Note, this post was updated on July 3, 2026, after its original publication to reflect changed circumstances following the DISH Wireless bankruptcy filing.
The FCC’s conditional approval of EchoStar’s spectrum sale to AT&T in the matter of Applications of AT&T Mobility II LLC and EchoStar Corporation for Consent to Assign Licenses, WT Docket No. 25-303, Memorandum Opinion and Order, DA 26-470, released May 12, 2026, was the most significant federal development yet for property owners involved in the DISH Wireless FCC trust fund escrow dispute that has been unfolding since late 2025, prior to DISH Wireless’ June 30, 2026, Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. The Wireless Telecommunications Bureau conditioned its approval on EchoStar depositing $2.4 billion into a trust fund within 30 days of the transaction closing, which DISH claims EchoStar did on June 26, 2026, per initial bankruptcy filing documents. The fund is designed to pay obligations arising from the construction, operation, maintenance, decommissioning, and provisioning of services related to the cell sites associated with the transferred licenses, “including leases”. For property owners who have been waiting for federal intervention, this development is an important turning point that pushed back against DISH Wireless’ position that it could walk away from its leases with no further liability or obligation to its landlords. What the fund covers, who can access it, and what obstacles remain are all worth understanding carefully.
How We Got Here
Starting in late 2025, property owners across the country discovered that DISH Wireless had stopped paying rent on cell tower and rooftop leases tied to its Boost Mobile 5G network buildout. Landlords who had not recently audited their leases were caught off guard, with no warning and no one at DISH returning their calls. Some received formal letters from DISH Wireless asserting that FCC actions had “frustrated the principal purpose” of their site leases and that DISH’s obligations were excused under force majeure and frustration of purpose doctrines. The legal problems with those letters were substantial. Many sites have since been abandoned with equipment left in place and no guidance from DISH on removal, raising serious questions about restoration obligations. Major tower companies filed suit in federal court in Colorado, and dozens of other parties followed.
The backdrop was EchoStar’s decision to sell approximately $40 billion in spectrum licenses to AT&T and SpaceX, while the subsidiary that actually held the leases and construction contracts, DISH Wireless L.L.C., disclaimed any obligation to pay vendors and landlords from those sale proceeds. The Bureau found this situation serious enough to impose a remedy it acknowledged was “precedentially novel”.
What the Trust Fund Requires
Under Appendix B of the FCC’s Order, EchoStar must establish and fund a trust with $2.4 billion within 30 days of closing the AT&T transaction. The trustee must be a neutral third party with no financial ties to EchoStar, AT&T, or SpaceX, verifiable experience managing trusts exceeding $500 million in assets, and no employment history with any of those entities in the past five years. The trust’s governing terms and the trustee’s selection both require Bureau approval before the fund becomes operational.
The fund covers amounts owed for “Covered Activities”, which the FCC defines as “the construction, operation, maintenance, building,decommissioning, and/or provisioning of goods or services related to or arising out of the communications sites and/or communications network associated with” the transferred licenses. The Order’s definition of “Covered Activities” expressly includes costs for decommissioning towers and cell sites, costs for electricity used, and for lost future rents and other sums due under terminated leases, which means standard cell tower and rooftop lease obligations fall within the fund’s scope.
Who Can File a Claim and When
A claimant must hold a final judgment, arbitration award, or settlement against EchoStar Corp., DISH Network Corp., DISH Wireless LLC, or another EchoStar affiliate for covered amounts. A lease that DISH has simply stopped paying is not a sufficient basis to file a fund claim on its own. A landlord must first obtain a judgment or reach a settlement, which is now governed by the federal bankruptcy process.
A claimant may only file one fund claim, which must include all claims for which the claimant and its affiliates seek to pursue recovery from the fund. The order divides claims into three tiers:
| Claim Type | Threshold | What It Covers | When Paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type A | $100,000 or less | All amounts owed for Covered Activities | Rolling, as the trustee validates each claim |
| Type B-1 | Over $100,000 | Amounts outstanding as of December 31, 2025 or the date DISH gave notice of non-performance, and/or; costs to complete covered work (e.g., costs for site decommissioning and costs for electricity used) | Every 6 months, beginning 6 months after the Claims Opening Date; pro rata if the fund is insufficient |
| Type B-2 | Over $100,000 | Future rents, lost profits, and forward-looking amounts due under terminated agreements | Not reviewed until 5 years after the Claims Opening Date; pro rata only if funds remain after Type A and B-1 claims are satisfied |
Filing a fund claim requires waiving any independent legal rights to recover on the underlying judgment, award, or settlement against EchoStar or its subsidiaries outside the fund. If the fund pays out less than what a claimant is owed, the shortfall cannot be pursued through separate litigation afterward.
Whether the Fund Will Be Implemented as Ordered
EchoStar’s initial public response to the approval signaled a potential challenge to the fund condition itself. Prior to the FCC’s Order, EchoStar argued that the establishment of any escrow condition would be illegal and unmanageable. Following the release of the Order, EchoStar described the trust fund to multiple media outlets as an “unprecedented involuntary escrow condition”. However, on June 30, 2026, DISH Wireless filed for bankruptcy. In its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings, it stated the FCC trust fund was established by parent company EchoStar on June 26, 2026.
The Chapter 11 filing doesn’t affect the trust fund itself, which remains a separate $2.4 billion pool administered outside the bankruptcy case under an FCC-approved agreement with an independent trustee. But a landlord generally still needs the bankruptcy process to resolve DISH’s force majeure defense and recognize a valid, quantified claim before that claim may qualify to draw on the fund, and because analysts expect total qualifying claims to exceed the fund’s $2.4 billion, even a recognized claim isn’t guaranteed full recovery.
What Landlords Should Do Now
DISH Wireless’ bankruptcy proceedings are now where landlords should turn their attention, as federal bankruptcy law stays existing litigation and prohibits landlords from attempting to enforce their lease rights outside of the bankruptcy processes and regulations. Additional information about the DISH Wireless bankruptcy can be found on our post covering it. To discuss your specific situation, contact Coastal Tower Law.