US telecoms firm AT&T has finalized its $23 billion acquisition of spectrum from EchoStar.

The deal, which was first announced in August of last year, has added approximately 30MHz of nationwide 3.45GHz mid-band spectrum and approximately 20MHz of nationwide 600MHz low-band spectrum to AT&T’s spectrum holdings.

For AT&T the spectrum is important as it enables the carrier to boost its 5G network, while the assets covers "virtually every market across the US."

"The added spectrum enables AT&T to boost its 5G capacity and download speeds while helping the Company deliver an AI-ready connected experience as it engineers the spectrum to enhance the superior uplink capabilities of its wireless network," said AT&T yesterday (July 28).

AT&T has already put large amounts of its 3.45GHz spectrum to use, bolstering cell sites across the country. It's expected that it will take around a year for the carrier to deploy the 600MHz low-band spectrum.

The closing of the deal comes weeks after EchoStar's Dish subsidiary filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

EchoStar pointed to “unforeseen delays” in closing the AT&T spectrum deal, meaning it wasn't able to generate the funds to make a senior secured notes payment that was due July 1.

EchoStar, which is also waiting to finalize the sale of $17bn worth of spectrum to SpaceX, has reiterated several times that it was forced to sell its spectrum assets amid pressure from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).