Strike Two For Dish Network - No Clearwire

Dish Network has been swinging but unfortunately also missing the ball.  Strike one was losing a bid for Sprint to Softbank and strike two is losing its bid for Clearwire to Sprint.  "The developments pose a dilemma for Dish Chairman Charlie Ergen as he tries to create a national wireless broadband service. He has been amassing airwave spectrum rights but has said that he needs additional licenses. He had hoped to secure that by acquiring a large minority stake in Clearwire –  and by acquiring Sprint."  So what to do next?  Does Dish Network have another swing left and who might it be?

Some are speculating that Dish may still have their eyes on Lightsquared, although that spectrum space has been questioned for its interference issues.  Others are speculating that dish may reach out to another wireless provider, perhaps T Mobile, to gain a national footprint.  And still others think the best course of action is for Dish Network and DirecTv to merge into a more powerful satellite competitor.  One wonders if this third scenario might raise the anti trade issues of a single consolidated satellite company, but if Sirius and XM could make it work, so should these two.  For me, I think the next step is a wireless play and perhaps a T-Mobile and Lightsquared combination may create synergies similar to what Sprint and Clearwire brought to the table.  For now, the next move seems to be Ergens.