- EchoStar is selling 50MHz worth of its low and mid-band spectrum licenses to AT&T
- The company's Boost Mobile brand will continue to operate under a new hybrid MNO deal EchoStar struck with AT&T
- EchoStar said the move is meant to resolve the FCC's ongoing probe of its spectrum utilization
EchoStar is hoping to put its beef with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to bed via the sale of its 600MHz and 3.45GHz spectrum licenses to incumbent rival AT&T for $23 billion in a deal expected to close in mid-2026.
"EchoStar and Boost Mobile have met all of the FCC's network buildout milestones. However, this spectrum sale to AT&T and hybrid MNO agreement are critical steps toward resolving the FCC's spectrum utilization concerns," EchoStar Co-founder and Chairman Charlie Ergen said in a statement.
The deal will net AT&T a 30MHz chunk of mid-band 3.45GHz spectrum as well as a 20MHz swath of low-band 600MHz airwaves. Together, the licenses cover 400 markets across the U.S.
Boost's future
While it's hard to imagine how EchoStar's Boost Mobile brand will continue to compete in the wireless market without spectrum, it doesn't appear to be going anywhere. The operators have struck a hybrid MNO deal that will allow Boost to continue operating using a combination of its own cloud-native 5G core and AT&T's cell sites.
“This strategic move allows us to continue serving Boost Mobile customers while taking important steps to both resolve the FCC’s spectrum utilization concerns and place EchoStar on more stable financial ground,” said EchoStar COO John Swieringa in a post on LinkedIn. “With this news, we will continue to compete in the U.S. wireless market as a hybrid MNO, offering our customers connectivity through Boost Mobile’s cloud-native 5G core and AT&T’s cell sites.”
But AT&T CEO John Stankey made it clear on a call with investors that the operator didn't agree to the hybrid MNO model out of the goodness of its heart.
"I really like wholesale business when it extends us to somewhere we’re not or where we’re not particularly effective. Boost is a good example," he said. "I think they do a much better job of getting the segments of the economy that we’re not as good at distributing into and they’re accretive in many ways because customers that they bring on that we ultimately receive wholesale revenues for we may have never seen at retail. And that’s a win-win if you can get that kind of mix. And I’m interested in any opportunity like that moving forward."
AT&T spectrum grab
AT&T has said that the addition of 50 MHz of nationwide spectrum will significantly strengthen its low- and mid-band holdings. The operator intends to start deploying the mid-band licenses, which are compatible with its existing 5G network, as soon as possible.
Asked on the call with investors why AT&T pursued EchoStar's low- and mid-band spectrum rather than some of its other holdings, Stankey said "I don’t think I’ll regret owning low-band spectrum over time...I feel really good we can drive great value out it and I do believe – in my view - what will become important over the long haul is engineered uplink. And low-band spectrum and reach for those is going to be really important. We start with a strong position, this can only make it stronger."
New Street Research's team under Philip Burnett speculated even more spectrum sales could be on the way now that EchoStar has changed its underlying model.
"Because EchoStar is transitioning to a 'hybrid MNO,' we suspect all of its terrestrial spectrum assets will now be sold," they wrote, adding EchoStar "easily has $30BN of additional wireless spectrum to monetize."
FCC cloud fading away?
The agreement still needs to be approved by the FCC. But Fierce previously noted how AT&T’s Stankey has already attempted to smooth the path towards any potential Ma Bell deals with the commission.
The chief executive claimed on AT&T’s recent second quarter earnings call that the Trump regime’s signature Big, Beautiful Budget (BBB) bill was “more significant” than the storied Telecommunications Act of 1996. He also noted that the FCC under Chairman Brendan Carr is back in business.
“In our view the FCC is clearly supportive of the deal, given the chairman has made several public statements on wanting [EchoStar's] spectrum to be put to better use,” said banking group BNP Paribus in a research note.
The FCC cloud over EchoStar is “likely to fade away” agreed New Street Research (NSR) analyst Blair Levin in a note. “Carr has accomplished what he claimed was his primary objective; putting [EchoStar’s] spectrum in a position to be more intensively utilized."
But it's not all sunshine and roses. The Department of Justice (DoJ) - in filings related to the T-Mobile/USCellular deal - has been more hawkish on spectrum being acquired by the big three wireless carriers. But it doesn't have the same kind of authority over spectrum decisions that the FCC has.
“This deal appears to have been struck to enable Boost to remain the 4th wireless carrier (albeit with more reliance on [AT&T’s] network than before), and our understanding is that the DoJ don't have a say in spectrum license transfers," BNP Paribus' team wrote. "So, in short, this deal has, in our view, a high probability of being approved.”
New Street Research's Blair Levin clarified that the "DOJ, if it chooses, could investigate whether the agreement to sell spectrum constitutes a restraint on trade or otherwise would have an anticompetitive effect." But like BNP, he came to the conclusion that even if it did investigate, the deal would still likely be approved.
Update 8/27/2025 9:30 am ET: This story was updated to include comments from Blair Levin clarifying the DOJ's role in reviewing the transaction.