EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS), a global communications and connectivity provider, selected MDA Space Ltd. (TSX:MDA), a solid mission partner to the rapidly expanding global space industry, as the prime contractor for EchoStar’s new non-terrestrial network (NTN) low Earth orbit (LEO) direct-to-device (D2D) satellite constellation. The initial contract, valued at approximately $1.3 billion (approx. C$1.8 billion) includes the design, manufacturing and testing of the first tranche of over 100 software-defined MDA AURORA™ D2D satellites.i The full initial configuration of the system consists of 200 satellites with future growth to thousands, as demand requires. EchoStar’s LEO constellation will provide global talk, text and broadband services directly to standard 5G NTN handheld devices.
“EchoStar’s Hughes communications division has over 60 years of leadership in the satellite and space technology business. Our satellite expertise combined with our U.S.-based terrestrial 5G Open RAN network uniquely positions EchoStar to execute on this new large-scale wideband LEO constellation,” said Hamid Akhavan, president & CEO of EchoStar. “The market-leading technical innovation provided by MDA Space along with our global S-band/2GHz spectrum rights with the highest ITU priority, and our strong service delivery capabilities will enable us to serve the consumer, enterprise, public safety and government sectors in the U.S., Europe and beyond. Critically, this will foster U.S. leadership in the growing space economy.”
“EchoStar’s selection of our new MDA AURORA™ D2D software-defined satellites to meet its demanding technical and business requirements is a testament to the confidence satellite operators have in our deep expertise and products, our differentiated MDA AURORA™ product, and our expanding production capacity,” said Mike Greenley, CEO of MDA Space. “This contract also demonstrates our continued market momentum as we strategically position MDA Space to be the prime contractor of choice for satellite operators in the direct-to-device and broadband connectivity.”
Since 2012, EchoStar has invested well over $13 billion in the 2GHz band with the acquisition of DBSD and TerreStar, who held 2GHz FCC licenses as well as three S-band GEO satellites (one of which required expensive retrofitting). Since then, EchoStar has led the efforts to standardize the 2GHz band at 3GPP for 5G and to develop the NTN 3GPP standards. EchoStar’s investment includes the acquisition, integration, deployment and operation of the 2GHz band (including the adjacent H-Block) as part of its virtualized cloud-native standalone 5G Open RAN network in the United States as well as the recent launch of three NGSO 2GHz satellites (Lyra), ground station equipment and other related activities. All of this investment goes to EchoStar’s vision of a global D2D service seamlessly integrated with terrestrial connectivity to everyone.
Today, EchoStar holds exclusive licenses in the 2GHz band in the United States (AWS-4) and is authorized to provide MSS services via satellite over this spectrum. It also holds 30 MHz of 2GHz licenses in Europe; 40 MHz in Canada through a long-term partnership; 20 MHz in Mexico; and 30 MHz in Brazil. EchoStar has already begun delivering texting service in Europe using 2GHz. In North America with its existing GEO satellites, EchoStar will launch a similar service in the first half of 2026.
The new LEO constellation satellites will be designed, manufactured and tested at the MDA Space satellite facility. The constellation will utilize up to 25×20 MHz of AWS-4/S-band 2GHz frequencies, and will be fully compliant with the newly created NTN and 3GPP standards, allowing EchoStar to provide messaging, voice, broadband data, and video services upon launch to all devices with the current 3GPP NTN specifications without modifications. Additionally, the constellation will connect to an array of sensor and mobile vehicles.
Delivery of satellites is planned for 2028 with commercial service starting in 2029. The new LEO project, in total, is estimated to cost $5 billion.
i EchoStar intends to purchase over 200 MDA AURORA™ satellites from MDA Space for an approximate value of $2.5 billion (approx. C$3.5 billion).
