AT&T Aquires some DISH Spectrum

[Scott Greczkowski]

https://about.att.com/story/2025/echostar.html

 

[Yespage]

Investment in critical U.S. communications infrastructure supercharges AT&T's converged connectivity leadership strategy and furthers goal of becoming the best connectivity provider in America

So a manager wrote that?

$23 billion? That knocks Echostar's +/- down to $7 billion in debt. I also thought Dish couldn't sell the spectrum. I assume that means Echostar's stock will pop.

*looks*

WOW! It popped, up nearly 100%.

 

[navychop]

Again, "subject to regulatory approval."

 

[MikeD-C05]

Again, "subject to regulatory approval."

Considering the FCC chairman Carr is trying to force Charlie into giving up spectrum willingly, it should go right through. Regardless of what ever the administration rule was prior to this year.

 

[navychop]

To AT&T? Or to LEO and MEO communications satellites?

 

[Juan]

Considering the FCC chairman Carr is trying to force Charlie into giving up spectrum willingly, it should go right through. Regardless of what ever the administration rule was prior to this year.

Ehhh..no

 

[nelson61]

Current licenses values as carried on the books. The 6 and 3 MHz licences are involved in the AT&T deal

 

[EarDemon]

Well, that came sooner than I expected, it was inevitable, but I thought it would be another year or two.

And here I was about to go back to the Boost Store this weekend, to attempt the activate service on an eSIM of my unlocked Pixel 10 XL that will be arriving in a day or two. Since they carry Pixel phones now, I was going to give it another shot. Guess I won't be doing that now.

I'm never in favor of less competition, but T-Mobile and Sprint needed to combine forces and the thought of a fourth nationwide provider was a pipe dream. While each provider seems to count their number of subscribers differently, when you have three big players with well over 100 million each, and #4 with less than 10 million, there is no reality where that 4th​ provider will survive.

The market has decided. There was never going to be anymore more than 2 DBS providers, there was never going to be more than 2 mobile operating systems, there was never going to be more than two GPU manufacturers, there's never going to be more than 3 nationwide MNOs.

Turning an MVNO into a semi MNO and losing subscribers in the process takes a special kind of stupid. I am a firm believer in you miss 100% of the shot you don't take, but this whole Dish Wireless was halfa$$ed from day one. It was nothing more than Charlie inflating his own Rocky Mountain sized ego wanting to become the king of wireless.

For all of Charlie's war cries about 'caring for the rural subscriber', he didn't seem to do a very good job of selling to Boost to rural subscribers. Boost Stores remained in the ghetto behind windows with bars on them, no one and I mean no one in the rural communities in my neck of the woods has even heard of Boost, some don't even realize Dish is even still in business.

The additional DoD will be huge for AT&T, not sure what to make of the n71 part of the deal. Between this, the ripping out of all of the Nokia crap and 4.9, AT&T is going to be a force to be reckoned within a few years.

 

[rocatman]

https://about.att.com/story/2025/echostar.html

https://about.att.com/story/2025/echostar.html

Will this deal make it more likely that Dish will acquire DirecTV or at least their satellite assets?

 

[HipKat]

Well, that came sooner than I expected, it was inevitable, but I thought it would be another year or two.

And here I was about to go back to the Boost Store this weekend, to attempt the activate service on an eSIM of my unlocked Pixel 10 XL that will be arriving in a day or two. Since they carry Pixel phones now, I was going to give it another shot. Guess I won't be doing that now.

I'm never in favor of less competition, but T-Mobile and Sprint needed to combine forces and the thought of a fourth nationwide provider was a pipe dream. While each provider seems to count their number of subscribers differently, when you have three big players with well over 100 million each, and #4 with less than 10 million, there is no reality where that 4th​ provider will survive.

The market has decided. There was never going to be anymore more than 2 DBS providers, there was never going to be more than 2 mobile operating systems, there was never going to be more than two GPU manufacturers, there's never going to be more than 3 nationwide MNOs.

Turning an MVNO into a semi MNO and losing subscribers in the process takes a special kind of stupid. I am a firm believer in you miss 100% of the shot you don't take, but this whole Dish Wireless was halfa$$ed from day one. It was nothing more than Charlie inflating his own Rocky Mountain sized ego wanting to become the king of wireless.

For all of Charlie's war cries about 'caring for the rural subscriber', he didn't seem to do a very good job of selling to Boost to rural subscribers. Boost Stores remained in the ghetto behind windows with bars on them, no one and I mean no one in the rural communities in my neck of the woods has even heard of Boost, some don't even realize Dish is even still in business.

The additional DoD will be huge for AT&T, not sure what to make of the n71 part of the deal. Between this, the ripping out of all of the Nokia crap and 4.9, AT&T is going to be a force to be reckoned within a few years.

It doesn't really look like much is changing with Boost, if I'm reading it right, which already runs on AT&T Towers

https://ir.echostar.com/news-releases/news-release-details/echostar-announces-spectrum-sale-and-hybrid-mobile-network

 

[EarDemon]

Ditching their low band spectrum and their mid band DoD sure sounds like a lot is changing to me. Their best spectrum for range and their best best spectrum for capacity are both going to AT&T, that leaves n66 and n70 and some other scraps.

From what has been going around, the Dish native network will either be fully decommissioned at some point in 2026 or Boost will become a hybrid provider similar to what US Cellular was, very little native coverage, with AT&T roaming. There will be no more new sites being deployed.

When it's all said and done, in all likelihood Dish Wireless will cease to exist as it is now and Boost will be an MVNO for AT&T with T-Mobile has back up. If you have your heart set on access to the AT&T network, there are better ways than dealing with the second rate jokers at Dish, If you want an AT&T MVNO, you are probably better off going to US Mobile's Darkstar instead of Boost. If you qualify for FirstNet, you are much better off with that versus Boost.