EchoStar's Boost to Pivot to 'Hybrid MVNO' Business, Executives Say
With EchoStar selling spectrum to AT&T and SpaceX that was key to its terrestrial mobile plans, the company's focus will be on a hybrid mobile virtual network operator model for its Boost Mobile business, executives said this morning at World Space Business Week in Paris. Under that hybrid MVNO model, Boost will use SpaceX direct-to-device service and AT&T mobile service, paired with Boost's cloud-based core network, CEO Hamid Akhavan said.
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The presentation was the company's first public event since its announced sales in recent weeks of its 3.45 GHz and 600 MHz spectrum licenses to AT&T and its AWS-4 and H-block licenses to SpaceX.
Akhavan and Chairman Charlie Ergen repeatedly told the audience that EchoStar's pivot was its best option in light of the FCC deciding it wanted EchoStar's spectrum holdings brought to use sooner. The Boost pivot "was a forced situation for us," Akhavan said.