SpaceX and EchoStar Make Case to FCC for Approval of Proposed Deal
SpaceX and EchoStar filed documents at the FCC on Friday about their proposed $17 billion deal, announced earlier this month (see 2509080052). SpaceX will buy AWS-4 and H-block spectrum from EchoStar, while EchoStar's Boost Mobile subscribers will gain access to Starlink’s direct-to-cell (D2C) service. After the announcement, the FCC dropped two investigations of EchoStar for potentially violating FCC rules (see 2509090036).
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The documents filed Friday include a list of licenses included in the deal, an accounting of post-transaction spectrum holdings, a waiver of current buildout requirements and a public interest statement.
Combining the 50 MHz of spectrum that EchoStar is selling “with new state-of-the-art satellite technologies, SpaceX’s next generation [D2C] service will deliver unparalleled performance to standard, unmodified cell phones and Internet of Things devices,” the companies said. SpaceX plans to “move rapidly to deploy its system so that American consumers can finally enjoy the benefits of these underutilized spectrum assets.”
The companies noted that one of the commission’s “primary public interest goals is to ensure that the nation’s valuable spectrum resources are used to provide advanced services to the American public as efficiently and expeditiously as possible.” SpaceX “shares this goal and proposes to acquire and put to productive use licenses for spectrum that is ideal for D2C services,” the filing said.
EchoStar will continue to offer wireless service through Boost’s hybrid mobile network “without any disruption to its existing service” and will be able to introduce its D2C service “to complement its wireless offerings, making its Boost service even more compelling,” the companies said. By adding D2C to wireless service from AT&T, Boost subscribers “will benefit from near-ubiquitous connectivity nationwide -- even in the hardest to reach remote areas.”
The proposed sale doesn’t violate the Communications Act or any FCC policies, the companies asserted. “The Commission has found numerous times that SpaceX and its subsidiaries are legally, technically, and otherwise qualified to hold spectrum licenses.” SpaceX has “the financial resources and demonstrated capacity to design, deploy, and operate advanced communications satellites and other infrastructure at a rapid pace,” and the transaction doesn’t violate “any Commission limitation on cross-ownership or even trigger any of the Commission’s ‘screens’ for spectrum aggregation.”