AT&T has made a billion-dollar move to enhance its network for wireless customers after rolling out a series of price increases this year amid rising competition. 

For instance, in April, the carrier raised prices for its retired unlimited wireless plans that were active before July 24, 2025. Customers with a single mobile line on one of these plans saw their monthly bill go up by $10, while those with multiple lines got hit with a $20 price hike (not per line).

The same change took effect on Aug. 1 for wireless plans activated from July 24, 2025, to Nov. 1, 2025. 

AT&T also hiked two fees that customers pay on their monthly bills: its “Administrative Fee” and “Administrative & Regulatory Cost Recovery Fee.” Both increased by $1 per line on Aug. 5. 

AT&T acquires EchoStar spectrum licenses to upgrade its network

As AT&T asks its wireless customers for more money, the carrier has completed its $23 billion acquisition of wireless spectrum licenses from telecommunications giant EchoStar, a move that will help improve its mobile service, according to a recent press release.  

Wireless spectrum licenses, issued by the Federal Communications Commission, allow companies to use specific radio frequency bands for communication. 

By granting carriers exclusive access to specific frequency bands within a geographic area, these licenses help maintain reliable service and reduce interference that can cause dropped calls or service disruptions. 

The acquisition, which was first announced in August last year, grants AT&T 50 megahertz of low-band and mid-band spectrum, “covering virtually every market across the U.S.,” according to the press release.  

Specifically, the new holdings add 30 MHz of nationwide 3.45 GHz mid-band spectrum and roughly 20 MHz of nationwide 600 MHz low-band spectrum to AT&T’s portfolio.

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AT&T said this purchase will “boost its 5G capacity and download speeds” while helping it deliver an “AI-ready connected experience as it engineers the spectrum to enhance the superior uplink capabilities of its wireless network.”

Customers, however, won’t see network improvements from all of these licenses right away. According to an FCC filing, the 600 MHz spectrum AT&T acquired from EchoStar isn’t supported by the carrier’s network portfolio. This means AT&T needs to develop and procure new radios to support mobile communications in this band, a process that will likely take over a year.

MorningStar analyst Michael Hodel first warned about this outcome in an analysis last year, shortly after the acquisition was first announced. 

“The 3.45 GHz licenses provide AT&T with midband spectrum across the US that it can utilize very quickly to help close its gap with rivals T-Mobile and Verizon Communications,” said Hodel. “Midband spectrum provides network capacity.” 

“Only T-Mobile extensively uses the 600 MHz band, providing the coverage layer for its network,” he added. “AT&T will need years to fully deploy 600 MHz on its network.”

The completion of the acquisition comes after EchoStar’s Dish DBS and Dish Wireless units filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June.

In the bankruptcy filing, both subsidiaries claimed that delays in the AT&T spectrum transaction left them without funds to make a significant debt payment that was due on July 1. 

The U.S. Department of Justice later relieved EchoStar of its obligation to develop its own 5G network, stating that the best resolution is selling its separate spectrum to AT&T and SpaceX.

AT&T is battling intensifying wireless competition

The last notable spectrum purchase AT&T made occurred late last year. AT&T acquired a portion of regional phone carrier UScellular’s retained spectrum licenses for $1.018 billion, a purchase that was approved by the FCC in December. 

AT&T’s top competitors have also recently landed major spectrum purchases. In May, the FCC approved Verizon’s $1 billion deal to buy some spectrum assets from UScellular to expand its network capacity and coverage.

In July, the FCC also approved a deal that allows T-Mobile to acquire certain 600 MHz licenses from private investment firm Grain Management.

Carriers have been ramping up their spectrum purchases amid heightened wireless competition. 

Cable operators, for instance, have become fast-growing players in the wireless market as they continue to attract customers through bundled wireless and internet offerings.

For example, Comcast gained 448,000 new U.S. wireless customers during the second quarter of this year, according to its latest earnings report. Charter Communications also revealed in its most recent earnings report that its Spectrum business added 406,000 total mobile lines during the same quarter. 

Another major threat to the big 3 carriers (AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile) is the rapid growth of SpaceX’s Starlink Mobile. The direct-to-cell service provides satellite connectivity to phones in areas that traditional cell towers can’t reach.

AT&T has completed its $23 billion purchase of wireless spectrum licenses from EchoStar.

Jeff Greenberg / Getty Images

Starlink Mobile is vying for AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile customers

It currently partners with T-Mobile to provide its service to U.S. consumers. However, Starlink Mobile plans to build its own terrestrial U.S. mobile network that rivals AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile.

During an earnings call on Aug. 4, SpaceX Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell doubled down on these plans, stating the company will begin launching its next-generation Starlink Mobile V2 satellites in 2027. 

These satellites are designed to deliver 5G speeds from space, offering 100 times the data density of Starlink’s first-generation V1 satellites. That increased capacity will enable them to support up to 20 times more traffic. 

As a result, Starlink Mobile users will be able to browse the web, use high-speed apps, stream content and make phone calls with a faster, more reliable connection and fewer service disruptions. 

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SpaceX also plans to use 65 MHz of spectrum that it agreed to acquire from EchoStar to build its Starlink Mobile terrestrial network. 

“The spectrum that we purchased from EchoStar does have terrestrial components; we definitely intend to build out the terrestrial component,” said Shotwell. 

“You will have not only the capacity from the satellites themselves, but you will have a build-out of the terrestrial, basically the hardware and systems necessary to make a true mobile service exactly what you want it to be,” she continued.

Shotwell said she expects that Starlink Mobile will have success in attracting AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile customers.  

“I anticipate us to be able to acquire quite a few of their customers because I think our service will be better,” she said. “We will eliminate dead zones leveraging basically the satellites in orbit.”

Despite this growing threat, MoffettNathanson analyst Craig Moffett warned in a recent statement to Reuters that SpaceX’s plans for a terrestrial Starlink Mobile network will likely take years to become a major competitor.  

“Unless Starlink can secure an MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) agreement from one of the carriers, which would provide a baseline ‌of ⁠coverage, it’s extraordinarily challenging to imagine a direct-to-consumer service from Starlink that could be competitive with carrier services in the next five years,” said Moffett.

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