The hits keep coming between SoftBank and Dish Network. In an FCC filling posted yesterday, SoftBank lashes back at Dish’s argument against SoftBank’s revised offer for Sprint, accusing Dish of trying to invoke a “xenophobic reaction.”
In an FCC filing from June 12, Dish cited the reduction of capital Sprint will receive from SoftBank in a new deal—down to $5 billion from $8 billion in SoftBank’s original offer—as cause for some regulatory do-overs. Dish is calling for a revised application, a new Public Notice, and an updated public interest analysis in the FCC’s review of the SoftBank-Sprint transaction.
SoftBank addressed those concerns in today’s filing. In it, SoftBank claims that even with the reduction of capital, substantial public interest value still exists for the transaction. SoftBank counts its TDD-LTE deployment expertise and its experience tailoring competitive services and device portfolios as benefits, as well as being able to leverage the scale of the combined company’s customer base toward acquiring technology.
In a strongly worded rebuttal of Dish’s insistence that the SoftBank-Sprint stockholders’ agreement requires Commission review, SoftBank calls Dish’s argument “nonsensical.” Furthermore, SoftBank goes on to say that Dish suggesting the agreement would limit U.S. ownership in Sprint is an attempt to invoke a “xenophobic reaction.”
SoftBank’s accusations are in part based on Dish’s efforts to thwart SoftBank’s acquisition of Sprint. Dish Chairman Charlie Ergen has repeatedly expressed fears that SoftBank buying Sprint could endanger Sprint jobs held by U.S. workers, a claim SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son has rebuked. Dish also launched a website named Nationalsecuritymatters.com that warns of U.S. dependence on Chinese infrastructure and heightened risk of cyber threats if SoftBank is allowed to buy Sprint.
Filed Under: Carriers
