Dish isn’t the only one interested in T-Mobile’s 800 MHz spectrum

Dish Network isn’t the only entity eyeing T-Mobile’s 800 MHz spectrum. Someone else who’s intimately affiliated with the spectrum is showing an interest, and it’s not one of the big wireless carriers.

Burns & McDonnell (B&M), a large engineering and consulting firm, is seeking permission to participate in the court proceeding where Dish is asking for more time to buy T-Mobile’s 800 MHz spectrum licenses, according to a research note by New Street Research (NSR). Dish filed for an extension with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia earlier this month.

A recap: As part of the government’s approval of the T-Mobile/Sprint merger, it set up Dish to become a fourth facilities-based carrier. That deal called for Dish to get first dibs at the 800 MHz spectrum, which would provide a nice layer of low-band coverage. But Dish doesn’t have the immediate $3.5 billion to pay for the spectrum, so it asked the court for more time – 10 months, to be precise.

B&M’s petition doesn’t change NSR’s view that Dish is more likely than not to get an extension of time.

In a note for investors Thursday, NSR analyst Blair Levin said B&M is likely to be a stalking horse for a fragmented group of electric utilities who have spectrum needs. Electric utilities represent a large traditional client base for B&M.

The utilities have been working with Anterix, the company chaired by Nextel co-founder Morgan O’Brien that describes itself as the largest holder of spectrum licenses in the 900 MHz band. “But apparently ATEX doesn’t have nationwide spectrum and that they are relatively narrow bands,” Levin wrote.

A spokesperson at Anterix provided the following statement to Fierce: “We continue to stay close to this and other spectrum expansion opportunities, including talking to the relevant parties to evaluate anything that could be potentially accretive. We clearly know this spectrum band well, as we put it together at Nextel, piece by piece over decades."

Indeed, O’Brien and other founders of Nextel created Anterix, formerly pdvWireless. They were instrumental in building Nextel’s SMR network and establishing a successful push-to-talk (PTT) service. Sprint acquired Nextel in 2005, which explains how the 800 MHz spectrum ended up in T-Mobile’s hands.

5G and open access

NSR cites B&M’s petition saying it wants to participate in the 800 MHz proceeding as a buyer in an auction if the court denies the Dish extension request. In its filing, B&M asserts that these infrastructure operators are in an excellent position to aid in closing the digital divide with 5G and open radio access technologies.

Levin said the court is likely to grant the motion. However, that’s not an indication of how the DoJ or the court will view the merits of the B&M petition.

Having B&M in the mix offers an alternative to just having the incumbent operators participate in an auction should Dish fail to get more time to buy it. But the DoJ is still in a tricky situation.

“The B&M filing does not change the fundamental calculus we described before: the DoJ must decide whether it wants to double down on its earlier bet on Dish becoming a 4th competitor or stick with the usual practice of not favoring modifications in a merger Final Judgement,” Levin wrote.