EchoStar says it has met the regulatory conditions to maintain the spectrum it is selling to Musk's rocketeers.

[1]According to EchoStar, its subsidiary, EchoStar Global Australia, "achieved this by successfully completing the Bringing Back Into Use (BBIU) process for the company's International Telecommunications Union (ITU) SIRION-1 satellite filing as of October 1, 2025."

SpaceX, T-Mobile US phone service will interfere with ours, claims rival [2]READ MORE

EchoStar Global Australia started the BBIU period following the launch of the Lyra-4 satellite and operating it from an altitude of 650km from July 3 to October 1, 2025.

"Completing the BBIU process means all other operators in overlapping frequencies must coordinate with EchoStar under SIRION-1."

The [3]BBIU process [PDF] is a requirement for operators to maintain spectrum rights that might otherwise lapse. Its purpose is to stop operators from sitting on unused spectrum. It also means that holders can sell those rights to other companies.

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Rocket Lab launched the satellite on June 28 on a mission named "Symphony In The Stars," and, at the time, the space biz [5]said the deployment was for "a confidential commercial customer."

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EchoStar [8]agreed to sell its AWS-4 and H-block to SpaceX in September in a deal worth $17 billion. Meanwhile, SpaceX's VP of satellite policy, David Goldman, [9]said , "It seems wonky, but this announcement is huge for Australians. @SpaceX will ultimately see @EchoStar's global S-band rights power its next-gen @Starlink Direct to Cell service."

[10]SpaceX bulks up Starlink Direct to Cell with $17B EchoStar spectrum deal

[11]Dialing Earth: Skylo set to leapfrog T-Mobile and offer voice calls via satellite

[12]SpaceX faces $663K FAA fine for Musk's alleged launch impatience

[13]DISH must pay for bungled orbit change in landmark space debris penalty

SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell also weighed in, [14]saying , "Starlink Direct to Cell leveraging this spectrum is a game changer for connecting the world. So excited to work with telcos across the globe to get this capability into people's hands (literally)!!"

Tagging in the @DigitalEU account for the European Commission, Goldman [15]added : "These ITU filings are critical to securing @Starlink's global spectrum rights for our next-gen direct-to-cell system to bring the fastest broadband from space to phones.

"These NGSO [non-geostationary orbit] rights, combined with @EchoStar's senior GSO ITU filings, ensure anyone else that wants to use the spectrum must coordinate with us first." ®

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[1] https://ir.echostar.com/news-releases/news-release-details/echostar-perfects-highest-itu-priority-worldwide-2-ghz-ngso

[2] https://www.theregister.com/2023/08/23/spacex_counter_omnispace/

[3] https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-R/space/WRS20space/32%20Bringing%20into%20use%20of%20GSO%20and%20NGSO%20satellite%20networks.pdf

[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aOPnmoU0R8e6rdRD7ZqIYgAAAQs&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0

[5] https://rocketlabcorp.com/updates/new-blog-post-21/

[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aOPnmoU0R8e6rdRD7ZqIYgAAAQs&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aOPnmoU0R8e6rdRD7ZqIYgAAAQs&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[8] https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/09/spacex_echostar_spectrum_deal/

[9] https://x.com/davesgoldman/status/1974110105437077936

[10] https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/09/spacex_echostar_spectrum_deal/

[11] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/28/skylo_satellite_voice_calls/

[12] https://www.theregister.com/2024/09/17/faa_spacex_fine_proposed/

[13] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/03/dish_orbit_penalty/

[14] https://x.com/Gwynne_Shotwell/status/1974111270048760124

[15] https://x.com/davesgoldman/status/1974454924076609718

[16] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/