10/29/2026
Oh, if only it were that simple. I’ve reviewed RF config sheets for multiple sites DISH installed on our client's properties. DISH's mid-band radios (n66/n70) line up with the AWS-4, H-block and AWS-3 spectrum SpaceX bought from EchoStar. But the 800 MHz part misses what DISH actually installed. The antennas covered 617–894 MHz and 1695-2200 MHz, but the low-band radios were n71 (600 MHz), spectrum that went to AT&T. DISH never bought the 800 MHz, and outside a single FCC test in Yuma I’ve found no sign it deployed 800 MHz radios.
So at best, Starlink gets a functional mid-band-only layer with no low band unless they add radios. On top of that, there are reports of DISH removing radios from some sites before the bankruptcy, of DISH sites never fully connected to commercial power or fiber, and of salvage companies already offering towercos to strip the gear. Additionally, DISH had the AT&T and T-Mobile MVNOs to cover their behinds when DISH's network didn't have sufficient capacity or sites in the area to handle the calls. Starlink does not.
The idea of a fallow network just waiting to be switched on is as specious as Verizon’s claim that the only path to terrestrial wireless is 4–6 years and $300–500B. Using DISH abandoned equipment could save money- but does SpaceX really want to buy into DISH's failed network strategy? Do they really want DISH's custom cabinets and equipment?
The reality is somewhere in between. Starlink Mobile won't deploy the same network DISH did- because they don't need the same coverage. But they also can't do it on a shoestring or quickly.
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The towercos now own Dish Wireless' abandoned 5G radios and antennas, says American Tower CEO Steven Vondran. This could feed into SpaceX's mobile ambitions, analysts say. "Buying compatible equipment already installed on towers could give SpaceX a head start on its wireless terrestrial network buil...
