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Charlie Ergen

Former Chairman of DISH Network, Dish Network

Search every verified Charlie Ergen interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Charlie Ergen, chairman of Dish Network and EchoStar, discussed the companies' planned merger in August 2023, stating that the combination would allow them to "build a new athlete for telecom" and that "a lot has changed" since the companies were separated. Ergen said the deal would strengthen the combined entity's balance sheet and extend its financial runway, while acknowledging that more work on financing would be needed. He noted that Dish had spent approximately $30 billion on spectrum over the previous 15 years and described investing in the future as essential, saying "it's always a mistake for companies to not invest in the future because eventually that catches up with you." In earlier appearances, Ergen described Dish's commitment to building a greenfield 5G network, saying the company was "taking every single penny that DISH has ever earned" and investing it in wireless infrastructure. He characterized the effort as important for the country and said Dish aimed to be the first standalone 5G network outside of China. Ergen also expressed concerns about competition, describing T-Mobile's plan to shut down its CDMA network as "clearly an anti-competitive effort aimed at Dish" that would affect Boost Mobile customers. On workplace culture, Ergen told employees that Dish should be a meritocracy without discrimination based on sex, race, or background, and that the company's diversity helps it serve a diverse customer base.

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