According to a recent Bloomberg Report, Dish Network chairman Charlie Ergen has spoken to executives at Deutsche Telekom about buying out its American wireless unit, T-Mobile (News - Alert) US. This would be the fourth time in as many years that someone has attempted to acquire the fourth largest U.S. wireless carrier, and Dish’s second attempt at acquiring a telecom after failing to acquire Sprint (News - Alert). Deutsche Telekom has sought to get rid of T-Mobile US for the past several years because the company feels it lacks the firepower to compete against giants like AT&T (News - Alert) and Verizon.

In 2011, AT&T ended its attempted buyout of T-Mobile after facing stiff opposition from the FCC and Justice Department. The government felt that a market dominated by two giant providers would harm consumers while stifling competition and innovation and AT&T’s arguments for the buyout failed to impress. Last month, Sprint’s attempted merger with T-Mobile US ended before getting off the ground when it faced the same regulatory challenges. An initial offer from Iliad SA was rejected by Deutsche Telekom (News - Alert) because it was too low, but the French carrier is still a possible suitor.

The primary reason Dish may be able to succeed in its attempt to acquire T-Mobile US is that it does not face as many regulatory obstacles as AT&T and Sprint did in their buyout attempts. Since Dish is not a telecom, an acquisition of T-Mobile US would not reduce the number of major providers in the U.S.

Dish’s ability to acquire T-Mobile will be critical to its long term success. Having separate providers for phone, television and Internet services is a thing of the past as a consolidation has been going on for years; satellite TV is simply another market that’s become part of the process. AT&T is waiting for regulators to give their blessing to its $48 billion acquisition of DirecTV (News - Alert).

Assuming that deal is finalized, Dish would be at a competitive disadvantage if it stood pat. The company also owns several licenses for broadband spectrum that remain unused and unable to generate revenue if it does not acquire a telecom. Look for buyout talks to accelerate after a November auction for spectrum ends. At that point, Dish will know exactly what it has and where it stands in its ability to acquire T-Mobile US.