EchoStar Gets OK for Extended 5G Network Milestones

The FCC gave the green light to extended milestone deadlines for EchoStar's 5G network buildout Friday, three days after the company filed its request (see 2409190050). EchoStar called the approval "a significant step to promote competition in the wireless market."

Michael Calabrese, director of the Wireless Future Program at New America, wrote in an email, “As consumer advocates, we agree the FCC should give DISH every opportunity to deploy and become a meaningful mobile market competitor."

In exchange for the FCC extending 2025 milestone deadlines into 2026 and then 2028, EchoStar made a series of commitments, including that its Boost Mobile Network will cover 80% of the U.S. population by 2024's end and that it will make a low-cost wireless offering and 5G device available nationwide, even for consumers who live outside of EchoStar's Boost Mobile Network coverage and get service from roaming partners. Moreover, it made a commitment that small wireless carriers and tribes could lease EchoStar spectrum in extension areas where the company hasn't yet deployed.

"The public interest conditions attached to the extension," Calabrese said, "seem both positive and unprecedented." The FCC "negotiated a win-win agreement, since the extension now requires DISH to cover 80 percent of the U.S. population and to offer a low-cost 5G plan and device to consumers nationwide during the extension period," he added. "Building a nationwide mobile network from scratch is a high hill to climb, and DISH deserves every benefit of the doubt as it tries to overcome numerous obstacles, some of them unanticipated years ago."

EchoStar previously cited issues ranging from the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on supply chains to the cost of moving Boost subscribers from the legacy Sprint CDMA network to the T-Mobile network as reasons for delaying its 5G work and putting it in jeopardy of not meeting its 2025 milestones.

Incompas, which counts EchoStar's Dish Network as a member, backed the milestone extensions. Competitive Carriers Association cheered spectrum leasing to small and tribal carriers. "600 MHz, 700 MHz, AWS, and CBRS spectrum are potentially attractive to many rural competitive carriers seeking to expand and upgrade their services," CCA President Tim Donovan said. The long lapse of FCC spectrum auction authority "and the lack of a robust spectrum pipeline containing the types of spectrum needed most by rural and tribal carriers to serve their customers is a significant problem," he added. "New opportunities to facilitate leasing of such spectrum are a way to help bridge the gap.“

Analysts had told us they believed the FCC was motivated to sign off on EchoStar's offer out of a desire to ensure more competition among wireless carriers. In a note last week, New Street Research's Jonathan Chaplin said it was likely that the desire for a fourth competitor would outweigh FCC adherence to its initial metrics.

"The updated framework enables EchoStar to optimize and enhance its coast-to-coast buildout of the world’s first cloud-native Open RAN 5G Boost Mobile Network, while more efficiently deploying the network in new areas of the country," EchoStar said. "The pricing and innovation improvements from EchoStar’s continued presence in the wireless market is a win for all American consumers."

There was no public comment period on EchoStar's application. The FCC said its rules don't require the Wireless Bureau to put extension requests applications out for public comment.

"That was super fast," LightShed Partners' Walt Piecyk posted on X.