EchoStar Skips Bond Interests Over FCC Probe Uncertainty
EchoStar Corp., the wireless and pay-TV operator controlled by billionaire Charlie Ergen, skipped an interest payment due Friday because of uncertainty about a regulatory probe.
The company said it won't make a $326 million cash interest payment on its 10.75% senior spectrum secured notes due 2029, citing impacts from a Federal Communications Commission review over its compliance with obligations to build a nationwide 5G network. It has a 30-day grace period to make the interest payment.
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CNET
2 days ago
- CNET
My Week With AT&T Internet Air Left Me Bummed
With all the talk of a possible recession, tariff uncertainty, the high price of eggs and market fluctuations, it can be challenging to part with your money. Once you decide to spend a bit, you want that purchase to be worth it. If it isn't, falling short of what you hoped for can be especially frustrating. When it comes to home internet, I often say that the best broadband connection is one you never notice. With steady buffering and long load times, AT&T's 5G internet offering, AT&T Internet Air, never let me forget that I was using it. Seemingly overnight, we've seen a rise in 5G home internet popularity. One report found that 89% of new broadband subscriptions in the past two years came from just two 5G providers: T-Mobile and Verizon. So when AT&T launched AT&T Internet Air late in 2023, I was excited to see how it compared. I was quickly disappointed. I have as friendly a testing environment as you'll ever find for an internet provider. I live alone in a one-bedroom apartment, and the list of connected devices I own is shockingly short: Just my iPhone SE, Apple TV 4K and a MacBook Pro that I use to work from home. That's not much strain to put on a Wi-Fi network, but even so, AT&T Internet Air couldn't handle it. That's why I have a hard time recommending the service to anyone. AT&T's wireless internet connection consistently delivered download speeds below 10 megabits per second -- a far cry from the 90Mbps to 300Mbps it advertises. That said, wireless internet speeds are more dependent on location than wired options like cable and fiber, so your experience may be much better than mine was. (Subscribers on AT&T's subreddit reported speeds in the 150Mbps to 300Mbps range.) Locating local internet providers There were things I liked about AT&T Internet Air -- namely, the easy setup and useful app -- but that's like saying I like everything about a car except the fact that it can't go above 25 miles an hour. Internet providers have one job -- to deliver a fast, reliable connection -- and on that front, AT&T Internet Air was an unequivocal bust. Read more: My T-Mobile 5G Home Internet Experience: What I love and What I Wish Were Better Joe Supan / CNET Setting up AT&T Internet Air All in all, it only took me 11 minutes to set up AT&T Internet Air. It truly couldn't have been simpler. The box only comes with two items: A gateway device and a power outlet. I followed the instructions in the box, downloaded AT&T's Smart Home Manager app and scanned the QR code on the device. The app suggested that I place the gateway device near a window and facing west if possible. I was able to find a spot that checked both boxes near my desk, where I'd need the strongest internet speeds possible. Once I'd landed on a location, the app ran a quick test and gave me the approval. I was now ready to test out the connection. AT&T Internet Air speed and reliability There's no way around it: AT&T Internet Air's speeds were incredibly disappointing, and the speeds I was getting would be basically unusable for most people. It boils down to the advertised speeds versus the actual speeds you get. After dozens of speed tests throughout the week, AT&T Internet Air averaged a download speed of 5.86Mbps and 9.87Mbps upload in my apartment. The highest download speed I got at any point was 10.63Mbps, while upload speeds peaked at 14.38Mbps. At the same time, my $50 Connect More plan through Xfinity -- advertised as 300Mbps download -- returned average speeds of 321/109Mbps. AT&T Internet Air's latency was also very high, with an average ping rate of 298ms. That's bad news if you plan on doing any online gaming, where 40ms or lower is considered ideal. AT&T says that users typically experience download speeds between 90Mbps and 300Mbps and upload speeds between 8Mbps and 30Mbps. My upload speeds fell within that range but I never came close to 90Mbps download. The highest I got was 14.38Mbps. (I used Ookla for all of my speed tests, which is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis.) Wireless internet like AT&T Internet Air or T-Mobile 5G Home Internet is inherently more erratic than a wired connection like cable or fiber. Because it transmits data wirelessly from a cellular tower, it's more vulnerable to network congestion and weather disruption. That's why router placement is particularly important -- if you don't have a clear line to the nearest tower, your internet connection will suffer. But I did have a clear line. I could find a spot for the router right against a window facing west, just as I was instructed during setup. The problem didn't seem to be the location of my home, either: AT&T's coverage map shows the entire city of Seattle blanketed in 5G Plus speeds, which it describes as its fastest tier. AT&T's coverage map indicates that I should have been able to access AT&T's fastest speed tier. AT&T I tried moving the router to a few different locations over the course of testing but speeds never improved. In fact, it got even slower when I moved it to another room or away from the window. AT&T recommended calling customer support to help determine the best spot for the device based on where the closest cell tower is. Wireless internet providers like AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon all include a caveat in the fine print that says they may temporarily slow your speeds if the network is congested. That might explain my test results if they were all happening at 'internet rush hour' -- the hours between 7 and 11 p.m. when traffic is highest. But I tested AT&T Internet Air at various times throughout the day and never saw much of a difference. How was it using AT&T Internet Air? If anyone can get by with slow internet speeds, it's me. I live alone and I don't do any bandwidth-stressing activities like online gaming and the only devices connected to the internet are my phone, laptop and streaming device. But even with that minimal setup, AT&T Internet Air struggled to pull its weight. Zoom meetings at work were reliably unreliable, to the point where I had to switch back over to my Xfinity connection several times. Working in Google Docs, the connection would routinely drop out, causing me to wait a few seconds before I could continue writing this review. AT&T Internet Air's range was basically limited to the room with the router. When I ran speed tests in my bedroom -- one wall away from the router -- my connection slowed to a mere 1Mbps in download and upload speed. It was a frustrating experience. I found myself switching back over to Xfinity or cellular data on my phone every time I wanted to do something like watch a YouTube video from the group chat or take a FaceTime call. I don't need gig speeds -- I probably don't even really need 100Mbps speeds -- but I do need at least 15Mbps, which is what Netflix recommends for streaming in 4K. Unfortunately, AT&T Internet Air failed to clear even that low bar. How does AT&T Internet Air compare to other 5G internet providers? 5G home internet has taken off in the past few years and AT&T is later to the party than competitors T-Mobile Home Internet and Verizon 5G Home Internet. In general, using 5G technology for home internet has been an unequivocal success. A survey from J.D. Power released last summer found that customer satisfaction is higher for wireless customers than cable or fiber, even though it received lower performance scores. 'A lot of the concerns I had heard about fixed wireless access were that it's just never going to be as fast as fiber,' Carl Lepper, senior director of the technology, media and telecommunications intelligence practice at J.D. Power, told me at the time. 'But for a lot of people, affordability trumps that. And it's not often that you need superfast speeds, depending on how you're using your internet.' 5G home internet often reaches rural households where cable and fiber aren't available and it's a significant step up from the satellite or DSL service that those internet users are typically stuck with. And because 5G providers are cellphone carriers first and foremost, they offer significant savings when you bundle home internet with a cellphone plan. Provider Monthly price Advertised download speeds Advertised upload speeds AT&T Internet Air Read full review $60 ($47 with an eligible AT&T wireless plan) 90-300Mbps 8-30Mbps T-Mobile Home Internet Read full review $50-$70 ($30-$50 with cellphone plan) 87-415Mbps 12-56Mbps Verizon 5G Home Internet Read full review $50-$70 ($35-$55 with qualifying Verizon 5G mobile plans) 300-1,000Mbps 20-75Mbps Show more (0 item) Shop providers at my address Those savings aren't quite as significant with AT&T as they are with T-Mobile and Verizon, but paying $47 a month for home internet is still a solid deal. If you're not bundling with a cellphone plan, AT&T Internet Air is on the expensive side and there's no guarantee that it will make up for it with faster speeds -- as my week with AT&T showed. The final verdict: AT&T Internet Air could still be useful for some After those disappointing results, you might be surprised to learn that I still wouldn't swear off AT&T Internet Air completely. Other customers have clearly gotten faster speeds than I did -- Reddit users regularly report speeds north of 700Mbps -- and there's a chance my apartment is just in a particularly bad location for the service. Unlike T-Mobile 5G Home Internet, AT&T Internet Air does not offer a free trial, so you'll be out at least $60 if you sign up and find out the speeds aren't fast enough. I'd still recommend going with T-Mobile or Verizon first if you want to try out 5G home internet, but AT&T Internet is still worth a shot if you're stuck with limited options. I tried AT&T Internet Air for a week FAQs: What is AT&T Internet Air? AT&T Internet Air is a 5G fixed wireless connection that offers a singular plan. Pricing starts at $60 monthly or $47 if you bundle it with an eligible AT&T wireless plan. In areas where AT&T's faster fiber service is unavailable, this fixed wireless option could be an alternative for some. Is AT&T Internet Air fast? AT&T Internet Air advertises download speeds of 90Mbps to 300Mbps and upload speeds of 8Mbps to 30Mbps. However, after conducting a dozen speed tests at home, my actual speeds were significantly lower than what was advertised. The highest speed I was able to reach for upload was 14.38Mbps, which is on the lower end of that range. With AT&T Internet Air, I only averaged 5.86Mbps download and 9.87Mbps upload. Compared to other 5G providers, Verizon and T-Mobile advertise much faster speeds, topping out at 415Mbps and 1,000Mbps, respectively. However, it's worth noting that even if you get faster speeds at your home with a 5G fixed wireless connection, your speeds can be temporarily slowed down during network congestion. In addition, AT&T's latency is very high, which can be pretty bad if you're a gamer. The average ping rate that I received at home was 298ms. For online gaming, your ping rate should be 50ms or lower.
Business Insider
2 days ago
- Business Insider
EchoStar Stock (SATS) Dives 20% on Missed Payment
EchoStar (SATS) stock dove on Friday after the satellite communication company announced it won't make a $326 million cash interest payment due today. This payment is tied to its 10.75% senior spectrum secured notes due 2029. The company notes this decision is a default on its payment, and it has a 30-day grace period to make the payment. Confident Investing Starts Here: Easily unpack a company's performance with TipRanks' new KPI Data for smart investment decisions Receive undervalued, market resilient stocks right to your inbox with TipRanks' Smart Value Newsletter EchoStar decided not to make the payment due to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) review of its 5G service offerings and September 2024 buildout plan. This could result in the reversal of FCC grants offered to EchoStar. The company said this 'has effectively frozen our ability to make decisions regarding our Boost business.' It expects an FCC decision within the 30-day grace period, which could result in it making that payment in time. SATS stock was down 20.92% on Friday following the missed payment news. The company's shares have also dropped 11.92% year-to-date as of Thursday's close. Is SATS Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold? Turning to Wall Street, the analysts' consensus rating for EchoStar is Hold, based on one Buy and three Hold ratings over the past three months. With that comes an average SATS stock price target of $26.67, representing a potential 32.23% upside for the shares.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Why EchoStar Plunged Today
EchoStar missed an interest payment on a loan tied to some wireless spectrum it owns. That spectrum license was called into question earlier this month by the SEC. EchoStar's Charlie Ergen is battling Elon Musk's SpaceX over the use of this spectrum, which can be used for satellite communications. 10 stocks we like better than EchoStar › Shares of EchoStar (NASDAQ: SATS) plunged 12.1% on Friday, after the company failed to make an interest payment on one of its senior notes secured by its wireless spectrum. The company is justifying missing the payment due to lingering uncertainty resulting from its current fight with the Federal Communications Commission over EchoStar's use -- or lack thereof -- of this key spectrum license. Investors never like to see a missed interest payment, as it brings up the specter of potential bankruptcy, but the situation isn't quite as dire as that -- yet. EchoStar is entrepreneur Charlie Ergen's company and houses the Dish TV, Sling TV, and Boost Mobile wireless services, along with the associated satellite services that serves those businesses, and some valuable wireless spectrum. That spectrum has become controversial of late. Per a 2019 deal, EchoStar was supposed to use that spectrum to launch a 5G network that would be able to rival the other big three telecom carriers. However, due to EchoStar's declining business, that buildout has been slow-going. On May 9, the FCC commissioner wrote a letter to the company, saying last year's extension for its spectrum licenses is under a new review in the new administration. Of note, Elon Musk's SpaceX would also like to use that spectrum, and has accused EchoStar of hoarding it without putting it to use in the agreed-upon time frame. While that letter was sent on May 9, today, EchoStar reportedly missed a $326 million interest payment on its 10.75% senior spectrum secured notes due in 2029, which was due to be paid today. The thinking, perhaps, is that since those notes were secured by the spectrum, and the status of that spectrum is now in flux due to the FCC review, EchoStar might as well not pay the interest unless it has to. Of note, the notes give EchoStar a 30-day grace period before it is technically in default. EchoStar has been desperately trying to transform itself, as its largest business is the declining pay-TV business. Going forward, the company is hoping to build up Boost Mobile both as a new 5G service as well as a satellite-enabled wireless service, utilizing EchoStar's existing satellites. While the missed interest payment is sort of voluntary and not necessarily a sign of an impending company default, the lingering spectrum controversy with the FCC isn't a great development. This is a story to steer clear of in the near term, until the turnaround story gets more clarity. Before you buy stock in EchoStar, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and EchoStar wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $638,985!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $853,108!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 978% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 171% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of May 19, 2025 Billy Duberstein and/or his clients have no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Why EchoStar Plunged Today was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
