is reporting today that DirecTV and Dish Network are discussing a merger. But getting this deal past the regulatory agencies is going to be tough. Two years ago, the satellite-TV firms tried to combine but were shot down by the Justice Department and the FCC. The DOJ also warned executives of both companies that any merger between the pair should wait until faster 5G wireless speeds become available in rural markets.
Dish played an important role in T-Mobile's $26 billion acquisition of Sprint which turned over the latter's valuable hoard of 2.5GHz mid-band spectrum to the nation's second-largest carrier allowing it to take the early lead in U.S. 5G wireless service. The FCC and DOJ had previously shut down a Sprint-T-Mobile combination for fear that the reduction in the number of major carriers by 25% would lead to higher pricing.
While Dish Wireless started with the 9.3 million customers it was given as part of its deal with Sprint, after the third quarter of last year