If not a Google - Dish partnership, talks of AT&T acquiring Dish have also been around for a while. What value the wireless spectrum has may just depend on what the FCC determines, but AT&T might also like to work with Dish on how best to use that asset. And that may affect Dish's future stock value. "Dish's premium could reflect lingering hopes that it will decide to sell off the spectrum, whose value Bernstein estimates at about $8 billion, equivalent to 50% of the company's current market capitalization. Mr. Ergen has said this isn't his intention."
Dish's possible future continues to take many turns. Google and AT&T have been mentioned, but so has DirecTv. A merger of the two satellite providers, if approved by the FCC would rival the size of Comcast. Whether that merger was viewed as anti competitive in the satellite space, as opposed to bringing more size parity to the cable space, remains to be seen. Regardless, Dish seems to be in play and the question is who will they hook up with.
