TAMPA, Fla. — EchoStar said Oct. 3 it has met regulatory conditions needed to maintain rights to the global S-band spectrum it is selling to SpaceX in a deal worth more than $17 billion.

The U.S.-based operator said the Lyra-4 satellite Rocket Lab launched in June has successfully operated in low Earth orbit for at least 90 days, satisfying a “Bringing Back Into Use” (BBIU) process managed by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations agency that governs global spectrum rights.

“Completing the BBIU process means all other operators in overlapping frequencies must coordinate with EchoStar under Siron-1,” the company said, referring to its regulatory filing for 2 gigahertz mobile satellite spectrum rights.

SpaceX plans to use the spectrum, together with cellular

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