The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved EchoStar's 5G network buildout framework request.
EchoStar, the parent company of Dish, has now been granted more time to extend its 5G coverage across the US.
According to EchoStar, the updated framework will allow the company to "optimize and enhance its coast-to-coast buildout of the world's first cloud-native Open RAN 5G Boost Mobile network.
EchoStar only submitted its request for an extension last Tuesday, before the FCC granted the request on Friday, September 20.
The extension means that Boost Mobile has until the end of the year to cover 80 percent of the country's population with its 5G service. Last year, the company achieved its target to reach 70 percent of the US population.
EchoStar added in its announcement that the extensions adopted by the FCC "will provide a construction timeline that more closely aligns EchoStar's deployment with its 3.45 GHz spectrum licenses, reducing the resources necessary to install infrastructure twice at each cell site/tower."
On top of this, the company noted that smaller wireless carriers and Tribal nations will also be able to lease EchoStar spectrum licenses in extension areas where the company has not yet deployed.
In total, EchoStar said it will accelerate and expand its final buildout milestones in more than 500 license areas on this same timeline.
The extension is a positive piece of news for the company, amid fears it could be heading for financial difficulties.
Last month, EchoStar reported customer losses across all of its business segments during the second quarter of 2024, as one industry analyst tipped the company for bankruptcy in the coming months.
The company, which completed its merger with Dish Network earlier this year in a move that reunited the two companies, is currently working to refinance $2 billion in debt due in November.
In March, Dish said it couldn't pay for T-Mobile's 800MHz spectrum that it had agreed to purchase for $3.59bn.
Dish had been granted an extension until April 1, paying a $100 million extension fee. As part of T-Mobile's merger and acquisition of Sprint in 2020, the operator agreed to sell its 800MHz spectrum to Dish.
