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During a call for results today, Dish Network executives said its Las Vegas 5G wireless service is in the final stages of construction and will launch in beta by the end of September. It just keeps him in line with the Q3 deployment target he gave earlier this year.
The launch of the beta is an important first step towards its commitment to reach 70% of the U.S. population by June 2023, a goal that looks increasingly ambitious as the company continues to lose wireless customers. It lost 161,000 subscribers in the first quarter of this year and just reported a net loss of 201,000 wireless subscribers in the second quarter. The company stands to lose even more of its remaining 8.9 million wireless subscribers as T-Mobile unveils a generous promotion aimed at the very customers it was to sell to Dish as part of the Sprint merger deal .
Dish says the Vegas beta will last for at least 90 days, during which time it plans to gather customer feedback and fix issues as its technology moves from the lab to the real world – President Charlie Ergen acknowledges that the network will not work perfectly at first.
Dish also recently signed an agreement with AT&T, which it will rely on for the majority of its service as a Wireless Reseller (MVNO) while building its own network. During today’s call, Dish clarified the role their new partner will play in the beta launch. It says the majority of network use when it launches in Las Vegas will be on its own network, with AT&T and its existing partner T-Mobile’s networks providing some roaming support.
Curious to try it for yourself? Anyone interested in testing the network as part of the beta program can sign up for more information on Dish’s Project Genesis website.
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