Dallas-based telecom giant AT&T announced the closing of an approximately $23 billion deal to acquire wireless spectrum licenses from EchoStar. The deal adds capacity and markets nationwide for both 5G and fiber internet services.

The transaction, first announced last August, covers some 400 markets nationwide. It includes roughly 30 MHz of nationwide 3.45 GHz mid-band spectrum and about 20 MHz of nationwide 600 MHz low-band spectrum. Low-band spectrum is ideal in less populated areas because it travels farther and penetrates buildings. High-band spectrum offers high capacity over short ranges, better for urban areas, while mid bands balance coverage and capacity.

EchoStar, based in the Denver area, is the parent company of Dish DBS, which provides pay-TV service through Dish Network and Sling TV, and Dish Wireless, which operated the company’s 5G network. Dish DBS and Dish Wireless, along with certain subsidiaries, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last summer, before the AT&T deal.

According to the Denver Business Journal, a portion of the proceeds immediately paid down debt for the Dish subsidiaries and established a Federal Communications Commission-mandated trust. The FCC required the trust to pay down debt in exchange for approving the deal with AT&T.

Growing wireless and fiber

Under the terms announced last year, AT&T and EchoStar said they also agreed to enhance their long-term wholesale network services agreement. The deal enables EchoStar to operate as a hybrid mobile network operator (MNO), providing wireless service under the Boost Mobile brand. AT&T said it will be the primary network services partner to EchoStar as it continues to serve wireless customers.

For AT&T, the added spectrum boosts its 5G capacity and download speeds, the company said. AT&T also said it is engineering the spectrum to improve the uplink capabilities as part of a broader push toward AI-ready connectivity.

AT&T said the deal is part of the company’s growth strategy and reinforces the financial outlook leaders presented last week in the Q2 2026 earnings report.

AT&T Chairman and CEO John Stankey said in a statement that the company’s financial outlook is strong: “With an industry-leading position in fiber — the best connectivity technology available — we believe our network performance and operating scale can’t be matched.”

Growing the fiber business is an ongoing mission for AT&T. The EchoStar deal follows a transaction AT&T announced earlier in 2025 to acquire Denver-based Lumen’s Mass Markets fiber business for $5.75 billion.

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