WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Communications Commission will terminate its investigation into EchoStar's ( SATS ) 5G buildout obligations in the country, according to a letter from the agency's chair released by the company on Tuesday.

The expected move follows EchoStar's ( SATS ) $17 billion deal to sell wireless spectrum to billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX and two weeks after it announced a $23 billion spectrum sale to AT&T ( T ).

FCC Chair Brendan Carr wrote in a letter to EchoStar ( SATS ) Chairman Charles Ergen on Monday that he had asked the agency staff to close the investigation and conclude that EchoStar ( SATS ) has satisfied its buildout obligations.

Carr told EchoStar ( SATS ) in May that the FCC was investigating the company's compliance obligations to provide 5G service in the United States, questioning EchoStar's ( SATS ) buildout extension and mobile-satellite service.

Carr said in his letter that "the FCC's buildout obligations are designed to ensure that communities in rural and urban America have a fair shot at next-generation connectivity."

Carr said he also directed the staff to confirm EchoStar's ( SATS ) exclusive rights to a key spectrum block for ground and satellite use.

Carr did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

EchoStar ( SATS ), co-founded by telecommunications entrepreneur Ergen, faced the probe over slow deployment of 5G services.

SpaceX had also asked the FCC to review EchoStar's ( SATS ) spectrum holdings, saying the telecommunications company might be "warehousing" valuable spectrum, which is not used to provide services.

The transactions with AT&T ( T ) and SpaceX are still subject to FCC approval.

In June, President Donald Trump prodded Dish TV parent EchoStar ( SATS ) and Carr to reach an amicable deal over the fate of the company's wireless spectrum licenses.

U.S. satellite TV provider DirecTV terminated its agreement to acquire EchoStar's ( SATS ) satellite television business last year, which includes rival Dish TV, over a failed debt-exchange offer.