SpaceX Seen as Benefactor in FCC Probe of EchoStar's 5G Buildout
SpaceX could be the biggest beneficiary as the FCC takes a hard look at EchoStar's compliance with milestones attached to its 5G network buildout. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr's inquiry into EchoStar's compliance with buildout deadlines (see 2505120074) "clearly originate[s]" from SpaceX, LightShed Partners' Walt Piecyk wrote Tuesday. He said the FCC probe appears to be particularly focused on EchoStar's use of the S band -- spectrum real estate that SpaceX wants.
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The FCC Space and Wireless bureaus opened a pair of proceedings Tuesday targeting EchoStar. The Space Bureau said it's seeking input on whether EchoStar is using the 2 GHz band for mobile satellite service (MSS), consistent with its authorizations and agency rules. In addition, the bureau said it sought comment on how to make more intensive use of the band, including allowing other MSS operators to use it. Comments in docket 25-173 are due May 27, replies June 6. The Wireless Bureau set the same deadlines in docket 22-212 for supplemental comment on VTel Wireless' recon petition regarding the bureau's extending of 5G network buildout deadlines (see 2410230004).
EchoStar said that to date, it has met or exceeded all the 5G buildout commitments it entered into with the FCC. “Our work is not yet finished as we continue to deploy and invest in our network,” EchoStar Chairman Charlie Ergen said in a statement Tuesday in response to Carr's letter notifying the company of the probe. Much of Ergen’s letter touted the benefits of its 5G network, from “creat[ing] American jobs” and competition with incumbent wireless carriers to furthering the White House priority of deploying an open radio access network (ORAN) “to ensure the United States is at the forefront of wireless leadership and that our infrastructure is free of Chinese vendors.”
Ergen said its nationwide pricing model and agreements with partner carriers has Boost Mobile available affordably across the country, “including in rural and hard to reach communities.” The buildout deadline extensions that EchoStar received from the FCC Wireless Bureau are consistent with the agency's practice, he added. The bureau granted a variety of construction milestone extensions in September (see 2409200049), which Carr criticized (see 2409260026). Ergen said EchoStar met the “substantial pro-competitive commitments” tied to those September extensions.
He also said that alongside its terrestrial 5G deployment, EchoStar is working toward ORAN direct-to-device service. With D2D 3rd Generation Partnership Project standards done, the company “has the global capability in terms of expertise, spectrum, and ITU priority to bring this to fruition.” It's testing S-band service in North America and Europe and launched a low earth orbit satellite this year, “with several more planned in the coming months.”
EchoStar told Wall Street analysts Monday that it had met its June 14 buildout deadlines ahead of schedule (see 2505090046).
Despite years of anticipation about EchoStar's network becoming added competition, "it hasn't happened yet," spectrum and satellite consultant Tim Farrar wrote Tuesday on X. "How long should the FCC wait? Isn't more spectrum for [fixed wireless access] (or forcing cable to put up or shut up in mobile) better for competition?"
Keith King, a former U.S. military communications engineer and now an advisory board member at multiple tech companies, wrote Monday on LinkedIn that "the FCC’s aggressive stance places Charlie Ergen’s multibillion-dollar spectrum assets at risk." EchoStar licenses being revoked or reassigned "would mark a dramatic blow to EchoStar’s ambitions to become a fourth national wireless competitor," King said. SpaceX "could gain valuable ground in both terrestrial and orbital communications."
SpaceX has petitioned the FCC for greater access to the 2 GHz band (see 2402230027) and argued that EchoStar is underutilizing its 2 GHz band assets (see 2505070012). "SpaceX has effectively become EchoStar’s self-appointed buildout watchdog," Piecyk said.
The FCC letter saying there would be an investigation of EchoStar's buildout milestones could mean the company's licenses automatically expire and revert to the agency if the commission concludes requirements weren't met, Piecyk said. "And then comes the litigation."
Piecyk said the FCC imposing a new compliance standard on EchoStar "could cast doubt on the company’s broader spectrum holdings." But the risk of noncompliance findings beyond the S band is low, he added. Granting Elon Musk's SpaceX access to the band "could jeopardize EchoStar’s ability to use the spectrum at all." The FCC reclaiming unused spectrum in rural or suburban areas where EchoStar hasn't met the original, preextension buildout deadlines "would be extreme, messy and unlikely," he said. That kind of reversal "would undermine regulatory certainty and call into question whether companies can rely on decisions made by prior administrations, thereby discouraging capital investment." Initiating a review lets Carr criticize the closed-door dealmaking under previous Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, he said.
The most practical path for the FCC would be to allow or encourage EchoStar to sell spectrum and wireless assets to satellite and wireless operators, Piecyk said. "This approach wouldn’t require auction authority and could deliver a faster, cleaner resolution."
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