EchoStar

In 1980, Charlie Ergen, Candy Ergen and Jim DeFranco founded EchoStar as a C-band satellite distributor.⁠[1]

EchoStar Corporation was organized in Nevada in October 2007.⁠[2]

In January 2008, EchoStar and DISH Network became separate companies, with EchoStar keeping the satellites, Sling Media and set-top box development.⁠[1]

On June 8, 2011, EchoStar announced that it had completed its acquisition of Hughes Communications, a broadband satellite technology and services company, which became a wholly owned subsidiary. Michael Dugan was EchoStar’s CEO and president at the time.⁠[3]

Hughes shareholders received $60.70 per share, a 31% premium to the unaffected January 2011 closing price of $46.43. The purchase was financed with $1.1 billion of senior secured notes and $900 million of senior unsecured notes.⁠[4]

In July 2020, DISH Network, then a separate company, acquired Boost Mobile and entered the consumer wireless business.⁠[1]

On August 8, 2023, DISH Network and EchoStar announced an all-stock merger at a fixed exchange ratio, initially giving EchoStar holders 2.85 DISH Network shares per EchoStar share, with completion expected by year-end. DISH Network president and CEO Erik Carlson was to depart at closing.⁠[5]

On October 2, 2023, the parties entered into an amended and restated merger agreement under which DISH Network would survive the merger as a wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar.⁠[6]

On December 31, 2023, EchoStar completed its acquisition of DISH Network, which became a wholly owned subsidiary, and all DISH Network Class A shares were delisted from Nasdaq. DISH Network then had 7.378 million wireless subscribers.⁠[7]

Each DISH Network Class A and Class C share was converted into 0.350877 shares of EchoStar Class A common stock. Charlie Ergen became executive chairman and Hamid Akhavan president and CEO.⁠[8]

On May 9, 2025, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) opened a review of EchoStar’s 5G build-out compliance and 2 GHz spectrum use; a September 8 letter said the FCC chairman had asked staff to conclude it.⁠[2]

On August 26, 2025, EchoStar announced the sale of 50 MHz of nationwide 3.45 GHz and 600 MHz spectrum licenses to AT&TAT&TAT&T (AT&T Inc.) is a telecommunications company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Its predecessor was SBC Communications, a regional holding company created in the 1984 breakup of the Bell System; SBC merged with the original AT&T Corp. in 2005 and adopted its name, and it has since operated a nationwide wireless network and fiber broadband, at one time also owning DIRECTV and WarnerMedia.Open the full entry for about $23 billion, along with “a hybrid mobile network operator (MNO) relationship” under which Boost Mobile would pair its own 5G core with AT&T’s cell sites.⁠[9]

On September 8, 2025, EchoStar announced the sale of its AWS-4 and H-block spectrum licenses to SpaceXSpaceXSpaceX is a company founded by Elon Musk in 2002 whose businesses include space transportation, Starlink satellite communications and artificial intelligence. It went public in 2026 under the ticker SPCX.Open the full entry for about $17 billion (up to $8.5 billion each in cash and SpaceX stock), with SpaceX also funding about $2 billion of debt interest through November 2027. Boost Mobile subscribers were to gain access to Starlink Direct to Cell service.⁠[10]

On November 5, 2025, EchoStar and SpaceX amended their agreement, raising total consideration from $17 billion to $19,616,737,853. Effective November 6, chairman Charlie Ergen also became president and CEO, while Hamid Akhavan became CEO of a new division, EchoStar Capital, and remained on the board.⁠[11]

The amendment added 15 MHz of AWS-3 spectrum for $2.6 billion.⁠[2]

In January 2026, Crown CastleCrown CastleCrown Castle Inc. is a New York Stock Exchange-listed real estate investment trust based in Houston, Texas, that owns, operates and leases about 40,000 communications towers in the United States.Open the full entry terminated its DISH Wireless agreement over missed payments and sought over $3.5 billion.⁠[12]

EchoStar’s 2025 revenue was $15.00 billion ($15.83 billion in 2024), and its net loss attributable to EchoStar was $14.50 billion ($119.55 million in 2024), driven mainly by about $17.63 billion of non-cash impairments and other expenses. It ended the year with 7.00 million pay-TV and 7.51 million retail wireless subscribers.⁠[13]

EchoStar moved from the S&P MidCap 400 to the S&P 500 before the open on March 23, 2026, in the Communication Services sector.⁠[14]

On May 12, 2026, the AT&T deal won FCC and Justice Department approval, and the SpaceX deal FCC approval. SpaceX’s equity consideration is about 261.8 million Class A shares at a fixed $42.40 each.⁠[15]

On May 22, 2026, EchoStar completed the “Spectrum Transfer Closing” of the SpaceX deal, moving 50 MHz of spectrum, including 2000–2020 MHz, into a trust. The final “Spectrum Acquisition Closing” remains targeted for November 30, 2027.⁠[16]

On June 22, 2026, EchoStar announced that its Nasdaq ticker would change from SATS to ECHO on June 24, honoring NASANASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is the U.S. federal agency responsible for the civilian space program, aeronautics research and space science. Established by law in 1958 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., it has run programs including Mercury, the Apollo Moon landings, the Space Shuttle, the International Space Station and Artemis.Open the full entry’s Project Echo. Charlie Ergen said the change “represents our growth from a pure-play satellite company” to a company with diverse connectivity assets.⁠[17]

On June 30, 2026, DISH DBS Corporation and subsidiaries including DISH Wireless filed Chapter 11 cases in the Southern District of Texas because delays in closing the AT&T deal left DISH DBS without the liquidity to repay $2.0 billion of notes due July 1. EchoStar itself, Hughes and Boost Mobile were not included.⁠[18]

Substantially all of EchoStar’s Pay-TV and Other segments were deconsolidated as of June 30, producing a gain of about $9.73 billion.⁠[15]

On July 6, 2026, Hamid Akhavan resigned, effective immediately, from all positions with EchoStar and Hughes, pointing to “a changing of strategic direction.” Charlie Ergen became principal executive officer of Hughes, and EchoStar Capital was folded into corporate development under Tom Cullen.⁠[19]

On July 17, 2026, a federal judge granted the Justice Department’s request to end EchoStar’s obligation to operate a mobile network. EchoStar and AT&T closed the spectrum deal on July 28. Boost Mobile, with 7.5 million subscribers as of the first quarter of 2026, is to run largely on AT&T infrastructure.⁠[20]

EchoStar received $20.25 billion, and AT&T deposited a further $2.4 billion into an FCC-mandated trust for qualifying claims tied to decommissioning the DISH Wireless network.⁠[21]

On August 3, 2026, Hughes Satellite Systems Corporation and certain U.S. subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 over maturing debt, planning to focus on enterprise, government and defense; EchoStar was not included.⁠[22]

A bankruptcy judge approved DISH DBS’s reorganization plan on September 29, 2026, and it became effective on October 1, when EchoStar resumed consolidating the business. DISH Wireless remained in Chapter 11 as EchoStar wound down its facilities-based wireless network.⁠[23]