Carr Ends EchoStar Probes
The moves comes after the company inked two major deals to sell much of its spectrum.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 9, 2025 – Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr ended the agency’s probes into EchoStar’s spectrum licenses on Monday.
On the same day, the company announced the second of two major spectrum sales with a combined value of $40 billion. EchoStar said in its announcement that it expected the sales to satisfy Carr’s concerns that the company wasn’t putting its airwaves to good use and end the investigations, which the company said jeopardized its business.
“I have appreciated your responses, engagement, and information provided since my original letter,” Carr wrote in a Monday letter to EchoStar Chairman Charlie Ergen. “Accordingly, I have asked FCC staff to bring the agency’s investigation to conclusion.”
The company posted the letter Tuesday in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
That involved directing the agency to “confirm that EchoStar holds exclusive terrestrial and MSS rights over the AWS-4 spectrum to which it is currently licensed,” and find that “relevant FCC buildout and other related obligations have been satisfied by EchoStar in view of the company’s current FCC milestones.”
The FCC had since May 9 been investigating whether EchoStar met buildout deadlines related to its AWS-4 licenses, including whether to rescind a deadline extension granted last year under the Biden administration, and whether the company was adequately using the satellite MSS spectrum. Both are set to be sold to SpaceX for $17 billion, with half in cash and half in stock.
EchoStar also inked a deal to sell its 3.45 GigaHertz (GHz) and 600 MHz licenses to AT&T. EchoStar will begin decommissioning its cell sites and operate its network primarily on AT&T’s infrastructure, in addition to T-Mobile’s, with customers gaining access to SpaceX’s direct-to-device service as part of that deal.
“While this resolves the FCC inquiries commenced in the May 9 Letter, our previously announced transactions with AT&T and SpaceX continue to remain subject to FCC approval (and the other previously announced conditions to closing of those transactions),” EchoStar said in its SEC filing.
Carr had made clear he thought EchoStar was warehousing spectrum at a time when the agency was trying to free up airwaves.
An FCC spokesperson said Monday that “The deals that EchoStar reached with AT&T and Starlink hold the potential to supercharge competition, extend innovative new services to millions of Americans, and boost U.S. leadership in next-gen connectivity. The FCC will review the applications and continue our focus on promoting the beneficial use of scarce spectrum resources.”
EchoStar had last month announced plans to launch a low-earth satellite service on the spectrum it sold to SpaceX, seen by analysts primarily as a negotiating measure – SpaceX was asking the agency to share the airwaves for free. MDA Space, the chosen vendor, confirmed Monday those plans were scrapped.
“The contract termination is the result of a sudden change to EchoStar’s business strategy and plan in the wake of spectrum allocation discussions with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States,” the company said in a statement.
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