Trump wants EchoStar, FCC to reach 'amicable' deal over wireless licenses, company says
By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON: President
Donald Trump
prodded Dish TV parent
EchoStar
Corp and
Federal Communications Commission
Chair Brendan Carr earlier this month to reach an amicable deal over the fate of the company's wireless spectrum licenses, the company said in a filing on Friday.
In May, the
FCC
told EchoStar it was investigating the company's compliance obligations to provide 5G service in the United States, questioning EchoStar's buildout extension and mobile-satellite service.
Bloomberg News first reported that Trump met on June 12 with EchoStar Chair
Charlie Ergen
and later called Carr to take part in the meeting. EchoStar has been trying to shield its cache of wireless spectrum licenses from the threat of revocation by the FCC.
The White House did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on Friday and had previously declined to confirm the meeting took place.
Carr did not immediately comment on the report on Friday but at a monthly FCC press conference on Thursday he told reporters, regarding EchoStar, that the "status quo needs to change" and added there was a "narrow window of opportunity here."
EchoStar said in a filing on Friday that Trump "encouraged the parties involved to reach an amicable resolution."
Ergen told Carr this month any reconsideration of the construction deadline extensions or revision to the 2 GHz band's sharing rules "would threaten the viability of EchoStar's current operations and future plans."
U.S. satellite TV provider
DirecTV
terminated its agreement to acquire EchoStar's satellite television business last year, which includes rival Dish TV, over a failed debt-exchange offer.
EchoStar said the FCC review was "harming EchoStar's ongoing deployment and threaten its viability as a wireless provider as well as endanger the video and broadband satellite services upon which millions of consumers rely."
EchoStar previously disclosed that it missed roughly $500 million in interest payments, citing uncertainty around the ongoing FCC review but said on Friday that based on current discussions with the commission it was making interest payments to "further extend the timeline for EchoStar to explore an acceptable resolution of the FCC's stated concerns."
EchoStar said on Friday that it was forgoing some other interest payments, citing uncertainty around the FCC review.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
9 minutes ago
- First Post
Senate Republicans race to pass Trump-backed ‘Big Beautiful Bill' ahead of July 4 deadline
At some 940 pages, the legislation is a sprawling collection of tax breaks, spending cuts and other Republican priorities, including new money for national defence and deportations. Now it's up to Congress to decide whether President Donald Trump's signature's domestic policy package will become law. read more President Donald Trump points to a reporter to take a question as he speaks to the media, Friday, June 27, 2025, in the briefing room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo) Senate Republicans are putting all the efforts to pass a key budget bill central to President Donald Trump's second-term agenda to clear a major hurdle before the self-imposed July 4 deadline. Party leaders are pressing for an initial vote on the legislation, dubbed as the 'Big Beautiful Bill' by Saturday afternoon, after releasing the latest 940-page version just past midnight. The bill, which builds on a $3.8 trillion extension of Trump-era tax cuts, narrowly cleared the House of Representatives two weeks ago. However, Senate Republicans remain divided, particularly over how deeply to slash welfare programmes to help offset the bill's steep cost. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The legislation is expected to trigger an intense debate over the weekend as leaders scramble to unify the party and move forward with one of the most significant economic proposals of Trump's presidency. The legislation follows a version passed by the House of Representatives last month, which nonpartisan analysts estimated would add roughly $3 trillion to the national debt, now at $36.2 trillion. Despite those concerns, the White House has argued the bill would ultimately reduce the annual deficit by $1.4 trillion. 'By passing this bill now, we will make our nation more prosperous and secure,' Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham said in a statement. The bill is likely to face a flurry of Democratic amendments during the weekend session, though these are not expected to pass in the 53-47 Republican-controlled Senate. Intra-party disagreement remains a challenge for Republicans, especially around proposed cuts to Medicaid. Senators from states with large rural populations had objected to earlier provisions that would reduce state tax revenue for Medicaid providers. The latest draft delays those reductions and includes a $25 billion support package for rural Medicaid providers between 2028 and 2032. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The legislation also proposes raising the cap on federal deductions for state and local taxes (SALT) to $40,000 with a 1% annual inflation adjustment through 2029, after which the cap would revert to $10,000. The cap would begin to phase down for individuals earning over $500,000 a year. This provision is key for House Republicans from high-tax states like New York, New Jersey, and California, whose support is critical to maintaining the party's narrow majority. Senate Republicans are employing a legislative maneuver known as budget reconciliation to bypass the usual 60-vote threshold needed to advance most legislation, allowing the bill to proceed with a simple majority in the 100-member chamber. What's in the latest version of Trump's big bill Tax cuts are the priority Republicans say the bill is crucial because without it, there would be a massive tax increase, totalling some $3.8 trillion, after December when tax breaks from Trump's first term expire. Those existing tax rates and brackets would become permanent under the bill. It temporarily would add new ones that Trump campaigned on: no taxes on tips, overtime pay or some automotive loans, along with a bigger $6,000 deduction in the Senate draft for older adults who earn no more than $75,000 a year. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD It would boost the $2,000 child tax credit to $2,200 under the Senate proposal, or $2,500 in the House's version. Families at lower income levels would not see the full amount, if any. A cap on state and local deductions, called SALT, would quadruple to $40,000 for five years. It's a provision important to New York and other high tax states, though the House wanted it to last for 10 years. There are scores of business-related tax cuts. The wealthiest households would see a $12,000 increase from the legislation, which would cost the poorest people $1,600 a year, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office analysis of the House's version. Middle-income taxpayers would see a tax break of $500 to $1,500, the CBO said. Money for deportations, a border wall and the Golden Dome The bill would provide some $350 billion for Trump's border and national security agenda, including $46 billion for the U.S.-Mexico border wall and $45 billion for 100,000 migrant detention facility beds, as he aims to full his promise of the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history. Money would go for hiring 10,000 new Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, with $10,000 signing bonuses and a surge of Border Patrol officers, as well. The goal is to deport some 1 million people per year. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The homeland security secretary would have a new $10 billion fund for grants for states that help with federal immigration enforcement and deportation actions. The attorney general would have $3.5 billion for a similar fund, known as Bridging Immigration-related Deficits Experienced Nationwide, or BIDEN, referring to former Democratic President Joe Biden. To help pay for it all, immigrants would face various new fees, including when seeking asylum protections. For the Pentagon, the bill would provide billions for ship building, munitions systems, and quality of life measures for servicemen and women, as well as $25 billion for the development of the Golden Dome missile defence system. The Defence Department would have $1 billion for border security. How to pay for it? Cuts to Medicaid and other programs To help partly offset the lost tax revenue and new spending, Republicans are seeking to cut back some long-running government programs: Medicaid, food stamps, green energy incentives and others. It's essentially unravelling the accomplishments of the past two Democratic presidents, Biden and Barack Obama. Republicans argue they are trying to rightsized the safety net programs for the population they were initially designed to serve, mainly pregnant women and children, and root out what they describe as waste, fraud and abuse. The package includes new 80-hour-a-month work requirements for many adults receiving Medicaid and food stamps, including older people up to age 65. Parents of children 14 and older would have to meet the program's work requirements. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD There's also a proposed new $35 co-payment that can be charged to patients using Medicaid services. Some 80 million people rely on Medicaid, which expanded under Obama's Affordable Care Act, and 40 million use the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program. Most already work, according to analysts. All told, the CBO estimates that under the House-passed bill, at least 10.9 million more people would go without health coverage and 3 million more would not qualify for food stamps. The Senate proposes a $25 billion Rural Hospital Transformation Fund to help offset those reductions. It's a new addition, intended to win over holdout GOP senators and a coalition of House Republicans warning that the proposed Medicaid provider tax cuts would hurt rural hospitals. Both the House and Senate bills propose a dramatic rollback of the Biden-era green energy tax breaks for electric vehicles. They also would phase out or terminate various the production and investment tax credits companies use to stand up wind, solar and other renewable energy projects. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In total, cuts to Medicaid, food stamps and green energy programs would be expected to produce at least $1.5 trillion in savings. Trump savings accounts and so, so much more A number of extra provisions reflect other GOP priorities. The House and Senate both have a new children's savings program, called Trump Accounts, with a potential $1,000 deposit from the Treasury. The Senate provided $40 million to establish Trump's long-sought 'National Garden of American Heroes.' There's a new excise tax on university endowments, restrictions on the development of artificial intelligence and blocks on transgender surgeries. A $200 tax on gun silencers and short-barrelled rifles and shotguns was eliminated. One provision bars money to family planning providers, namely Planned Parenthood, while $88 million is earmarked for a pandemic response accountability committee. Billions go for the Artemis moon mission and for exploration to Mars. Trump savings accounts and so, so much more Altogether, keeping the existing tax breaks and adding the new ones is expected to cost $3.8 trillion over the decade, the CBO says in its analysis of the House bill. An analysis of the Senate draft is pending. The CBO estimates the House-passed package would add $2.4 trillion to the nation's deficits over the decade. Or not, depending on how one does the math. Senate Republicans are proposing a unique strategy of not counting the existing tax breaks as a new cost because those breaks are already 'current policy.' Senators say the Senate Budget Committee chairman has the authority to set the baseline for the preferred approach. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Under the Senate GOP view, the cost of tax provisions would be $441 billion, according to the congressional Joint Committee on Taxation. Democrats and others say this is 'magic math' that obscures the costs of the GOP tax breaks. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget puts the Senate tally at $4.2 trillion over the decade. With inputs from agencies
Time of India
34 minutes ago
- Time of India
'It was a CIA COVERT Op…': Dan Hardway stuns House Committee on JFK Assassination Files
The Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets held a hearing titled 'The JFK Files: Assessing Over 60 Years of the Federal Government's Obstruction, Obfuscation, and Deception.' The session focused on newly declassified documents released during the Trump administration, featured expert witness testimony on President John F. Kennedy's assassination, and scrutinised the government's long-standing failure to fully disclose critical information to the American public. Show more Show less
Time of India
44 minutes ago
- Time of India
Trump's Big, Beautiful Bill sparks panic among MAGA voters: ‘We'd lose everything'
President Trump's proposed $3.8 trillion tax cut bill, dubbed his "big, beautiful bill," is sparking alarm among his supporters due to potential Medicaid cuts. These cuts, estimated to impact millions, could jeopardize healthcare access for vulnerable populations, including children and individuals with disabilities. Concerns are mounting as families fear losing essential support for life-saving treatments. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Voters Who Re-Elected Donald Trump Now Sound the Alarm A Missouri Mother's Plea: 'This Isn't a Luxury' Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads CBO Warns That Cuts Could Impact Millions Some Republicans Express Quiet Concern FAQs As US president Donald Trump champions his latest legislative push, a sweeping $3.8 trillion in tax cuts, he calls his 'big, beautiful bill', now panic is quietly taking hold in the very communities that helped re-elect him in 2024 election, as per a of the main concerns is deep cuts to Medicaid that many Trump voters say could cost them their homes, their health care, and even their loved ones, according to the Stitch Snitches those voicing out their concerns is Courtney Leader, a 36-year-old mother from Missouri, a deep-red state where Trump defeated former vice president Kamala Harris by 18 points, according to the report. Leader isn't a political operative or an activist, but she's just a mom trying to keep her daughter, Cyrina, alive, as per the Stitch Snitches READ: California's AB5 Law under fire, nail techs sue state over worker classification – what the law states? She explained that, 'This is not a luxury,' adding, 'I do not have my daughter enrolled on Medicaid so we can have fancy things. I have her enrolled so we can keep her alive and keep her at home, which I think is the best option for her,' as quoted in the relies on a specialised feeding formula that costs over $1,500 a month, which is more than the family's mortgage and grocery bills combined, and without Medicaid, Leader says there's no way they could cover the cost, according to the Stitch Snitches asked, 'Who's going to protect us when they can't get paperwork done in time and we lose coverage for a month or two?," and added, "I'm worried that the red tape is going to affect our Medicaid because of just the oversight burdens. And that as a result, I'm going to lose my daughter, because she's lost coverage before,' as quoted in the has even written a letter to communicated about her concerns to Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri), a Trump supporter and key defender of the bill, she pleaded with him to consider the human cost, saying, 'Without Medicaid, we would lose everything — our home, our vehicles, and eventually, our daughter,' quoted Stitch READ: Pokrovsk in peril? Tensions surge as 111,000 Russian troops gather near Ukraine's frontline hotspot The concern comes as the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that Trump's proposed bill could push 16 million Americans off Medicaid by 2034, according to the report. While Trump and Republican leaders insist the cuts only target 'waste, fraud, and abuse,' the CBO's analysis highlighted that the vulnerable populations—including children, seniors, and people with disabilities, will be directly impacted if the bill becomes law in its current form, according to the to the Stitch Snitches report, the proposed Medicaid cuts have also led to concern among some GOP senators, who fear that millions of constituents could lose a $3.8 trillion tax cut package that also includes significant cuts to programmes like Medicaid and food families, especially those with children, elderly, or disabled members, depend on Medicaid for life-saving care. Cuts could mean losing coverage or access to services, as per the report.
