A render of Echostar's Jupiter-3 satellite, which has 500 gigabits per second of capacity covering the Americas. Credit: Maxar Technologies
TAMPA, Fla. — EchoStar’s Hughes geostationary satellite broadband business has filed for bankruptcy in the United States after years of mounting competition from SpaceX’s Starlink constellation.
The company said Aug. 3 that Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection will enable Hughes to restructure debt as it refocuses on enterprise, government and defense customers following heavy losses in its legacy consumer internet market.
International subsidiaries were not included in the Chapter 11 proceedings, which come a month after parts of EchoStar’s business tied to satellite TV and its abandoned 5G network filed for bankruptcy protection. The company said it expects to continue providing services during the bankruptcy process.
Hughes broadband subscribers have plummeted roughly 21.7% over the past year to around 641,000, chief restructuring officer Robert del Genio said in a court filing, citing intense competition from low Earth orbit (LEO) broadband operators.
