While Dish's attempted takeover of Sprint and planned mobile LTE network build is anything but certain, the company is making other moves to satiate its urge to jump back into the broadband business. Dish has announced that the company has struck a deal with regional wireless provider NTelos to provide fixed broadband services to Dish customers. While the company didn't get specific, the announcement makes it clear this fixed residential LTE service will be targeted specifically at rural regions where broadband options are poor.
NTelos currently offers service in portions of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Kentucky.
Our wireless operations are composed of an NTELOS branded retail business and a wholesale business, primarily related to an exclusive contract with Sprint Nextel Corp.
Ntelos operates their own network. Sprint lets them have access to the spectrum they own there in exchange for Ntelos building the network in that area. Sprint doesn't own towers (except iDEN) or stores in the areas that Ntelos serves. There may be Sprint stores but they are run by Ntelos in those areas.
Sounds like on of the few - if the only one- of their network affiliates that they haven't purchased yet or that hasn't sued Spent into the next decade.
Wrong. Ntelos is an independent carrier. Ntelos owns their own spectrum, and sprint owns spectrum in the same location. Sprint does not have towers in some parts of the ntelos footprint, and in those places Ntelos wholesales coverage for sprint customers. The sprint stores are not opened or operated in any way by Ntelos.
Too bad NTelos has a limited footprint rather than national. It would be nice to have it in rural Illinois where broadband options are poor, very expensive, limited to telco duopolies, and Sprint has no towers. Dish net here is through a couple of providers that aren't terribly exciting and the prices are offensive.