Today DISH Network announced plans to raise $1,5000,000,000 in Senior Secured Notes. According to DISH, they plan to use the proceeds of the offering for “general corporate purposes, including the buildout of wireless infrastructure.”
With these being Senior Secured Notes, it means that these bonds must be repaid before most other debts in the event the issuer declares bankruptcy.
The Notes are a further issuance of the $2,000,000,000 aggregate principal amount of 11.750% Senior Secured Notes due 2027 issued by DISH Network on November 15, 2022.
This all comes as DISH has been busy building out its 5G network after its deal with T-Mobile to buy Boost Mobile. This made DISH the 4th largest wireless provider in the United States.
Last June, DISH Wireless announced it had built out its network to reach 20% of the US population. To fill the gaps, DISH has partnership deals with other carriers like T-Mobile to fill in the gaps.
“As of June 14, Dish is offering 5G broadband service to over 20 percent of the U.S. population. This marks a major milestone in building the world’s most advanced cloud-native 5G Open RAN network, as Dish continues to change the way the world communicates,” said the company in a statement.
DISH has been working hard to diversify as its core TV business changes. This sale of bonds seems to be one more step in its plans to finish its network and compete with T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T.