AT&T Closes $23 Billion EchoStar Spectrum Deal
The spectrum purchase expands AT&T’s nationwide 5G capacity and supports its push to combine wireless and home internet services.
{"text": "AT&T Inc. (T) closed its previously announced purchase of certain wireless spectrum licenses from EchoStar for approximately $23 billion, completing an asset deal designed to strengthen its 5G network nationwide. The transaction gives AT&T additional low-band and mid-band capacity that will provide customers across the U.S. with faster, more reliable connections.\n\nThe all-cash purchase covered approximately 30 megahertz of nationwide 3.45-gigahertz mid-band spectrum and about 20 megahertz of nationwide 600-megahertz low-band spectrum. The licenses span more than 400 markets and cover virtually the entire U.S., materially expanding the frequencies available for AT&T’s wireless network. When the companies announced the agreement in August 2025, they expected it to close in mid-2026 following regulatory approvals and other customary conditions.\n\nAT&T presented the acquisition as an extension of its converged-connectivity strategy, which seeks to sell wireless and home internet services to the same customers. The mid-band licenses are compatible with its 5G network and can add capacity in areas where data demand is growing, while the low-band holdings can support broader coverage. “This acquisition bolsters and expands our spectrum portfolio while enhancing customers’ 5G wireless and home internet experience in even more markets,” Chairman and Chief Executive John Stankey said when the transaction was announced.\n\nThe added spectrum also supports AT&T Internet Air, the company’s fixed-wireless home internet service. The licenses will allow it to expand that offering, including in places where it eventually plans to deploy fiber, and later migrate some customers to fiber connections. The company also expects the added capacity to reduce its need for more capital-intensive construction of cell sites and to help it add subscribers who take both 5G wireless and home internet service.\n\nThe sale formed part of a broader reshaping of EchoStar’s spectrum holdings. Weeks after announcing the AT&T agreement, EchoStar agreed to sell its AWS-4 and H-block licenses to SpaceX for approximately $17 billion in cash and stock, followed later by a roughly $2.6 billion agreement covering unpaired AWS-3 licenses. Those transactions pointed to a wider transfer of spectrum toward operators seeking additional terrestrial and direct-to-cell capacity, while giving EchoStar funds and financial flexibility for its remaining businesses.\n\nAT&T will fund the EchoStar purchase with cash on hand and additional borrowing. The company expects the deal to lift its net-debt-to-adjusted-EBITDA ratio to around three times, followed by a return toward its roughly 2.5-times leverage target within about three years. With the licenses now acquired, the focus shifts to deployment: AT&T plans to use the additional capacity to expand 5G coverage, reliability and speeds while building a larger base of customers who buy both wireless and broadband service."}