UPDATE EchoStar (NASDAQ: SATS) made another delayed payment on some of its outstanding secured notes, though its operational future remains in flux, reports sdxcentral. In a new SEC filing, EchoStar stated that it would make interest payments on a handful of outstanding debt notes that were originally due on July 1. Those interest payments are not technically late since they came with a 30-day grace period before the company is considered to be in default, Inside Towers reported.
EchoStar’s latest payment action is similar to what the company did a month ago when it delayed payment on another set of debt notes. At that time, the company said it would not be making the scheduled payment on the July notes that it has now made payments on.
In the latest SEC filing, EchoStar again pointed to the firm’s ongoing battle with the FCC over already granted deadline extensions for some of EchoStar’s wireless spectrum licenses. That battle includes EchoStar’s 2 GHz licenses that have become a point of contention for mobile satellite services operations.
EchoStar’s DISH subsidiary initially acquired those spectrum licenses more than a decade ago. DISH noted that it planned to use the roughly 40 MHz of spectrum for a satellite-to-device service, notes sdxcentral.
EchoStar and the FCC have been embroiled in the Commission investigation over the spectrum after SpaceX accused EchoStar of “barely” using the band, Inside Towers reported. SpaceX called for the FCC to bring new entrants into the 2 GHz band and start a new spectrum-sharing process. EchoStar told the FCC that adding a new MSS operator in the 2 GHz band “would significantly harm EchoStar’s terrestrial network,” and forced sharing, “would be unlawfully retroactive, arbitrary and capricious, discriminatory, and would effectively revoke EchoStar’s licenses.”
In May, the FCC initiated an inquiry into EchoStar’s MSS operations in the 2 GHz band, and began another inquiry into its 5G network buildout. EchoStar claims it is meeting its buildout deadlines and the inquiries are harming its ability to operate.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr told reporters last week both inquiries are ongoing.
Analysts have noted that the agency’s position combined with EchoStar’s fraught financial situation is putting pressure on EchoStar to sell the licenses.
“It is widely believed (and we agree) that Carr is hoping that the two public notices he started would cause financial stress to [EchoStar] so that it would have the impact of forcing [EchoStar] to end its efforts to become a fourth wireless network and sell its spectrum,” wrote NewStreet Research Policy Advisor Blair Levin in a recent client report.
Indeed, after last week’s FCC meeting, Carr told reporters “the status quo is just not acceptable. We’re pushing hard to free up spectrum, and you have DISH effectively over the years sitting on a tremendous amount of spectrum that simply isn’t loaded.”
EchoStar is scheduled to release its second quarter 2025 earnings today.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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