Why Is EchoStar Stock Shooting Higher Wednesday?

EchoStar Corp SATS announced today the completion of a series of strategic transactions to further unlock incremental strategic, financial, and operating flexibility for its business following its merger with Dish Network Corp.

The merger combined Dish Network's satellite technology, streaming services, and nationwide 5G network with EchoStar's premier satellite communications solutions.

Dish grappled with a debt of $24.6 billion and a notable decrease in TV subscribers, falling to 8.8 million in the third quarter from 14 million ten years earlier. 

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Finalized on December 31, this merger represents Dish's strategic pivot away from its dwindling pay-TV sector towards wireless services, positioning it to contend with leading industry competitors like Verizon Communications Inc VZ and AT&T Inc T.

Also, EchoStar subsidiary DISH Wireless bagged a $50 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to establish the Open RAN Center for Integration & Deployment (ORCID). 

ORCID will allow participants to test and validate their hardware and software solutions (RU, DU, and CU) against a complete commercial-grade Open RAN network deployed by DISH. The developments sent the stock shooting higher.
 

NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson and Innovation Fund Director Amanda Toman will join EchoStar Co-Founder and Chairman Charlie Ergen, EchoStar CEO Hamid Akhavan, EVP and Chief Network Officer Marc Rouanne, and other stakeholders to announce the grant and tour a DISH 5G Open RAN cell site later today in Las Vegas.

Price Action: SATS shares traded higher by 36.40% at $17.27 on the last check Wednesday.
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