expanding Starlink\u2019s<\/a> nascent 5G connectivity business.<\/p>\nThe Elon Musk-owned aerospace company announced the purchase on Monday.<\/p>\n
Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list<\/p>\n
The companies also agreed to a deal that will enable EchoStar\u2019s Boost Mobile subscribers to access Starlink direct-to-cell service to extend satellite service to areas without service.<\/p>\n
The spectrum purchase allows SpaceX to start building and deploying upgraded, laser-connected satellites that the company said will expand the cell network\u2019s capacity by \u201cmore than 100 times\u201d.<\/p>\n
Gwynne Shotwell, president and COO of SpaceX, said the deal will help the company \u201cend mobile dead zones around the world \u2026 With exclusive spectrum, SpaceX will develop next-generation Starlink Direct to Cell satellites, which will have a step change in performance and enable us to enhance coverage for customers wherever they are in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
The push comes amid fast-rising wireless usage. In 2024, Americans used a record 132 trillion megabytes of mobile data, up 35 percent over the prior all-time record, the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA) said on Monday.<\/p>\n
SpaceX has launched more than 8,000 Starlink satellites since 2020, building a distributed network in low-Earth orbit which has seen demand from militaries, transportation firms and consumers in rural areas.<\/p>\n
Roughly 600 of those satellites \u2013 which SpaceX calls \u201ccell towers in space\u201d \u2013 have been launched since January 2024 for the company\u2019s direct-to-cell network, orbiting closer to Earth than the rest of the constellation.<\/p>\n
Crucial to those larger satellites\u2019 deployment is Starship, SpaceX\u2019s giant next-generation rocket that has been under development for roughly a decade. Increasingly complex test launches have drawn the rocket closer to its first operational Starlink missions, expected early next year.<\/p>\n
The deal comes months after the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) questioned EchoStar\u2019s use of its mobile-satellite service spectrum and raised concerns about whether it was meeting its obligations to deploy 5G in the country.<\/p>\n
EchoStar said it anticipates that the transaction with SpaceX and the AT&T deal will resolve the FCC\u2019s inquiries.<\/p>\n
An FCC spokesperson said the \u201cdeals that EchoStar reached with AT&T and Starlink hold the potential to supercharge competition, extend innovative new services to millions of Americans, and boost US leadership in next-gen connectivity\u201d.<\/p>\n
The company in August sold some nationwide wireless spectrum licences to AT&T for $23bn. AT&T agreed to acquire 50 MHz of nationwide mid-band and low-band spectrum.<\/p>\n
US President Donald Trump previously prodded EchoStar and FCC Chair Brendan Carr to reach an amicable deal for the company\u2019s wireless spectrum licences.<\/p>\n
Underused airwaves<\/p>\n
SpaceX will pay up to $8.5bn in cash and issue up to $8.5bn in stock. SpaceX has also agreed to cover roughly $2bn in interest payments on EchoStar\u2019s debt obligations through late 2027.<\/p>\n
After the sale, EchoStar will continue operating its satellite television service Dish TV, streaming TV platform Sling, internet service Hughesnet and its Boost Mobile brand.<\/p>\n
SpaceX had aggressively pressed the FCC to reallocate underused airwaves for satellite-to-phone service after alleging EchoStar failed to meet certain obligations.<\/p>\n
In a letter to the FCC in April, SpaceX said EchoStar\u2019s spectrum in the 2 gigahertz band \u201cremains ripe for sharing among next-generation satellite systems\u201d and that the company has left \u201cvaluable mid-band spectrum chronically underused\u201d.<\/p>\n
The deal with EchoStar will allow SpaceX to operate Starlink direct-to-cell services on frequencies it owns, rather than relying solely on those leased from mobile carriers like T-Mobile.<\/p>\n
In May, the FCC approved Verizon\u2019s $20bn deal to acquire fibre-optic internet provider Frontier Communications. Verizon spent $5bn to acquire and clear key spectrum in 2021.<\/p>\n
The news sent shares of EchoStar surging 14.7 percent as of 1pm in New York (17:00 GMT). Shares of US wireless carriers are trending downwards. AT&T is 1.6 percent lower and T-Mobile is down by 2.2 percent. Verizon as well is down 1.8 percent.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The spectrum purchase allows SpaceX to expand the cell network\u2019s capacity by \u2018more than 100 times\u2019 and will…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":51517,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[270],"tags":[3426,356,179,18,1647,19,17,5,790,133,4722,451,82,5645,384,3430],"class_list":{"0":"post-51516","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-space","8":"tag-business-and-economy","9":"tag-donald-trump","10":"tag-economy","11":"tag-eire","12":"tag-elon-musk","13":"tag-ie","14":"tag-ireland","15":"tag-news","16":"tag-politics","17":"tag-science","18":"tag-science-and-technology","19":"tag-space","20":"tag-technology","21":"tag-telecommunications","22":"tag-united-states","23":"tag-us-canada"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51516","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51516"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51516\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51517"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51516"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51516"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}