The 2019 INCOMPAS Show, Day 2

www.bekabusinessmedia.com WWW. INCOMPAS .ORG E arlier this year, DISH Network sent shockwaves through the wireless industry when it unveiled a bold plan to become a facilities-based wire- less carrier with a nationwide consumer offering and an independent 5G broad- band network. The plan – which is contingent on the Sprint and T-Mobile merger, and other condi- tions – would make DISH the nation’s fourth major facilities-based network competitor. Closing is expected to occur within three months after the culmination of the Sprint and T-Mobile merger, which as of today still lacks a clear timetable for completion. DISH has reached agreements with the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Depart- ment of Justice, Sprint and T-Mobile. The company also committed to serving 70 percent of the U.S. population on its 5G network by June 2023. Attendees came to The INCOMPAS Show eager for an update, and on Tuesday DISH co-founder and chairman Charlie Ergen delivered when he sat down with INCOMPAS CEO Chip Pickering for a keynote address. The pair riffed on DISH’s ascension during the last three decades, and Ergen provided a breakdown of the company’s plan for the next three years. “Three years from now our network will be pretty complete, so we’ll definitely be [in a position to] do some damage,” Ergen said. “In business, you have to do two things to compete. You have to be better and less expensive. We’ll be less expensive in terms of our cost for producing a gig, and our network will be more flexible, because in the (Continued on page 6) DISH Looks Forward into the 5G Era SHOWDAILY N O V E M B E R 4 - 6 | L O U I S V I L L E | K E N T U C K Y THE 2019 DAY 2 Ergen and Pickering discuss DISH’s 5G buildout