Crown Castle sued DISH Wireless in November 2025 to force DISH to keep paying under long-term cell tower contracts after DISH stopped making payments and claimed it was excused by force majeure. Crown Castle says no force majeure occurred, has since terminated the underlying agreement, and is pursuing more than $3.5 billion in remaining payments. The case is pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado before Judge Nina Y. Wang.
The Contracts at the Center of the Dispute
In November 2020, DISH and Crown Castle signed a Master Lease Agreement giving DISH the right to lease space on up to 20,000 Crown Castle towers.1Crown Castle. DISH Signs Multi-Year Anchor Tenant Tower Agreement With Crown Castle A month later, the companies signed a Master Product Agreement covering fiber and other infrastructure Crown Castle described as essential to network deployment.2Light Reading. Crown Castle: DISH Wireless Defaulted on Tower Payments The deals supported DISH’s commitment to federal regulators to build a 5G network reaching 70 percent of the U.S. population, a condition of acquiring Boost Mobile during the T-Mobile/Sprint merger.3Data Center Dynamics. Crown Castle Terminates Infrastructure Agreement With DISH, Says Its Owed $3.5bn
Why DISH Stopped Paying
In August 2025, DISH’s parent, EchoStar, agreed to sell 3.45 GHz and 600 MHz spectrum licenses to AT&T for roughly $23 billion. SpaceX followed with a $17 billion deal for EchoStar’s AWS-4 and H-block licenses.4Data Center Dynamics. American Tower Sues DISH Wireless Over Towers Contract Amid EchoStar’s Lucrative Spectrum Sale Rather than keep building its own 5G network, EchoStar shifted Boost Mobile to a hybrid model relying primarily on AT&T and began decommissioning its own radio access network. In September 2025, DISH notified its tower partners that it was discontinuing its network business and that FCC actions meant it was “no longer required to honor remaining contractual obligations.”5Crown Castle. DISH Wireless Defaults on Payment Obligations to Crown Castle
DISH kept paying for a period after that announcement, then stopped.
What Crown Castle Is Asking the Court to Decide
Crown Castle filed a Complaint for Declaratory Relief on November 20, 2025, in the District of Colorado, case number 1:25-cv-03756.6Crown Castle Complaint. Complaint for Declaratory Relief, Aircomm of Avon LLC et al. v. DISH Wireless LLC The suit was brought by 38 Crown Castle entities and affiliates, including Aircomm of Avon LLC and Tower Development Corporation.
The complaint asks the court to declare that EchoStar’s spectrum sales to AT&T and SpaceX do not qualify as a force majeure event under either the Master Lease Agreement or the Master Product Agreement, that DISH remains obligated to perform, and that both agreements remain in full force and effect.7Data Center Dynamics. Crown Castle Files Lawsuit Against DISH Wireless Amid Tower Leasing Agreement Exit
Crown Castle’s core argument is that the FCC never ordered EchoStar to sell its spectrum. The complaint says EchoStar “freely entered into” the sales, making them voluntary business decisions rather than unforeseeable government actions. Crown Castle also notes that DISH’s own SEC filings disclosed the risk of FCC regulatory action regarding spectrum licenses as early as 2019, which the company argues undermines any claim of unforeseeability.6Crown Castle Complaint. Complaint for Declaratory Relief, Aircomm of Avon LLC et al. v. DISH Wireless LLC And the $40 billion in proceeds, Crown Castle says, left EchoStar cash-rich and capable of paying even if it changed its business model.
Termination and the $3.5 Billion Claim
On January 12, 2026, Crown Castle announced it had formally terminated the wireless infrastructure agreement over DISH’s payment default and moved to recover more than $3.5 billion in remaining payments.5Crown Castle. DISH Wireless Defaults on Payment Obligations to Crown Castle Crown Castle filed an updated complaint on January 30, 2026, adding EchoStar as a named defendant.8Broadband Breakfast. DISH Default Causing Crown Castle to Accelerate Layoffs
How DISH Is Defending Itself
DISH filed its formal answer in January 2026, denying it breached the agreement. The company argues the contracts are not “unconditional, take-or-pay arrangements” and that payment obligations were tied to actual network deployment and usage, not fixed revenue commitments. According to DISH, Crown Castle is trying to “retrofit” the deals into guaranteed-revenue instruments that were never part of the original bargain.9Wireless Estimator. DISH Files Its Response in Crown Castle’s MSA Lawsuit Echoing Its Defense Used Against American Tower
DISH also invokes frustration of purpose and commercial impracticability, arguing that the spectrum sales, which it characterizes as forced by FCC pressure, rendered the tower space “unusable.”2Light Reading. Crown Castle: DISH Wireless Defaulted on Tower Payments In a November 10, 2025 letter, DISH claimed the FCC’s actions had “frustrated the purpose” of the Master Lease Agreement.6Crown Castle Complaint. Complaint for Declaratory Relief, Aircomm of Avon LLC et al. v. DISH Wireless LLC Its answer listed seven affirmative defenses: failure to state a claim, breach by the plaintiff, waiver, estoppel, laches, failure of consideration, and unclean hands.9Wireless Estimator. DISH Files Its Response in Crown Castle’s MSA Lawsuit Echoing Its Defense Used Against American Tower
EchoStar President and CEO Charlie Ergen said flatly on a March 2026 earnings call, “Just to be clear, we don’t believe we owe any money.” He described the FCC’s investigation into DISH’s spectrum licenses and 5G buildout as an “existential threat” that triggered force majeure protections, and said EchoStar had settled “hundreds of contracts” through negotiation with vendors who chose not to litigate.10Light Reading. Ergen Disappointed by Lawsuits Lobbed at DISH
Where the Case Stands
The case is assigned to Judge Nina Y. Wang in the District of Colorado. As of early 2026 it is the most procedurally advanced of the federal tower lawsuits against DISH. The parties exchanged initial disclosures, and Crown Castle served its first requests for production on February 17, 2026.11MDL Docket No. 3182 Filing. DISH Wireless Motion to Transfer, MDL-3182
In March 2026, DISH asked the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation to consolidate eight federal tower cases in Colorado.12DISH MDL Motion. DISH Wireless Motion to Transfer With Panel on Multidistrict Litigation On June 4, 2026, the JPML denied the request, finding consolidation was not necessary for the convenience of the parties or efficient conduct of the litigation.13JPML. Order Denying Transfer, MDL-3182 Crown Castle’s Colorado case therefore proceeds on its own, and is likely to produce the first substantive rulings on DISH’s force majeure and frustration defenses.
The FCC’s $2.4 Billion Escrow
Recovery for Crown Castle may also depend on a separate FCC action. On May 12, 2026, the FCC approved the $42.6 billion in EchoStar spectrum sales to AT&T and SpaceX, but required EchoStar to establish a $2.4 billion escrow account to be drawn upon for “qualifying claims” related to DISH Wireless’s network obligations.14FCC. FCC Order on EchoStar Spectrum Sale Conditions The FCC did not define what counts as a qualifying claim, did not name an administrator, and did not create a distribution process. The agency said the escrow was designed to “encourage the resolution of outstanding claims while leaving the merits of any dispute to the parties or outside fora.”15Wireless Estimator. FCC’s $2.4 Billion EchoStar Escrow: Industry Celebrates but Deliverance May Be the Devil in the Details In practice, that means Crown Castle will need to win its lawsuit or negotiate a settlement before it can reach the money.
EchoStar called the escrow requirement “unprecedented” and has argued the mandate could jeopardize the spectrum deals by creating a “Material Adverse Change.”16Light Reading. FCC OKs EchoStar Spectrum Sales With $2.4B Escrow That EchoStar Didn’t Want The escrow may also fall short of total claims: Crown Castle alone seeks $3.5 billion, and American Tower has estimated its own exposure at around $2 billion.15Wireless Estimator. FCC’s $2.4 Billion EchoStar Escrow: Industry Celebrates but Deliverance May Be the Devil in the Details
Financial Fallout for Crown Castle and EchoStar
Crown Castle disclosed that the DISH termination cost it roughly $220 million in annual revenue, treated in its 2026 outlook as a one-time churn event.17SEC. Crown Castle Q4 2025 Earnings Release18Fitch Ratings. Fitch Downgrades Crown Castle IDR to BBB, Outlook Stable To offset the hit, Crown Castle announced a 20 percent reduction in its tower and corporate workforce, projected $65 million in annual cost savings, and said it would repay roughly $7 billion in debt with proceeds from the planned sale of its fiber business and repurchase about $1 billion in shares. CEO Chris Hillabrant said in February 2026 that the DISH default was a contributing factor in accelerating the restructuring.8Broadband Breakfast. DISH Default Causing Crown Castle to Accelerate Layoffs
EchoStar is under strain on the other side. In a May 2026 quarterly filing, the company disclosed “substantial doubt” about its ability to continue as a going concern, reporting $1.52 billion in cash against $24.56 billion in total principal debt as of March 31, 2026, with $6.13 billion maturing in 2026 alone.19Stock Titan. EchoStar Corp Quarterly Earnings Report (10-Q) EchoStar also recorded a $16.2 billion non-cash impairment charge in November 2025 tied to its abandoned network deployment and estimated the cost of decommissioning the 5G network at $7 billion to $10 billion.10Light Reading. Ergen Disappointed by Lawsuits Lobbed at DISH
Crown Castle Is Not Alone
Crown Castle’s lawsuit is one of more than a dozen filed against DISH by tower companies, infrastructure providers, and property owners over the same basic fact pattern. American Tower sued first, in the District of Colorado on October 20, 2025, over a 2021 Strategic Collocation Agreement, estimating annual exposure of roughly $200 million and lifetime exposure of about $2 billion on a lease running through 2036.4Data Center Dynamics. American Tower Sues DISH Wireless Over Towers Contract Amid EchoStar’s Lucrative Spectrum Sale20Light Reading. American Tower’s Exposure to DISH Default Is Roughly $200M Per Year SBA Communications filed suit on February 5, 2026, in the Western District of New York, alleging DISH stopped paying as of December 1, 2025.21SBA Complaint. SBA Telecommunications LLC et al. v. DISH Wireless LLC Complaint The Wireless Infrastructure Association has estimated the tower industry faces roughly $9 billion in collective exposure if DISH succeeds in shedding its lease obligations.22Wireless Estimator. American Tower Presses Court for Early Judgment Regarding DISH’s Tower Rent Obligations
American Tower’s CEO said in February 2026 that the company does not expect the litigation to be resolved within the year.20Light Reading. American Tower’s Exposure to DISH Default Is Roughly $200M Per Year With the MDL denied, Crown Castle’s Colorado case will run on its own timetable, and it is the one most likely to produce the first ruling on whether a $40 billion voluntary spectrum sale counts as force majeure.