Satellite telecommunications company EchoStar Corp's share price doubled on Monday on reports United States President Donald Trump had urged the company to reach a deal with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for its wireless spectrum licences.
EchoStar (NASDAQ: SATS) shares rose $8.28 or 49.11% to close at US$25.11, which capitalises the company at $7.22 billion (A$11.03 billion), after trading as high as $25.39.
Trump has intervened to push EchoStar Chairman Charlie Ergen and FCC Chairman Brendan Carr to resolve a dispute over the company’s valuable spectrum licences, according to a Bloomberg article.
Trump met on Thursday with Ergen and telephoned Carr, who came to the White House to join the meeting, according to a Reuters story citing the Bloomberg article.
EchoStar had not responded to requests for comment, according to Reuters.
The FCC is investigating EchoStar’s compliance with its obligations to provide 5G service in the U.S., as the company tries to protect its licenses from the threat of revocation.
Spectrum licenses are permits issued by the government that grant exclusive rights to use specific parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, such as certain radio frequencies.
After Elon Musk's SpaceX said in April that the spectrum in the 2 gigahertz band "remains ripe for sharing among next-generation satellite systems" EchoStar claimed the space technology company was seeking "even more free spectrum."
The EchoStar share price has fallen about 30% in value since news of the FCC investigation broke in May.
