EchoStar Beats Its FCC-Set 5G Network Deadlines
EchoStar has met its next FCC deadlines for its 5G network buildout ahead of schedule, Chief Operating Officer John Swieringa said. Speaking to analysts Thursday after the market's close as EchoStar announced quarterly earnings, Swieringa said the company's final construction deadline next year would likely be pushed to 2028 due to meeting the 2025 deadlines. The company had a June 14 deadline for its network to be compliant with 3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 17 standards. It had also committed to having at least 24,000 towers deployed by then. That deadline was set in exchange for additional time the FCC granted EchoStar last year to meet construction milestones attached to some of its wireless licenses (see 2409200049). The company didn't say how many towers were deployed.
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Asked about EchoStar's intentions for direct-to-device service, CEO Hamid Akhavan said it intends to be "a leading provider" of D2D connectivity using its S-band rights internationally and its AWS-4 rights domestically. He didn't offer more detail.
For the quarter, EchoStar had revenue of $3.9 billion, down from $4 billion in Q1 2024. While wireless revenue was up, its pay-TV revenue dropped due to a declining subscriber base, and its broadband and satellite series revenues were off because of lower broadband service sales to residential and enterprise customers. However, the company's in-flight connectivity backlog is growing, it said.