American Tower says Dish sent letter, ‘believes they’re excused from payments’

American Tower (AMT), on its Q3 earnings conference call, said that it received a letter from Dish “saying that they believe they’re excused from making payments under the MLA based on the spectrum sale.” American Tower said “We disagree with that. And in fact, we filed suit.” American Tower said it filed a declaratory judgment action to “ask the court to confirm that we own the remainder of the rent under that agreement.” The company noted that that agreement goes through 2036 and represents about 2% of its total property revenue and about 4% of its U.S. and Canada property revenue. American Tower said “We’re focused on defending our contract and making sure that everyone acknowledges that it’s a valid and enforceable contract through 2036. And then we will have whatever discussions make sense that are going to maximize long-term growth.”