DISH Makes offer to buy Sprint (Rescinded)

[kstuart]

I am seeing this as Charlie realizing that Satellite TV is a transitional technology.

Right now, we have 1,000 channels being beamed at everyone from $200 million dollar satellites. It's very inefficient. Despite the DVR, it sill partakes of the 1930s idea of "The Vikings are on Sunday at 10pm".

The Roku/Netflix model is that you want to watch something, so you pick it, and the server streams it to you. You need to answer the phone, so you press "pause" and it sends a signal to the server to stop at that point.

Wireless Bandwidth is what is needed for the model of the future, where LTE and other technologies allow enough bandwidth for video streaming.

So "Bundling" is the 2005 concept, and what will happen going forward is just the opposite - no difference between Home and Mobile, no difference between Phone, Smartphone, Video or Internet. Just Wireless Broadband everywhere.

This offer for Sprint seems to indicate to me that Charlie understands this.

 

[Hall]

Yes they could.

Why would they ? This is all about wireless spectrum.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Why would they ? This is all about wireless spectrum.

Because the FCC has already said that the first phone DISH produces must do satellite / cellular.

 

[whitewolf8214]

This should be interesting and if they say comes true better technology and more spectrun 8 way highway instead of 2.Hope our bills don't go up now alot because of this Scott what is your opinion of all thisand the future of all this? Thanks for your input since your chats with Charlie on this I have been leaning towards Sprint for a cellphone and this may make it even easier to do!!

 

[dare2be]

I will now heretofore refer to the proposed merger as Sprish.

 

[empiretc]

I will now heretofore refer to the proposed merger as Sprish.

Why not Dint?

 

[dvrexpander]

If we start installing cell phones with satellite receivers I'm going to quit being an installer....the end!

 

[satjay]

I am seeing this as Charlie realizing that Satellite TV is a transitional technology.

Right now, we have 1,000 channels being beamed at everyone from $200 million dollar satellites. It's very inefficient. Despite the DVR, it sill partakes of the 1930s idea of "The Vikings are on Sunday at 10pm".

The Roku/Netflix model is that you want to watch something, so you pick it, and the server streams it to you. You need to answer the phone, so you press "pause" and it sends a signal to the server to stop at that point.

Wireless Bandwidth is what is needed for the model of the future, where LTE and other technologies allow enough bandwidth for video streaming.

So "Bundling" is the 2005 concept, and what will happen going forward is just the opposite - no difference between Home and Mobile, no difference between Phone, Smartphone, Video or Internet. Just Wireless Broadband everywhere.

This offer for Sprint seems to indicate to me that Charlie understands this.

Good points, do you think one day the that Dish changes they way they deliver video over for example there Hopper systems. They have made changes already, but a much different change?

 

[nelson61]

Because the FCC has already said that the first phone DISH produces must do satellite / cellular.

Yes indeed. Charlie bought up the bankrupt satellite phone companies to get their licenses. The original licenses only allowed sat phones and it took a year or two for their request to allow terrestrial use of the frequency in addition to the sat phone transmission. He wanted the license change fast but FCC held hearings, etc before making the change so appeals by others could not plug up the works (what happened way back on some of the dbs licenses and that mess is still under new rule making). But, wow, the amount of spectrum in this deal is huge, and even though it is in planning stage for use, the regulators might not want them to have such a huge percentage of the bandwidth.

 

[Yespage]

I will now heretofore refer to the proposed merger as Sprish.

Oh no you Dishint.

 

[Bobby]

Oh no you Dishint.

No more beer for you!

 

[Teehar]

If it means expanded service for most folks then hopefully it happens.

The dish/sprint cup will take some getting used to though.

 

[Laddyboy]

Yes indeed. Charlie bought up the bankrupt satellite phone companies to get their licenses. The original licenses only allowed sat phones and it took a year or two for their request to allow terrestrial use of the frequency in addition to the sat phone transmission. He wanted the license change fast but FCC held hearings, etc before making the change so appeals by others could not plug up the works (what happened way back on some of the dbs licenses and that mess is still under new rule making). But, wow, the amount of spectrum in this deal is huge, and even though it is in planning stage for use, the regulators might not want them to have such a huge percentage of the bandwidth.

Although the amount of spectrum is huge, there is still spectrum to be auctioned as I recall so it's not like the other players would be being frozen out. There is lower, medium and higher bandwidth spectrum, all with different advantages/disadvantages which this merger would place in the same basket, allowing for some pretty nifty content delivery should it pan out as planned -- at least for those in the metro areas. For the rest of us, probably not much to be gained without massive build-outs which I doubt will occur. I'm in a populated area and my AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mob reception sucks or is nonexistent, but I get my internet from a fixed wireless provider. I can't imagine how much this will cost subscribers. It won't be cheap, meaning the video portion.

 

[CK SatGuy]

In a somewhat related story, Verizon wants clearwire's spectrum.
http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/report-verizon-wants-buy-clearwires-spectrum/2013-04-15

 

[nelson61]

how it would work.

 

[nelson61]

And "All you can eat" mobile video menu. I intend to stay skinny with some money in my pocket.

 

[riffjim4069]

The subscription television market is undergoing radical change and we're nearing the point where consumers are going to have many more video choices outside of traditional cable and satellite services. The Pay TV market is a boat anchor with razor-thin profit margins. A Dish/Sprint merger may rate right up there with AOL/Time-Warner and Sears/Kmart.

“Sprint doesn’t change overnight because of SoftBank — it’s still Sprint,” he said. “Sprint transforms overnight with Dish.” Right! I think it benefits Sprint and consumers to accept a cash infusion from SoftBank vice enter into a "deal" with Dish that will most likely not be a friendly relationship.

BTW, were dish Dish get 17.1 Billion dollars?

 

[DWS44]

Wouldn't it be cool if the Hopper of the future came with something like the Sprint Airave built in, and perhaps used the dish antenna to boost the cell signal in the house.

Of course, the monthly fee would probably be obscene. :haha

 

[Mochuf]

Of course, the monthly fee would probably be obscene. :haha

Isn't this the whole point of all of these companies wanting to deliver their services over LTE?

 

[Derwin0]

Guess I'm going to hold off updating my sprint phones this summer. I have a feeling a Dish buyout is the end of Sprint.