AT&T said Tuesday it has agreed to buy wireless spectrum licenses from EchoStar for about $23 billion in cash. The package includes roughly 30 MHz of 3.45 GHz mid-band spectrum and 20 MHz of 600 MHz low-band airwaves, adding a total of 50 MHz that covers more than 400 U.S. markets. The companies expect the deal to close by mid-2026, pending clearance from regulators. The carrier will fund the purchase with cash and additional borrowings and will be able to lease the frequencies before the transaction closes, enabling near-term deployment on its 5G network. AT&T said the acquisition strengthens its low- and mid-band holdings as it expands mobile and fixed-wireless broadband service, and it reiterated its 2025 financial targets and capital-return plans. EchoStar will direct the proceeds toward debt retirement and investment in its remaining businesses. An expanded network-services agreement will allow Boost Mobile to operate as a hybrid mobile-network operator that relies primarily on AT&T’s cell sites while maintaining its cloud-native 5G core and backup access to T-Mobile’s network. EchoStar said the arrangement addresses Federal Communications Commission concerns over spectrum utilization. EchoStar shares surged more than 40 % in early trading, while AT&T gained about 1.5 %.