FCC gives Dish’s proposed LTE network a thumbs up

The Federal Communications Commission this week took a big step toward expanding competition in the wireless market by granting Dish Network (DISH) a license to use a 40MHz chunk of satellite spectrum on the 2GHz band for terrestrial LTE-Advanced services. But Engadget reports that although the FCC gave Dish’s proposed LTE network a thumbs up, the company was not fully satisfied with some of the commission’s other decisions, including one that will auction off a valuable chunk of spectrum that Dish would prefer remain unoccupied because it might interfere with its LTE services. All the same, Dish senior vice president and deputy general counsel Jeff Blum praised the FCC for taking “an important step toward facilitating wireless competition and innovation, and fulfilling the goals of the National Broadband Plan.”