Joint Comments Supporting EchoStar’s Transfer of Spectrum Licenses to SpaceX for a New Direct to Cell Satellite Service

OTI and Public Knowledge filed joint comments supporting the proposed transfer of EchoStar’s licenses for AWS-4/2 GHz, AWS H-Block, and AWS-3 spectrum to SpaceX, as well as three requested waivers that would benefit consumers by promoting more robust Direct to Cell (D2C) mobile satellite service offerings. While it is unclear whether this new technology will ultimately fulfill (or perhaps even exceed) the promised D2C service described in the application, there is no doubt that D2C is an innovative new technology that promises numerous benefits to consumers. The addition of terrestrial spectrum, and the waivers requested by SpaceX, will allow it to maximize the development of D2C (and D2D) for mobile and fixed wireless customers.

It is important to note, however, that this transaction will not improve the competitive landscape in mobile services in the foreseeable future. OTI and PK support this transaction’s potential to provide consumers with new, innovative services that supplement terrestrial wireless service. After approving the dismemberment of US Cellular, and after forcing the end of EchoStar’s effort to provide terrestrial facilities-based competition as a fourth mobile carrier, the Commission cannot point to the proposed transaction as providing consumers with a competitive alternative. OTI and PK’s support for this transaction rests on the potential to offer new services that complement terrestrial wireless connectivity, and the reality that sale of this spectrum to SpaceX will not further entrench what the Department of Justice Antitrust Division has called an “oligopoly” of the “Big 3” wireless carriers.