Dish Network set plans to offer approximately $500 million of its senior secured notes to fund its ongoing 5G network rollout along with other general corporate purposes.

The notes will be secured by the assets of some Dish Network subsidiaries, with the issuance subject to market and other conditions.

In November 2022, Dish Network detailed a scheme to raise $2 billion through its senior secured notes to fund the mobile network build. At the time, MoffettNathanson analyst Craig Moffett told Mobile World Live (MWL) increased debt would be costly to the operator and the most likely outcome for its wireless business was bankruptcy.

Recon Analytics analyst Roger Entner told MWL the latest funding round was entirely predictable as Dish Network needs more money.

He also noted if Dish Network had started raising funds a year or two ago it would have saved money versus the piecemeal approach now being used.

Entner said it was too early to tell if Dish Wireless would become bankrupt because there were too many factors at play.

Dish Wireless has a government mandate to cover 70 per cent of the US population by June 2023, which Entner previously noted was putting additional financial pressure on the parent company.