Starlink (STRLK) and T-Mobile US (NASDAQ:TMUS) have separately shown interest in buying some or all of the wireless spectrum controlled by EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS), according to a report by Semafor on Tuesday citing sources.
The report said T-Mobile initially expressed interest in nearly all of EchoStar’s licenses and is still in talks about some of the pieces AT&T didn’t buy.
T-Mobile at one point was in talks for a three-way deal that would have seen it and AT&T split most of EchoStar’s spectrum, sources told Semafor. Under that deal, the two telecom companies would have swapped some of their own spectrum holdings.
The report said Elon Musk’s bid is for a part of EchoStar’s spectrum that AT&T (NYSE:T) has, valued at roughly $30B by some analysts. It wasn’t clear whether those negotiations are ongoing.
Earlier in the day, AT&T announced it agreed to purchase certain wireless spectrum licenses from EchoStar for about $23B.
Shares of EchoStar are up nearly 8% in postmarket action after closing with over 70% gains in Tuesday’s open market trading.