Photo: EchoStar Mobile

The FCC is questioning EchoStar about the status of its mobile satellite services (MSS) operations in the 2 GHz band after SpaceX accused EchoStar of “barely” using the band. 

The FCC opened two public notices on EchoStar Monday. One from the Space Bureau focuses on MSS utilization, seeking information on whether EchoStar’s use of the 2 GHz band for MSS is “consistent with the terms of its authorizations and the commission’s rules and policies.” 

The other public notice from the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau deals with EchoStar’s 5G network buildout. 

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr sent a letter to EchoStar Chairman Charlie Ergen on May 9, explaining that Carr directed FCC staff to investigate the company’s compliance with its 5G buildout milestones and an extension the company received in September, and its MSS utilization.

“The deployment of broadband service throughout the country, and the robust and efficient use of the nation’s spectrum resources, is of paramount importance to the FCC,” Carr said in the letter. 

The FCC Monday notice specifically references that SpaceX raised questions about the company’s MSS utilization.

Ergen defended the company’s use of spectrum in a letter back to Carr released on Tuesday, saying that EchoStar has “met or exceeded all of the commitments” on the O-RAN buildout, and addressing company’s direct-to-device plans for its spectrum in the works. 

SpaceX ‘Charting Course’ on Spectrum, Analyst Says

These new FCC inquiries do not come as a surprise, Kimberly Siversen Burke, director of Government Affairs for Quilty Space, told Via Satellite, pointing to SpaceX’s previous requests to operate in already claimed bands and petitions for new rulemaking on sharing rules. 

“This was completely expected and at least two years in the making. Like the out-of-band emissions (OOBE) waiver granted to SpaceX, we knew it would happen once Carr became FCC chair. We just didn’t know how long it would take,” Burke said. 

Last month, the FCC kicked off a spectrum sharing review process and comments on satellite power limits that SpaceX petitioned for. 

“The FCC is now juggling multiple proceedings to reexamine how satellite spectrum is shared, opened, or pried loose from incumbents. SpaceX is charting this course. That’s not to say other operators aren’t along for the ride, but SpaceX is arguably at the helm,” Burke said. 

This inquiry comes after SpaceX and EchoStar have been going back-and-forth in regulatory filings in recent weeks about EchoStar’s use of 2 GHz spectrum. 

SpaceX filed a spectrum analysis on April 14 that alleged that EchoStar’s Dish Network “uses less than 5% of what would be expected from an actual wireless network operator.” SpaceX called for the FCC to bring new entrants into the 2 GHz band and start a new spectrum-sharing process. 

EchoStar responded by calling the methodology “completely nonsensical,” and said it is an attempt from SpaceX to “hijack competition” and “cloak another land grab for even more free spectrum.”

The FCC’s new inquiries could have implications for other satellite operators. Burke said that while this new FCC docket is focused on Dish/EchoStar holdings, “the outcome could also lay the groundwork for similar reforms in the Big LEO bands,” where Globalstar and Iridium have exclusive status. This would require a separate proceeding. 

Burke also pointed to an Executive Order released in February expanding the Administration’s power over independent agencies. 

“I can’t help but wonder if Trump-era policies are slipping into the blind spots of many satellite operators. Everyone is looking at Carr’s alliances – perceived or otherwise –  but not at the presidential EO that yanks the FCC under tighter White House control,” Burke said. “The order effectively dismantles the firewall that once insulated the FCC from direct political command. That means the administration can directly shape proceedings like this one and others.”  

Ergen Defends Spectrum Use 

Ergen defended EchoStar’s rollout in a response to Carr filed with the SEC and released Tuesday, saying the company has “met or exceeded all of the commitments we have entered into with the FCC to date,” and the company is still deploying and investing in its network. 

Ergen cited that EchoStar has invested tens of billions in the Open RAN network using primarily American vendors. He said it is the world’s largest 5G Open RAN network, and said it serves 24,000 5G sites and offers broadband service to more than 268 million people in the U.S. 

He also noted the network furthers the Trump Administration’s priority of putting the U.S. “at the forefront of wireless leadership and that our infrastructure is free of Chinese vendors,” and also serves rural and hard to reach communities.

EchoStar has direct-to-device network plans in the works that would use the company’s terrestrial and MSS spectrum. 

Last week, CEO Hamid Akhavan said that while EchoStar hasn’t fully announced its plans, it is getting plans and engineering ready. He said EchoStar wants to time any satellite launches to when more devices in the market are compatible with 3GPP standards that allow chips to communicate with satellites. 

Ergen pointed to progress here that EchoStar is testing new S-band services in North America and Europe, launched a Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite and has “several more” planned in the coming months. 

“EchoStar worked tirelessly to establish 3GPP NTN standard for D2D. With D2D 3GPP standards now complete, EchoStar has the global capability in terms of expertise, spectrum, and ITU priority to bring this to fruition,” Ergen said.