called
Northstar Wireless LLC.
In filings with the FCC, both entities described themselves as a
"very small business." Northstar has an address in Fairbanks,
Alaska; SNR's address is in Falls Church, Va.
Roger Sherman, Chief of the FCC's Wireless Telecommunications
Bureau said in a blog post Thursday that applications by the
winnings bidders will be scrutinized and the FCC will make sure
that "each applicant has complied with the commission's bidding
credit rules."
Verizon committed to pay $10.4 billion for 181 licenses.
AT&T Inc. spent $18.2 billion for 251 licenses and T-Mobile US
Inc. paid $1.8 billion for 151. Sprint Corp. didn't
participate.
Write to Thomas Gryta at thomas.gryta@wsj.com, Ryan Knutson at
ryan.knutson@wsj.com and Shalini Ramachandran at
shalini.ramachandran@wsj.com
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