AT&T is defending its proposed $23 billion acquisition of spectrum licenses from EchoStar, insisting the transaction will boost competition and deliver faster 5G service to millions of consumers, while rival T-Mobile has launched a fierce campaign to convince the Federal Communications Commission to block the deal outright or impose unprecedented rural coverage mandates.
The transaction, one of the largest private-market spectrum transfers in U.S. history, would hand AT&T roughly 20 MHz of nationwide 600 MHz lowband spectrum and 30 MHz of 3.45 GHz midband spectrum currently controlled by EchoStar’s Dish Network unit. AT&T argues the additional airwaves are critical to improving indoor coverage and extending 5G reach into suburban and rural areas where higher-frequency bands struggle to penetrate.
T-Mobile, however, contends in a detailed FCC petition that the deal fails the public-interest test. The carrier’s primary objection centers on the 600 MHz holdings, which it accuses EchoStar of largely warehousing rather than deploying according to LightReading. Allowing AT&T to acquire those licenses, T-Mobile argues, would let EchoStar pocket billions for spectrum it never built out while giving AT&T no real incentive to serve hard-to-reach rural communities. The company has asked regulators to either deny the transfer entirely or attach three strict conditions: force AT&T to cover a substantial percentage of the geographic area of each 600 MHz license within five years, verify compliance through rigorous drive testing similar to the T-Mobile-Sprint merger commitments, and cancel or reclaim any licenses EchoStar never constructed so the airwaves can be re-auctioned for the benefit of the U.S. Treasury.
Such geographic coverage requirements would mark a sharp departure from longstanding FCC practice, which historically measures buildout obligations by population rather than land area. Rural carriers, represented by the Rural Wireless Association, have also weighed in against the transaction. The group warns that further consolidating lowband spectrum among the big three national operators will make it even harder for smaller regional providers to compete and expand broadband into underserved communities. The association is pushing the FCC to require AT&T to carve out portions of the EchoStar holdings and make them available to rural operators through good-faith partitioning agreements. It further called for broader reforms to wholesale and resale rules to level the playing field for mobile virtual network operators.
AT&T has countered with what it describes as an ambitious voluntary deployment commitment for the 600 MHz band. Under the plan already submitted to both the FCC and the Department of Justice, the company would cover 40 percent of the population in each license area within three years of closing and 75 percent within five years or by the end of 2030, whichever comes first. Because AT&T’s existing network does not yet support 600 MHz, the rollout would require significant new radio equipment across thousands of cell sites.
The midband portion of the deal has already shown tangible results. Thanks to a temporary spectrum-manager lease, AT&T has deployed EchoStar’s 3.45 GHz holdings at more than 23,000 sites ahead of formal approval. The carrier reports that customers in those areas are experiencing 5G download speeds roughly 80 percent faster on mobile devices and 55 percent faster on fixed wireless service.
The transaction also reshapes EchoStar’s role in the wireless market. Under a revised commercial agreement, Dish will transition Boost Mobile into a hybrid operator, relying on AT&T’s radio access network while retaining its own core network. AT&T maintains this arrangement will allow Boost to offer more reliable service at lower cost, adding another layer of competitive pressure on Verizon, T-Mobile, and itself.
With the FCC’s public comment period nearing its close, the agency and the Department of Justice face mounting pressure from multiple directions. Regulators must weigh AT&T’s promises of faster deployment and enhanced competition against warnings that the deal could entrench the dominance of the nation’s largest carriers and leave rural America further behind. A final decision is not expected until well into 2026, with the companies targeting a mid-year closing if approvals are secured.
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