Dish has announced a long-term Network Services Agreement (NSA) with AT&T, making the carrier the primary network services partner for Dish MVNO customers, including retail mobile brands such as Boost Mobile, Ting Mobile and Republic Wireless, in addition to its own new Dish 5G network.
The ten-year agreement, which Dish said it worth at least USD 5 billion, will serve as a back-up while the company rolls out its own mobile network. Dish has relied to date mainly on the T-Mobile network, as part of the deal signed last year to acquire Boost Mobile and other assets from T-Mobile following its merger with Sprint.
AT&T will also provide transport and roaming services, to support Dish's 5G network roll-out. Dish said it is committed to becoming the fourth facilities-based carrier in the US and is aiming to bring its cloud-native, OpenRAN-based 5G network to 70 percent of the population by 2023.
