EchoStar-SpaceX spectrum deal catches more heat

SpaceX's proposed pair of acquisitions of EchoStar spectrum is getting more static in the Federal Communications Commission docket as Liberty Latin American presses its case that the agreements toss a monkey wrench into its mobile plans. Meanwhile, dozens of tower and property owners continue to urge the FCC to require Dish Wireless to pay its bills. In late 2025, Liberty Latin America asked the FCC to require SpaceX to meet all of the terrestrial buildout deadlines currently applicable to EchoStar's lower AWS-3, AWS-4 and H-Block licenses. LLA claimed that the spectrum transaction will hinder its plans to build out its 5G network in regions covering Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands and effectively create spectrum "dead zones" in those areas. SpaceX, which intends to use EchoStar's spectrum to help underpin a next-gen direct-to-device service, responded in a February 6 letter to the FCC. SpaceX argued that LLA's "ever-changing basis" for assertions on that spectrum "strain credibility." Under current FCC rules, LLA "must accept any interference received from duly authorized mobile satellite service [MMS] operations in these bands," SpaceX said.