"The US$23bn in cash proceeds is almost sufficient to pay off the company’s debt, which totals nearly US$27bn," Dave Novosel, a senior analyst at research firm Gimme Credit, said on Tuesday via email.
"Bondholders of Dish/DBS and Hughes debt scheduled to mature this year and next, totaling about US$6.1bn, should be particularly excited, as EchoStar does not have the cash on hand or free cash flow to fund those maturities," said Novosel.
However, Novosel said that the spectrum sale suggests that EchoStar is now unlikely to become a major wireless player.