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Dish Wireless exec in charge of 5G building leaving company

Stephen Bye will transition to a director on Dish's board, starting next week.

Stephen Bye will transition to a director on Dish's board, starting next week.

Stephen Bye (Photo via LinkedIn, Graphic by The Desk)

Stephen Bye, the Dish Network executive in charge of the company’s ambitious wireless product and its associated fifth-generation (5G) network build-out, is leaving the company.

Bye served as the chief commercial officer of Dish Wireless from December 2019 to the present, and oversaw Dish’s $1.4 billion acquisition of Sprint Corporation’s Boost Mobile prepaid subsidiary while Sprint was merging with T-Mobile.

“Stephen has been an integral part of building our wireless business, helping lead efforts to maximize our wireless efforts and prepare us to monetize our investments,” Charlie Ergen, the co-founder and chairman of Dish, said in a statement on Tuesday. “His continued leadership and guidance while serving on the board will be important as we continue to build our wireless network and disrupt the consumer and business wireless markets.”

Bye will depart Dish Wireless on Tuesday, January 17, at which point he will take on a new role as president of the connectivity division at Ziff Davis. He will also take on a director position on Dish’s board.

“DISH is well positioned to redefine wireless at the retail, enterprise and wholesale levels with the company’s standalone 5G network,” Bye said. “The Dish 5G network will be invaluable for economic development in the U.S. I am honored to be joining the board and continuing to be a part of what will be one of the greatest telecom achievements in the years to come.”

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About the Author:

Matthew Keys

Matthew Keys is an award-winning journalist with more than 10 years of experience covering the business of television and radio broadcasting, streaming services and the overall media industry. In addition to his work as publisher of The Desk, Matthew contributes regularly to StreamTV Insider and KnowTechie, and has worked for several well-known news organizations, including Thomson Reuters, McNaughton Newspapers, Grasswire, Comstock's magazine, KTXL-TV and KGO-TV. Matthew is a member of IRE, a trade organization for investigative reporters and editors, and is based in Northern California.

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