Spectrum

EchoStar, SpaceX to FCC: Don’t Weigh in on Vendor Contract Disputes

Infrastructure companies had asked the agency to require EchoStar to pay Dish’s bills.

Jake Neenan

Jake Neenan

— 3 min read
EchoStar, SpaceX to FCC: Don’t Weigh in on Vendor Contract Disputes
Photo of Jeff Blum, EchoStar's executive vice president of external and legislative affairs, from LinkedIn

WASHINGTON, Dec. 30, 2025 – Tower companies and telecom vendors have told federal regulators they should only approve major spectrum sales if the seller, EchoStar, makes good on its subsidiary’s contracts with them.

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EchoStar and SpaceX, one of the buyers, are trying to convince the Federal Communications Commission not to weigh in on the contractual disputes.

“The terms, conditions, and obligations under those agreements are private contractual matters. Consistent with its longstanding policy, the Commission should refrain from injecting itself in these contractual disputes,” EchoStar wrote in a filing posted Tuesday. “It will be a complex and long undertaking that the Commission is ill equipped to undertake.”

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Spectrum DISH Echostar AT&T SpaceX Brendan Carr Jeff Blum

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