FCC Threatens Charlie Ergen’s Hold on Satellite, 5G Spectrum Licenses

Telecommunications mogul Charlie Ergen’s war chest is at risk after a U.S. regulator questioned his company’s use of cellular and satellite spectrum licenses—including a chunk of airwaves long sought by Elon Musk’s SpaceX. The Federal Communications Commission told Ergen, the chairman and co-founder of network operator EchoStar, that the agency’s staff would investigate the company’s compliance with federal requirements to build a nationwide 5G network. EchoStar owns both the Dish Network pay-TV brand and Boost Mobile’s wireless service. The U.S. government in 2019 set several construction milestones for Dish to maintain cellular licenses worth billions of dollars. Ergen and Musk have been sparring for years in regulatory filings over spectrum rights. The battle has intensified in recent months as Apple and other big technology companies press for an edge in orbit. SpaceX said in an April letter that EchoStar’s spectrum in the 2 gigahertz band “remains ripe for sharing among next-generation satellite systems.” The company urged the commission to launch a new rule-making process to add new competitors to the band.