DISH continues its diversification, and its dive into cellular service, with its intention to test 800MHz Spectrum. That’s the story as it comes from FierceWireless this morning. DISH had petitioned the FCC for approval to test its 800MHz 5G service in Yuma, Arizona, and the approval was granted. This will let DISH compare its 600MHz 5G service with what it can get in the 800MHz band.
Why is this important?
As part of a deal between DISH, T-Mobile, and Sprint, DISH inherited some of T-Mobile’s customer base and bought some of Sprint’s unused spectrum. This chunk of spectrum, at 817-824 MHz and 862-869 MHz, comes directly from the Sprint deal. At the same time, the company bid aggressively on 5G spectrum when it became available almost five years ago. Part of the T-Mobile agreement was intended to make DISH a viable competitor with AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile, since Sprint was effectively (and finally) going away. And DISH, for their part, seemed eager to do that.
However, the company has been moving more slowly than expected in implementing its plans. I think that everyone understands why that happened in 2020 and 2021, but here we are in 2023 and the industry was looking for a sign that DISH’s plans were back on track. This is a clear one.
Is 800MHz 5G better than 600MHz 5G?
Here’s a matter where you’ll get a lot of opinions. On the face of it you’ll want 600MHz spectrum rather than 800MHz spectrum. For one, 600MHz is less crowded, so you should get better data speeds and less throttling. The 600MHz frequencies were just opened up to cellular a few years ago; before that they were used for broadcast television. Using the same broadcast power, a 600MHz signal will go further than an 800MHz spectrum. In general, the lower the frequency, the more distance you’ll get from the same power.
However, there’s another piece of the puzzle to consider. If you use your phone outside 100% of the time, you’ll probably get great service either way. But, if you use your phone inside, at least 90% people will experience bad cell service at some point in the day. There’s a simple solution: a cell phone signal booster from Solid Signal. Cell boosters take signal from an outside antenna, bring it into the house, and massively amplify it. You’ll get better voice quality, faster data, and even better battery life.
There’s only one hitch: today’s cell boosters don’t amplify the 600MHz bands. That’s why DISH is smart to develop a strategy for 800MHz cellular 5G, which works with cell phone boosters today and in the future.
The uncertain future for 600MHz
That’s right, if you buy a cell booster today, it won’t amplify 5G signals at 600MHz. Why? The answer’s pretty simple. In order to have a cell booster that amplifies these bands, you need FCC approval. And the FCC’s a mess right now. It has been for a while. With only four of five seats filled, they can’t do much of anything unless it’s totally non-controversial. Approving a request for testing in one market’s pretty easy, but approving a whole new manufacturing line will take more time. That’s time the FCC doesn’t have, since they’re effectively throttled from the top down.
The situation at the FCC isn’t likely to change quickly either. Earlier this week, embattled FCC nominee Gigi Sohn withdrew from nomination, meaning the whole process has to start again. In earlier days, it could have all been over in a month. However, the FCC’s policies control what we see and do on any cellular or internet-enabled device. This has made them a political flashpoint for anyone who wants to change the way those systems work.
I do think that 600MHz cellular will thrive. I also think that there will be 600MHz-capable cell boosters at some point. However, they’re not here now. I can’t say when they’re coming, either. The big players in the cell booster game probably have their devices all lined up, but without a path to getting them approved, they’re just not going anywhere yet.
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