SpaceX Buying EchoStar Spectrum Not a Surprise to AT&T
SpaceX’s purchase of wireless licenses from EchoStar, announced Monday, wasn’t a surprise (see 2509080052), AT&T CEO John Stankey said Tuesday at a Goldman Sachs conference. “I'd probably argue that that may be the highest and best use of that spectrum for a variety of reasons because it does harmonize very well globally.”
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
Last month, EchoStar announced a deal to sell its 3.45 GHz and 600 MHz licenses to AT&T for $23 billion (see 2508260052). Stankey said getting those licenses gives AT&T spectrum security, so he now worries less about when the next auction will be and what the rules will look like. In addition, it was better for everyone that EchoStar was able to avoid filing for bankruptcy, he said.
“We know what happens when owners of spectrum go into bankruptcy,” Stankey said. “What that means is that spectrum generally doesn't show up in the market for many, many, many years,” and “it becomes a really significant regulatory fight and legal fight.”
On Tuesday, the FCC dropped a pair of probes into EchoStar, seemingly clearing the way for both the SpaceX and AT&T spectrum transactions (see 2509090036).
The failure of EchoStar’s Dish Wireless to emerge as the fourth national wireless carrier also wasn’t a surprise, Stankey said. There’s a lot more to building a network “than putting up 50,000 cellsites,” he said. "Wireless is a very competitive marketplace. It has been, and it will continue to be.” Stankey added that he has to laugh when he reads analyst notes that say competition is heating up or in decline. “My days don't feel a lot different from week to week for some reason.”