(Credit: Sven Piper via Getty Images)The Federal Communication Commission’s move to potentially open EchoStar’s 2GHz spectrum to SpaceX is facing growing backlash, including from an outgoing commissioner.
Days after his surprising retirement announcement, Nathan Simington slammed the FCC’s review into EchoStar’s control of its spectrum licenses, calling it a “dangerous mistake.”
"The FCC threatens such severe sanctions that they put EchoStar’s financial viability in question and threaten to kill the company,” Simington wrote in a piece on RealClearPolicy.
The editorial is notable since Simington is Republican who has voted along along party lines with FCC Chair Brendan Carr, also a Republican (and fan of SpaceX and its CEO, Elon Musk).
Carr is investigating EchoStar, the parent of BoostMobile and Dish Network, over concerns the company has failed to meet its buildout obligations to supply a 5G network across the US as a competitive wireless carrier. Last month, the FCC also kicked off a formal process, soliciting public comment on whether EchoStar is effectively using the 2GHz band, which SpaceX wants shared access to in order to bolster its cellular Starlink service.
Although Carr has signaled he wants to free up more radio spectrum to power next-generation satellite services, Simington questions the inquiry into EchoStar’s 2GHz rights, saying the FCC has repeatedly found it to be “impossible” for companies to share spectrum for terrestrial and satellite uses.
Simington also argues the move risks disrupting the entire wireless market in the US. "Every holder of a spectrum license is taking note: threatening license revocations is the ultimate sanction because without licenses, you don’t have a wireless business," he wrote.
“EchoStar claims to have met its commitments, so moving to threaten its licenses seems extremely market-disruptive out of proportion to any claimed offense,” he added. “Put it all together, and there’s only one conclusion. One of the most innovative companies in American telecommunications is at risk of suffering an unprecedented and unpredictable punishment.”
Simington is not alone with his concerns. Other telecommunications vendors and contractors are also telling the FCC about the dangers of sanctioning EchoStar, warning it could imperil their jobs, along with work on EchoStar’s Open RAN network for BoostMobile.
“EchoStar’s network, which incorporates components from dozens of diverse vendors, stands in stark contrast to how traditional, closed-architecture networks are built,” a group of suppliers, including Samsung and Dell Technologies, told the FCC last month. “Any undue regulatory action that halts or imperils EchoStar's network deployment or its licenses would adversely impact this significant investment in Open RAN technology and cast doubt on the innovation.”
EchoStar itself is lobbying the FCC to keep its spectrum license intact, saying it's 5G network through BoostMobile already covers 80% of the population and complies with buildout commitments. However, the company said in a letter to the commission that it’s had no luck scheduling a meeting with Carr. “All of these requests...have gone unanswered. This includes a formal meeting request on May 12, 2025,” the company wrote.
EchoStar has long said it needs exclusive access to the 2GHz spectrum in the US to head off potential interference. The company’s goal is to eventually use the radio band to launch its own satellite service for phones and IoT devices through a “Lyra” satellite constellation.
However, SpaceX argues it should be able to share the 2GHz spectrum to unlock greater capabilities for its cellular Starlink service, which launches with T-Mobile next month. In its own letter to the FCC last week, SpaceX accused EchoStar of squatting on the spectrum without supplying actual wireless services to US users.
“EchoStar’s failure to deliver 2GHz satellite service to American consumers means that its market access automatically terminated years ago, leaving the band open for new competitive entry,” SpaceX alleges.