FCC investigation looms over EchoStar’s missed interest payments and a new satellite

EchoStar is skipping involvement payments adjacent arsenic it commissions a caller Dish TV outer — citing “uncertainty” caused by a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) probe. 

The institution conscionable missed a $183 cardinal involvement payment, the Wall Street Journal reported connected Monday. It missed different $326 cardinal involvement payment, Bloomberg reported connected Friday. It’s perchance mounting itself up for bankruptcy protection, SpaceNews reports.

While those payments are connected hold, EchoStar, which Dish Network rejoined past year, is inactive investing successful its TV business. It commissioned a caller communications outer for television, Maxar Space Systems announced yesterday. The satellite, EchoStar XXVI, is expected to beryllium completed by 2028 to enactment Dish TV sum crossed 50 US states and Puerto Rico. 

The FCC is investigating whether EchoStar is hitting requirements to deploy 5G that it’s expected to conscionable successful bid to support its spectrum licenses. Dish Network merged backmost with EchoStar — which besides owns Boost Mobile — to effort to vie successful 5G, with the extremity of trying to go a rival with AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. The FCC probe has led EchoStar to “freeze its decision-making” for Boost Mobile, the Wall Street Journal reports.

SpaceX is besides a rival vying with EchoStar for spectrum licenses successful the 2 GHz band. Elon Musk’s institution conducted its ain investigation of Dish’s cellular signals and called EchoStar’s usage of the gigahertz set “de minimis astatine best” successful an April filing to the FCC. EchoStar accused SpaceX of a “land grab” for spectrum the Wall Street Journal reported past month. 

Neither Dish Network nor EchoStar responded instantly to a petition for remark from The Verge.