After Samsung and HTC and other manufacturers who have adopted snapdragon processors in their devices, Douglas County-based Dish Network has also invested an estimated $50 million in Qualcomm chipsets, reports Denver Post.
Currently the Qualcomm's dual-core Krait S4 MSM8960 processors are present in Samsung's Galaxy S3 and HTC One X with integrated support for 3G/LTE. And now with Dish Network announcement of a partnership with Qualcomm, it will be working to use the Snapdragon S4 MSM8960 platform in the devices for its future network.
According to the press release, the new satellite air interface tech developed by Qualcomm called Enhanced Geostationary Air Link (EGAL) will allow Dish to support "mobile handsets and other devices" in both terrestrial and satellite modes on the 2GHz / AWS-4 band.
Dish's recently acquired wireless spectrum further has a requirement that any service riding on the airwaves include a satellite, but the company has asked regulators to remove that condition. The Federal Communications Commission is expected to issue a decision by end of summer.
"In our opinion, today's public announcement is a signal from (Dish chairman Charlie Ergen) to the FCC that he is serious about building out the spectrum in hopes of receiving a favorable ruling," Wells Fargo analyst Marci Ryvicker was reportedly noted saying in Denver Post reports.
Past reports in April have also suggested that Ergen said he is ready to build a 4G LTE network to compete against Verizon Wireless and AT&T.
