Dish Network unveiled a new website this week that strongly suggests the satellite television provider is inching closer toward a broader rollout of its next-generation wireless phone network.
The website for the service, code-named “Project Gene5is,” is sparse, containing only a promise to “democratize wireless access” and a button for interested parties to “request access” once the service is available in their area.
A privacy policy linked on the website indicates that it was launched by Dish Wireless, the wireless subsidiary of Dish Network. On a separate website under Dish Network’s own branding, the company is promising to launch “America’s first cloud-native 5G network,” with the company setting internal launch goals for later this fall.
Few other details were available, including how much the service will cost, where it will be available and the kind of features Dish Network will include. Earlier this year, Dish Network said its test market for the new service would be Las Vegas.
After amassing a sizable chunk of wireless spectrum for more than a decade, Dish Network finally waded into the wireless game when it acquired prepaid wireless brand Boost Mobile from Sprint last year. Sprint went on to merge with with T-Mobile; its divestiture of Boost Mobile to Dish Network was intended to satisfy regulatory scrutiny over the deal.
Dish Network continues to operate the Boost Mobile brand, with phones running on Sprint and T-Mobile’s legacy 4G LTE networks. Boost Mobile does not offer 5G access within its coverage area, but a webpage on the carrier’s website promises to use a portion of its spectrum to deliver “much greater capacity than current LTE systems” in the future.
In addition to Boost Mobile, Dish Network also acquired prepaid wireless service Ting Mobile last year.
