RWA Concerned After Second EchoStar Spectrum Deal
The $17 billion sale will boost SpaceX's direct-to-device service in remote areas.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 8, 2025 – The Rural Wireless Association is asking regulators to scrutinize EchoStar’s spectrum sale to SpaceX and other deals in the wireless industry, fearing the effects on rural wireless carriers.
EchoStar, with its spectrum utilization under scrutiny from the Federal Communications Commission, announced a $17 billion spectrum sale to SpaceX on Monday, weeks after another $23 billion sale of licenses to AT&T. EchoStar is set to decommission its physical network, but its subscribers will be connected by AT&T’s infrastructure and would have access to SpaceX’s direct-to-device satellite service as part of the deals.
“This new hybrid mobile network operator and satellite service mechanism is a big unknown and could relegate rural Americans to subpar service,” Carri Bennet, RWA’s outside counsel, said in a statement. “As new technologies and partnerships emerge, it’s critical that rural stakeholders are part of the conversation, and that the regulatory framework keeps pace.”
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