Dish Network remains steadfast that it will hit looming 5G spectrum license coverage requirements despite admitted past technical snags in launching its cloud-native network.

The current mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) controls a host of wireless spectrum licenses, with some of those licenses tagged with very specific coverage requirements. The most pressing are that Dish must cover 20% of the population encompassed within those licensed areas by June.

Dish CEO Erik Carlson previously stated that the company had more than 25 major metro markets ready to be deployed before the deadline, including around 100 smaller cities across the country.

The company did take its first steps toward that goal this week by launching commercial operations on its own network in Las Vegas. However, it admits there is still work to be done.

“We're not spiking the football … yet, but we're still on track for that,” Dish Chairman Charlie Ergen said during the company’s latest earnings call.

Ergen dismissed the need to file for an extension on those coverage requirements, despite analysts noting unforeseen complications like the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The executive called out work from its network partners in getting the company through some integration challenges.

“We don't think we need to ask for an extension at this point,” Ergen said. “We were fortunate that we ordered radios before kind of the supply chain thing hit, so while we had some ups and downs, Fujitsu did an incredible job of making sure we got our radios.”

During Dish’s previous earnings call, Ergen admitted that the network construction was more challenging than expected, which resulted in the company missing past launch deadlines.

“We’re six months behind where we thought we’d be, and it’s my fault. We just didn’t maybe anticipate that we would have to do as much on the technical side,” Ergen said at that time. “Ultimately we found that we had to become the system integrator. It wasn’t a role that we thought we were going to take on. But with all the vendors, somebody’s got to be the middleman between them and be the glue that holds them together. We probably squandered some time, but that’s my fault.”

Ergen this week did cite issues with “things that we don’t control,” including backhaul and power to cell sites, but those weren’t enough to impact its current course.

“I know you guys are a bit frustrated because we don't talk a lot about what we're doing,” Ergen added. “But every day we're not at a trade show and we're not at a conference talking about what we're doing and actually doing what we're doing … gets us farther down the path where we don't have to ask for an extension.”

Getting down that path did cost Dish $597 million in wireless capex during the first quarter. It expects to spend a similar amount each quarter through the rest of the year.

The company this week also added Samsung to its extensive vendor list.

The multi-year agreement will see Samsung Networks Business provide Dish Network with its 5G virtualized RAN (vRAN) software that is designed to run on commercial hardware. Samsung will also provide its open RAN radio units, including its massive MIMO antennas and support for Dish Network’s various spectrum bands and transmission orientations.