CA Judge Denies DISH Request for More Time Before CDMA Shutdown

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

A judge in California denied DISH Network’s request for more time to migrate customers using the CDMA network off of T-Mobile’s network. DISH filed the request last April and Administrative Law Judge Karl J. Bemesderfer of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) recently issued his “proposed decision.”  He noted that unless the CPUC hears the item and votes to approve it, the proposed decision “has no legal effect.” At the earliest, the CPUC could take up the issue on March 17. T-Mobile and DISH have been fighting for months over the issue of T-Mobile’s intended CDMA shutdown. T-Mobile said during its earnings call last week it still plans to shut down the CDMA network, which it inherited when it acquired Sprint, on March 31, Inside Towers reported. Continue Reading