As the fourth US MNO starting way behind the big three, Dish Network has been seeking ways to reduce the deficit as well as meet contractual obligations for 5G coverage. This lay behind its dramatic $5bn 10-year deal struck with AT&T in July 2021 to obtain transport for its MVNO 5G offering that will provide national coverage while it builds out its own network. It also underlies the request Dish has just made to regulator FCC for permission to conduct 5G tests using carrier aggregation in the 600 MHz band, in Denver and Las Vegas, while gaining additional spectrum for that low band elsewhere. Both moves would have seemed curious a couple of years ago. Dish originally set out its…