AT&T To Buy Wireless Spectrum From EchoStar For $23 Billion Cash (axios.com)
(Tuesday August 26, 2025 @11:20AM (msmash)
from the more-consolidation dept.)
- Reference: 0178876514
- News link: https://mobile.slashdot.org/story/25/08/26/1155219/att-to-buy-wireless-spectrum-from-echostar-for-23-billion-cash
- Source link: https://www.axios.com/2025/08/26/att-echostar-23-billion
AT&T said Tuesday it would [1]buy wireless licenses from EchoStar for $23 billion , after a years-long saga over what the latter would do with its vast spectrum holdings. From a report:
> EchoStar was reportedly under pressure from regulators and the White House to either start selling its spectrum or potentially lose it. The cash payment is almost three times the size of EchoStar's entire market capitalization.
>
> AT&T said the acquired spectrum covers "virtually every" U.S. market, and will let it speed up and expand the deployment of its home wireless Internet service, as well as continue the phase-out of traditional copper phone line service.
[1] https://www.axios.com/2025/08/26/att-echostar-23-billion
> EchoStar was reportedly under pressure from regulators and the White House to either start selling its spectrum or potentially lose it. The cash payment is almost three times the size of EchoStar's entire market capitalization.
>
> AT&T said the acquired spectrum covers "virtually every" U.S. market, and will let it speed up and expand the deployment of its home wireless Internet service, as well as continue the phase-out of traditional copper phone line service.
[1] https://www.axios.com/2025/08/26/att-echostar-23-billion
Doesn't make sense (Score:2)
by TGK ( 262438 )
It's wild to imagine Echostar/Dish being worth anything close to that amount of money. From my own experience working inside the company everything always seemed like it was held together with bailing wire and bubble-gum.
I assume there was a highly competitive bidding process for this because there's no way Dish's board of directors would have had the stones to set the price at "three times the company's market cap" on their own.
Re: (Score:1)
by ez151 ( 835695 )
Charlie knew what he was doing he wanted to buy Nextel IIRC and needed that extra coverage years ago but still held on to it instead of selling it piece meal and made another huge wise investment that paid off with this ridiculous windfall.
Should have been licenses (Score:3)
It makes no sense to sell of parts of the radio spectrum because it's conceptual and extremely limited. The government should have only licensed parts of the radio spectrum for X years, not eternal ownership. The problem is how extremely limited the market is and as a result we already have an entrenched owners that are now gatekeepers of wireless which definitely stifles competition. Furthermore, as technology advances, the RF boundaries should get tighter and the cost per MHz should increase. Selling parts of the radio spectrum with unlimited ownership is absolutely stupid.
Re: (Score:2)
it is already a license...and echostar was soon to lose it
Re: (Score:2)
The government should have required sales to be for a nominal value, and ownership only retained on a use-it-or-lose-it basis.