NewStreet Research (NSR) Policy Advisor Blair Levin doesn’t predict any holdup of regulatory approval for the EchoStar-SpaceX spectrum deal announced this week. As FCC Chairman Carr sought the outcome of EchoStar (NASDAQ: SATS) selling its unused 2 GHz spectrum licenses, NSR sees no reason for the agency to hold up and/or deny the transaction, Levin writes in a client note.
He notes, “The current license arguably carries with it terrestrial obligations. But we believe the FCC can modify and/or waive those in a way that the transaction gets approved without SpaceX having to use the spectrum for a terrestrial network.”
NSR doesn’t anticipate any DoJ objection either. This transaction does not raise a spectrum concentration issue, according to the policy expert. “It is possible that others might argue that SpaceX/Starlink is gaining too much dominance in the satellite market and that this transaction cements that dominance, but we doubt that the Trump anti-trust authorities will agree,” he writes.
The EchoStar-SpaceX spectrum transaction has implications for future spectrum policy. For instance, NSR believes “this is the first time SpaceX is paying for spectrum that it will use,” Levin states. While interesting, Levin doesn’t predict the FCC would now change its policy on satellite spectrum generally being shared among satellite providers.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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