Dish could lose spectrum discounts

Dish network is in jeopardy of losing billions of dollars in discounts that it claimed in a spectrum auction earlier this year, according to the Wall Street Journal. 

The news outlet reported the Federal Communications Commission could reject the $3.3 billion discount from its $13.3 billion airwave auction winnings. 

{mosads}The “designated entity” program that Dish used to claim the discounts is aimed to help small businesses during the auctions. Dish used two smaller companies — SNR Wireless and Northstar Wireless — to bid during the auction and claim the discount. 

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler asked staffers to review the deal. While it has approve auction winnings from other companies like AT&T, the FCC has not yet approved Dish’s bids. 

The commission could put the issue up for public comment in the near future then decide if the discounts are warranted, according to the report. 

The commission has already begun seeking comment on how to fix the loophole in future auctions. Earlier this year, Wheeler told a Senate panel, “We are going to make sure that designated entities have the opportunity to participate and not have designated entities be beards for people that shouldn’t.”