The last few weeks we've noted that for some reason, Wall Street stock jocks really seem to want AT&T to buy Dish. That's a rumor that has circulated for as long as we've been in existence, but it has seen new legs recently under the premise that because the T-Mobile deal was rejected, AT&T simply must buy somebody else. Missing from that narrative is the fact that AT&T really doesn't need to buy anybody else, and that their own data shows they have all the spectrum they need to deploy LTE nationally, particularly after repurposing existing spectrum and their Qualcomm acquisitions.
Bloomberg is running their third AT&T Dish rumor story in as many weeks, noting that because AT&T doesn't want restrictions on the transfer and/or leasing" of Dish spectrum, AT&T clearly is showing an interest in buying Dish. You'll note however that at the same time AT&T wants rules making it easier to nab Dish's spectrum, they're pushing for rules that make it harder for Dish to potentially complete their planned build of an LTE network that would compete with AT&T:
There should be no restrictions on the transfer and/or leasing of the spectrum, AT&T wrote in comments to the Federal Communications Commission on Jan. 26. The letter is a change of heart for AT&T, Stefan Anninger, a Credit Suisse analyst, said in a note yesterday. AT&T also urged the agency to require a fast-track network buildout, a stipulation that could make it difficult for Dish to keep the spectrum, Anninger said.
As was made clear by the T-Mobile attempt, AT&T doesn't really need to buy companies, but they want to because the more spectrum sitting in AT&T's vault, the fewer competitors can disrupt the cozy duopoly AT&T and Verizon enjoy. The current spectrum debate in Congress isn't really about capacity, innovation, or other political buzz topics, it's about competition -- and whether existing spectrum sits gathering dust in the vaults of giants, or whether it gets doled out to competitors who'll really put it to use.read comment(s)