Dish Wireless Financing Plans OK for Now, but Funding Will Be Needed, S&P Says

Dish Network's wireless strategy "is slowly coming together," and the company won't require outside funding for its network -- which should cost at least $10 billion, not counting spectrum purchases -- at least until July 2021, S&P said Friday. Dish has funding options including its spectrum assets, S&P said. It said Dish's wireless business will likely entail startup losses of $100 million to $200 million a year through 2021. It said key to its wireless business plans will be some kind of partnership to spread the costs. Dish didn't comment but on an earnings call last week, Chairman Charlie Ergen said on a Q1 investor call Thursday that company 5G network financing wasn't a concern (see 2005070049).