Dish has just announced it has reached an agreement with Mereo Network to sell its fiber business for an undisclosed sum. The move is meant to boost Dish’s efforts to continue to deploy its 5G network, which proves to be a challenge.
Owned by Echo Star, Dish Network also owns Boost Mobile prepaid carrier, which benefits the most from the national 5G network that Dish has been trying to deploy for the last couple of years.
Dish Network’s fiber business was relatively small but enticing enough for Mereo Networks to want to acquire it. According to the latter, Dish Fiber is present in 33 US states and serves around 25,000 residential units.
On the other hand, Mereo Networks had more than 55,000 connected residents, and it’s been considered one of the largest bulk service providers with strategic partnerships in 23 states across the country.
With the acquisition of Dish Fiber, Mereo now serves over 80,000 residential units and increases its footprint to 37 states. Overall, this seems like a very good deal for Mereo, even though the money it paid to acquire Dish Fiber hasn’t been disclosed yet.
As part of the deal, Mereo Networks announced that it will rebrand as Mereo Fiber, which will probably make more sense for what this company strives to do: deliver high-performance fiber connectivity.
As per Mereo’s announcement, customers, property owners, and partners of both companies can expect “a seamless transition and a greater focus on delivering cutting-edge fiber solutions to high-density communities.”
For the unaware, Mereo Fiber is backed by Macquarie Capital, WaveDivision Capital and Freedom 3 Capital since November 2023. PhoneArena