EchoStar, the communications and connectivity provider, has selected MDA Space as the prime contractor for EchoStar’s new non-terrestrial network (NTN) low Earth orbit (LEO) direct-to-device (D2D) satellite constellation. The initial contract, valued at approximately $1.3 billion (€1.1bn) includes the design, manufacturing and testing of the first tranche of over 100 software-defined MDA AURORA D2D satellites. The […]
EchoStar’s Dish pay-TV subsidiary has made its contracted interest payments, worth $114 million, to its lenders, and thus has avoided a potential default. The payments were due on July 1st and believed to have been made on July 30th and just within the 30-day limit. EchoStar will issue its quarterly results tomorrow (Friday, August 1st) […]
The 2 GHz frequency band is harmonised across Europe and allocated for ‘Mobile Satellite Services’. The capacity is currently licensed to Viasat (because of its purchase of Inmarsat) and EchoStar. The frequency licences expire in May 2027 and UK regulator Ofcom is calling for ideas on the future use to the capacity. 2 GHz is […]
Charlie Ergen, founder and chairman of the EchoStar/DISH combination, is reported to be negotiating with some of the company’s bond and debt-holders for extensions to its debt payment obligations. However, some debt interest payment obligations have – or are about to be – met. But there are still challenges. For example, the FCC is pushing […]
Charlie Ergen’s EchoStar share price rocketed 43 per cent on June 13th on news that Donald Trump has intervened with FCC chair Brendan Carr over the dispute between the FCC and EchoStar. June 16th saw EchoStar’s share price (Nasdaq:SATS) finish the day at $25.11 (€21.72). A week ago they were $15.99. In a nutshell, the […]
The Charlie Ergen-backed pay-TV operation EchoStar, which includes DISH as well as Hughes Network Systems, is reportedly contemplating the option of filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. EchoStar firmly denies the report, which originated in The WSJ. This move is perhaps a last-ditch part of the company’s strategy to protect its valuable wireless spectrum licences, which […]
Maxar Space Systems, a specialist in satellite design and manufacturing, has been awarded a contract by EchoStar Corporation to manufacture EchoStar XXVI, a high-power, geostationary communications satellite based on the Maxar 1300 platform. EchoStar XXVI will deliver coverage to DISH TV customers across all 50 US states, including Puerto Rico, and is engineered for dual […]
Earlier in May the FCC launched a review into EchoStar’s compliance with certain 5G wireless coverage obligations (as part of their efforts to build the fourth national wireless network in the US) and raising questions about the buildout extensions granted in September 2024 and EchoStar’s utilisation of 2GHz mobile-satellite service (MSS) spectrum. EchoStar has filed […]
Reports from the US say that Charlie Ergen-backed EchoStar is being investigated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) over alleged compliance issues over federal requirements linked to EchoStar’s building of a nationwide 5G network. The news hurt EchoStar’s share price which crashed 17 per cent (by $4.01) and in the words of lawyers from the […]
EchoStar-owned Hughes Network Systems has reported a 3 per cent fall in revenue and a loss of 30,000 broadband subscribers during the first quarter. It now has 853,000 subscribers. But CEO Hamid Akhavan told analysts that while EchoStar was yet to make any announcements its engineering plans were ready but getting the timing right for […]