"SpaceX's complaints to the Federal Communications Commission have helped the satellite company land a $17 billion deal to buy spectrum licenses from EchoStar. The deal consists of up to $8.5 billion in cash and up to $8.5 billion in SpaceX stock, EchoStar said. SpaceX also agreed to pay $2 billion worth of interest payments on EchoStar debt through November 2027."
"The first major result of Carr's license threat was that EchoStar last month agreed to sell $23 billion worth of spectrum licenses to AT&T. Today, EchoStar announced its $17 billion deal to sell its AWS-4 and H-block spectrum licenses to SpaceX. These are in the 1.9 and lower 2 GHz spectrum bands. "EchoStar anticipates this transaction with SpaceX along with the previously announced spectrum sale will resolve the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) inquiries," EchoStar's press release said."
SpaceX agreed to acquire EchoStar spectrum licenses in a deal valued at up to $17 billion, consisting of up to $8.5 billion cash and up to $8.5 billion in stock, plus $2 billion of interest payments through November 2027. SpaceX had filed complaints with the FCC alleging underuse of EchoStar spectrum, prompting an FCC investigation and threats to revoke licenses. EchoStar chose to sell portions of its spectrum, first reaching a $23 billion agreement with AT&T and now selling AWS-4 and H-block licenses in the 1.9 and lower 2 GHz bands to SpaceX. SpaceX said it will use 50 MHz of U.S. spectrum and global MSS licenses to boost Starlink Direct-to-Cell service, using exclusive access and optimized 5G protocols to improve satellite-to-mobile performance. Both deals require regulatory approval.
Read at Ars Technica
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