EchoStar (NASDAQ: SATS) and SpaceX have been sparring over Echostar’s use of its mobile satellite services (MSS) operations in the 2 GHz band. SpaceX accused Echostar in filings to the FCC of “barely” using the band, and said “it’s ripe for sharing,” notes Via Satellite.
The FCC this week opened two queries on EchoStar. One from the Space Bureau focuses on MSS use, Inside Towers reported. The other from the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau concerns EchoStar’s 5G network buildout.
Carr wrote to EchoStar Chairman Charlie Ergen to explain the probes, stating, “The FCC has an obligation to ensure that the companies we regulate comply with the terms of their federal spectrum licenses.”
EchoStar bought DISH Network in December 2023. Carr noted that, as part of the Commission’s approval, EchoStar’s predecessor DISH agreed to meet specific 5G buildout deadlines in connection with a number of spectrum licenses across several spectrum bands. “EchoStar promised-among other things-that its network would cover, by June 14, 2025, at least 70% of the population within each of its licensed geographic areas for its AWS-4 and 700 MHz licenses, and at least 75% of the population within each of its licensed geographic areas for its H Block and 600 MHz licenses,” Carr wrote.
Carr stated the terms were clear and the agency structured the buildout obligations “to prevent spectrum warehousing.” He’s concerned about EchoStar’s negotiations with the Biden-FCC last year to change those terms and give EchoStar more time. Carr noted that was “not the first time EchoStar sought extensions or missed milestones.”
Ergen defended the company’s use of spectrum in a letter back to Carr, saying that EchoStar has “met or exceeded all of the commitments” on the O-RAN buildout, addressing the company’s direct-to-device plans for its spectrum in the works, according to Via Satellite.
The FCC Space Bureau seeks public comment on EchoStar’s use of the MSS band. The agency asks whether it might make more intensive use of the 2GHz band “but not limited to allowing new entrants.” Comments are due to SB Docket 25-173 by May 27.
The Wireless Telecommunications Bureau is seeking public comment on a petition challenging the Rosenworcel-FCC’s grant of EchoStar’s extensions. The bureau says it’s trying to develop a fuller record “on whether it should reconsider” that decision “or whether there are other measures or actions that it should consider taking with respect to EchoStar’s licenses.” Comments to WT Docket 22-212 are also due by May 27.
New Street Research (NSR) Policy Advisor Blair Levin believes the proceeding could take six to nine months. Levin says normally, NSR believes EchoStar is likely to win, based on past precedents. SpaceX arguments are similar to those it has made before, and rejected by the agency. This is not the only time SpaceX has “tried to share the spectrum used by others or delay the ability of others to” use their spectrum, according to Levin.
However, “given the dynamics of Musk in the Trump Administration, we have a lower confidence in the traditional indicators of who is likely to prevail,” he writes. He notes that all prior examples of the FCC rejecting these arguments happened in the Democratic majority FCC. “While Carr did not dissent from any of those decisions, we view him as capable of now saying that those decisions were wrong,” says Levin.
“Given the tone and purpose of the Carr letter, there is a significant risk to DISH that the FCC will make findings that, if upheld by a court, would reduce the value of DISH’s spectrum holdings for DISH,” he writes. NSR expects DISH would challenge any FCC finding of spectrum hoarding or failure to meet the agency’s requirements in court and also believes DISH would “likely challenge” any remedy, including forced sharing or license revocation. Litigation would take “several years” to reach a final decision, states Levin.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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