Ergen’s Fortune Soars to $13 Billion as Wireless Dream Fades (1)

After more than a decade and tens of billions of dollars spent trying to build a fourth major US telecom carrier, Charlie Ergen is retiring that dream, refocusing his energy on a more modest vision for his satellite-TV and wireless phone empire.

EchoStar Corp.’s chairman and co-founder announced plans over the past three weeks to sell much of his wireless spectrum to AT&T Inc. and Elon Musk’s SpaceX in transactions totaling over $40 billion, capping several months of deal making that took him all the way to the White House. The deals resolve Federal Communications Commission complaints that ...