The Combined EchoStar/Dish Still Faces Massive Uncertainty as Financing Options Dwindle

EchoStar primarily consists of Dish Network assets following the firms’ merger, which closed at the end of 2023 and left EchoStar as the surviving entity. Dish has made a massive bet on wireless spectrum, spending about $30 billion (more than $100 per EchoStar share) to acquire various spectrum licenses over the past 15 years. The Dish/EchoStar merger pushes the wireless effort toward the enterprise and wholesale telecom markets, which makes sense given the maturity of the traditional smartphone wireless market. Still, the firm faces a highly uncertain future as it seeks to carve out a niche.