EchoStar this week filed a notice that it will not be making an $183 million cash interest payment on time as it was looking to maintain “liquidity” ahead of pending billions-of-dollars in payments it expects to receive from AT&T tied to recent spectrum license deals.

EchoStar in a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing stated it had “elected not to make” the interest payments that were initially scheduled for June 1. Those payments were tied to a handful of outstanding secured notes.

EchoStar tied the move to an interest in deferring “liquidity utilization” as it awaits $20.25 billion in payment from AT&T tied to the sale of spectrum in the 600 MHz and 3.45 GHz bands that was announced late last year. That deal – alongside a separate spectrum sale to SpaceX – gained approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) last month, but full payment requires the FCC’s order becoming final.

AT&T, for its part, has already started to deploy some of those mid-band spectrum assets.

EchoStar in its SEC filing did note that not making the interest payment was in “default” of its obligations, but that “we have a 30-day grace period to make the interest payments before such nonpayment constitutes an event of default … with respect to the” notes. EchoStar made similar moves last year as it worked through financial logistics.

EchoStar’s most recent earnings release showed a 5.2% drop in revenues compared to the same period last year, though that was somewhat offset by it trimming overall financial losses to just $147 million for the quarter, which it partially attributed to the “termination” of its 5G network.

EchoStar still controls spectrum licenses in the 700 MHz band and some paired spectrum licenses in the AWS-3 band, which it has said it was looking to monetize.

“I think our goal is to find the spectrum that we continue to use, continue to have, is find a home for that … make sure that that's going to get used in the quickest and fastest and the best way for consumers and for technical leadership in the United States,” EchoStar Chairman Charlie Ergen previously stated. “And I hope maybe we play a part in that, but we may not, but it's still obviously a valuable asset that we have.”

Hamid Akhavan, former CEO of EchoStar’s wireless operations and now head of its recently established EchoStar Capital business, noted during that group’s formation late last year that it will be tasked with managing the financial return on EchoStar’s spectrum-fueled fiscal windfall.

“Once these transactions close, we will have the capital runway necessary to continue to expand our existing operations as well as the freedom to pursue new opportunities,” Akhavan said during prepared remarks at that time. “This focus on new growth avenues significantly broadens the aperture of our business going forward in light of this increasing scope of responsibilities for the company.”