EchoStar, parent company of DISH, has closed its deal to sell its wireless spectrum licenses to AT&T.
The deal was first announced in August 2025 and was approved by the FCC in May 2026. The deal was part of EchoStar’s efforts to resolve inquiries from the FCC about the company’s slow 5G rollout.
“I’m enormously proud of the EchoStar team for deploying the world’s first Open RAN network in record time, despite industry skepticism and in the face of the many challenges raised by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Charlie Ergen, co-founder and chairman, EchoStar, when the sale of the spectrum was first announced in August. “EchoStar and Boost Mobile have met all of the FCC’s network buildout milestones. However, this spectrum sale to AT&T and hybrid MNO agreement are critical steps toward resolving the FCC’s spectrum utilization concerns.”
Valued at approximately $23 billion, the spectrum covers nearly every market in the U.S. and adds approximately 30 MHz of nationwide 3.45 GHz mid-band spectrum and approximately 20 MHz of nationwide 600 MHz low-band spectrum to AT&T’s portfolio.
AT&T says that it will use the newly added spectrum “to boost its 5G capacity and download speeds while helping the Company deliver an AI-ready connected experience as it engineers the spectrum to enhance the superior uplink capabilities of its wireless network.”
AT&T specifically mentioned the deal in its recent Q2 earnings call when discussing the financial outlook of the company, saying: “AT&T maintains its outlook for improved growth in adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EPS and higher free cash flow through 2028, its plans to return $45 billion+ to shareholders during 2026-2028 through dividends and share repurchases, and an expectation that its net debt-to-adjusted EBITDA ratio will return to a level consistent with its target in the 2.5x range within approximately three years following the closing of its transaction with EchoStar.”
