Dish Pushes Back at T-Mobile's Critiques of Spectrum Deployment Plans

T-Mobile's criticisms of Dish Network's narrowband IoT and spectrum deployment plans (see 1810260047) are "a blatant attempt to stifle competition" and legally meritless, Dish responded Tuesday to FCC Wireless Bureau Chief Donald Stockdale. The "baseless claims" are aimed at preventing a disruptive new market entrant and rest largely on the unsupported proposition the IoT network won't meet buildout requirements since it won't use "some undefined sufficient portion" of the company's spectrum, it said: Its spectrum licenses don't have any minimum loading or spectrum use requirements, it said. Dish IoT plans differ from "license saving" deployments that fell short of buildout requirements since its network will be a neutral host platform for third parties alongside Dish's IoT offerings, the company said. It said T-Mobile wrongly asserted the AWS-4, H block and lower 700 MHz E block are supposed to be used for mobile broadband since they're licensed for flexible use. Dish said the carrier should have aired concerns 20 months ago, when it made its IoT plans public, before radios, chipsets and RF designs were committed to and developed. T-Mobile emailed that Dish's response "makes it even clearer they’re merely buying time, at a cost to consumers, hoping to figure out a meaningful ‘Phase 2’ business plan. The FCC’s construction requirements are intended to ensure spectrum is put to use in a timely manner -- DISH has missed the mark and the FCC should enforce its rules.”