Despite continuing questions about how quickly major wireless providers really want the next major spectrum auction, the FCC is under the gun to hold an upper C-band auction in just two years. But industry experts told us that, as was said of the baseball field in 1989’s Field of Dreams, if the FCC holds an auction the carriers will come.

With EchoStar selling spectrum to AT&T and SpaceX that was key to its terrestrial mobile plans, the company's focus will be on a hybrid mobile virtual network operator model for its Boost Mobile business, executives said this morning at World Space Business Week in Paris. Under that hybrid MVNO model, Boost will use SpaceX direct-to-device service and AT&T mobile service, paired with Boost's cloud-based core network, CEO Hamid Akhavan said.

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, warned Wednesday that a provision in the FY 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (S-2296) would give the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman authority to veto commercial use of the lower 3 and 7/8 GHz bands. Cruz told an NTIA spectrum symposium (see 2509100051) that he will fight that provision in Section 1564 of the bill. “To be clear, this is not consultation or collaboration on spectrum management,” Cruz said.

SpaceX’s purchase of wireless licenses from EchoStar, announced Monday, wasn’t a surprise (see 2509080052), AT&T CEO John Stankey said Tuesday at a Goldman Sachs conference. “I'd probably argue that that may be the highest and best use of that spectrum for a variety of reasons because it does harmonize very well globally.”

The FCC dropping its twin probes against EchoStar seemingly shows that the agency is all for EchoStar selling its AWS-4 and H-block spectrum to SpaceX and its 3.45 GHz and 600 MHz licenses to AT&T, wireless and spectrum experts told us. Some also said the SpaceX deal could open the door to the satellite operator becoming a wireless competitor.

In a move that could shape the non-terrestrial network (NTN) market, EchoStar announced an agreement Monday to sell SpaceX its AWS-4 and H-block spectrum for about $17 billion, equally divided between cash and stock. The companies also agreed to enable EchoStar's Boost Mobile subscribers to access Starlink’s direct-to-cell service, and SpaceX will underwrite $2 billion in interest payments payable on EchoStar debt through November 2027. Industry officials acknowledged there are numerous unanswered questions about the deal and how it will be viewed by the FCC.

T-Mobile had zero interest in the 3.45 GHz spectrum AT&T is buying from EchoStar as part of a $23 billion deal (see 2508260005), T-Mobile executives told attendees at financial conferences Thursday, echoing the sentiments of Verizon (see 2509030027). AT&T plans to quickly deploy the spectrum (see 2509050024).

AT&T will be able to deploy the 3.45 GHz spectrum that it plans to buy from EchoStar almost immediately after regulators clear the purchase, said Jenifer Robertson, AT&T's general manager of mass markets, at a Citi financial conference Thursday. AT&T CFO Pascal Desroches said at a Bank of America conference that the company was immediately interested in the spectrum when it became clear that EchoStar might sell some of its large portfolio.

AT&T’s agreement to buy EchoStar spectrum for $23 billion (see 2508260005) will likely have a short-term positive effect and a long-term negative effect for tower companies, MoffettNathanson’s Nick Del Deo told investors Thursday. MoffettNathanson cut its target prices for American Tower by 3%, Crown Castle by 7% and SBA by 5%. “We continue to view the group as attractive, but not pound-the-table attractive,” the analyst said.

Verizon wasn’t interested in the spectrum that AT&T is buying from EchoStar, Sowmyanarayan Sampath, CEO of Verizon Consumer Group, said at a Bank of America financial conference Wednesday. Verizon is very happy with its spectrum position, he said. AT&T announced last week an agreement to buy EchoStar spectrum for $23 billion (see 2508260005).