Starlink and T-Mobile Circle EchoStar Airwaves Left Out of AT&T Deal

Elon Musk’s satellite-internet business Starlink and wireless carrier T-Mobile US have each expressed interest in buying portions of the spectrum portfolio held by EchoStar Corp., the struggling parent of Dish Network, according to a Semafor report citing people familiar with the talks. The overtures come days after AT&T reached a roughly $23 billion agreement to acquire the bulk of EchoStar’s licenses, leaving the company with additional airwaves that analysts value at about $30 billion. EchoStar chairman Charlie Ergen has long sought to monetise the under-used frequencies, but mounting pressure from Federal Communications Commission officials to put the public spectrum to work has accelerated sale discussions. T-Mobile previously weighed a three-way transaction in which it and AT&T would split most of EchoStar’s holdings and exchange some of their own licenses, the report said. Starlink’s bid focuses on a slice of spectrum that could allow the satellite operator to expand beyond fixed broadband into direct-to-device mobile service, challenging the dominant U.S. wireless carriers. Representatives for Starlink and EchoStar declined to comment, while AT&T and T-Mobile also did not immediately respond. Any deal would require FCC approval, and it remains unclear how far the current negotiations have progressed.