EchoStar (SATS) 10-K2021 FY Annual report

This Annual Report on Form 10-K (“Form 10-K”) contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including but not limited to statements about our estimates, expectations, future developments, plans, objectives, strategies, financial condition, expected impact of regulatory developments and legal proceedings, opportunities in our industries and businesses and other trends and projections for the next fiscal quarter and beyond. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, may be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may also be identified by words such as “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “goal,” “seek,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “predict,” “project,” “continue,” “future,” “will,” “would,” “could,” “can,” “may” and similar terms.  These forward-looking statements are based on information available to us as of the date of this Form 10-K and represent management’s current views and assumptions based on past experience and trends, current economic and industry conditions, expected future developments and other relevant factors.  Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, events or results and involve potential known and unknown risks, uncertainties, including the impact of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), and other factors, many of which may be beyond our control and may pose a risk to our operating and financial condition both the near- and long-term.  Accordingly, actual performance, events or results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements due to a number of factors including, but not limited to:

 

Other factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed in Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors and Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations of this Form 10-K and those discussed in other documents we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). 

All cautionary statements made herein should be read as being applicable to all forward-looking statements wherever they appear. Investors should consider the risks and uncertainties described herein and should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. We do not undertake, and specifically disclaim, any obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions that may be made to any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

 

Although we believe that the expectations reflected in any forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, events, levels of activity, performance or achievements. We do not assume responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of any forward-looking statements. We assume no responsibility for updating forward-looking information contained or incorporated by reference herein or in any documents we file with the SEC, except as required by law.

Should one or more of the risks or uncertainties described herein or in any documents we file with the SEC occur, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, our actual results and plans could differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements.

 

 

 

EchoStar Corporation (which, together with its subsidiaries, is referred to as “EchoStar,” the “Company,” “we,” “us” and “our”) is a holding company that was organized in October 2007 as a corporation under the laws of the State of Nevada and has operated as a separately traded public company from DISH Network Corporation (“DISH”) since 2008. A substantial majority of the voting power of the shares of each of EchoStar Corporation and DISH is owned beneficially by Charles W. Ergen, our Chairman, and by certain entities established for the benefit of his family. Our Class A common stock is publicly traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market (“NASDAQ”) under the symbol “SATS.”

We are an industry leader in both networking technologies and services, innovating to deliver the global solutions that power a connected future for people, enterprises and things everywhere. We provide broadband satellite technologies, broadband internet services for consumer customers, which include home and small to medium-sized businesses, satellite services and solutions for enterprise customers, which include aeronautical and government enterprises.

Our industry continues to evolve with the increasing worldwide demand for broadband internet access for information, entertainment and commerce. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has made even more evident the worldwide need and demand for connectivity and communications to facilitate an ever-increasing virtual global community and workplace. In addition to fiber and wireless systems, technologies such as geostationary high throughput satellites, low-earth orbit (“LEO”) networks, medium-earth orbit (“MEO”) systems and multi-transport networks using combinations of technologies are expected to continue to play significant roles in enabling global broadband access, networks and services. We intend to use our expertise, technologies, capital, investments, global presence, relationships and other capabilities to continue to provide broadband internet systems, equipment, networks and services for information, the internet-of-things, entertainment, education, remote-connectivity and commerce across industries and communities globally for consumer and enterprise customers. We are closely tracking the developments in next-generation satellite businesses, and we are seeking to utilize our services, technologies, licenses and expertise to find new commercial opportunities for our business.

We currently operate in two business segments: our Hughes segment (“Hughes segment”) and our EchoStar Satellite Services segment (“ESS segment”). These segments are consistent with the way we make decisions regarding the allocation of resources, as well as how operating results are reviewed by our chief operating decision maker (“CODM”), who is the Company’s Chief Executive Officer.

Our operations also include various corporate departments (primarily Executive, Treasury, Strategic Development, Human Resources, Information Technology, Finance, Accounting, Real Estate and Legal) and other activities, such as costs incurred in certain satellite development programs and other business development activities, and gains or losses from certain of our investments, that have not been assigned to our business segments. These activities, costs and income, as well as eliminations of intersegment transactions, are accounted for in our Corporate and Other segment in our segment reporting.

In September 2019, pursuant to a master transaction agreement (the “Master Transaction Agreement”) with DISH and a wholly-owned subsidiary of DISH (“Merger Sub”), (i) we transferred certain real property and the various businesses, products, licenses, technology, revenues, billings, operating activities, assets and liabilities primarily related to the former portion of our ESS segment that managed, marketed and provided (1) broadcast satellite services primarily to DISH and its subsidiaries (together with DISH, “DISH Network”) and our joint venture Dish Mexico, S. de R.L. de C.V. (“Dish Mexico”) and its subsidiaries, and (2) telemetry, tracking and control (“TT&C”) services for satellites owned by DISH Network and a portion of our other businesses (collectively, the “BSS Business”) to one of our former subsidiaries, EchoStar BSS Corporation (“BSS Corp.”), (ii) we distributed to each holder of shares of our Class A or Class B common stock entitled to receive consideration in the transaction an amount of shares of common stock of BSS Corp., par value $0.001 per share (“BSS Common Stock”), equal to one share of BSS Common Stock for each share of our Class A or Class B common stock owned by such stockholder

(the “Distribution”); and (iii) immediately after the Distribution, (1) Merger Sub merged with and into BSS Corp. (the “Merger”), such that BSS Corp. became a wholly-owned subsidiary of DISH and with DISH then owning and operating the BSS Business, and (2) each issued and outstanding share of BSS Common Stock owned by EchoStar stockholders was converted into the right to receive 0.23523769 shares of DISH Class A common stock, par value $0.001 per share (“DISH Common Stock”) ((i) - (iii) collectively, the “BSS Transaction”).

In connection with the BSS Transaction, we and DISH Network agreed to indemnify each other against certain losses with respect to breaches of certain representations and covenants and certain retained and assumed liabilities, respectively. Refer to Note 19 in our Consolidated Financial Statements for further details on certain customary agreements entered into with DISH in relation to the BSS Transaction.

The BSS Transaction was structured in a manner intended to be tax-free to us and our stockholders for U.S. federal income tax purposes and was accounted for as a spin-off to our shareholders as we did not receive any consideration. Following the consummation of the BSS Transaction, we no longer operate the BSS Business, which was a substantial portion of our ESS segment. As a result of the BSS Transaction, the financial results of the BSS Business, except for certain real estate that transferred in the transaction, are presented as discontinued operations and, as such, excluded from continuing operations and segment results for all periods presented in our accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements and notes thereto in Item 15 of this Form 10-K (“Consolidated Financial Statements”).

See Note 5 in our Consolidated Financial Statements for further detail of our discontinued operations.

 

 

 

 

 

Our Hughes segment is an industry leader in both networking technologies and services, innovating to deliver the global solutions that power a connected future for people, enterprises and things everywhere. We provide broadband satellite technologies and broadband internet products and services to consumer customers. We provide broadband network technologies, managed services, equipment, hardware, satellite services and communications solutions to government and enterprise customers. We also design, provide and install gateway and terminal equipment to customers for other satellite systems. In addition, we design, develop, construct and provide telecommunication networks comprising satellite ground segment systems and terminals to mobile system operators and our enterprise customers.

Our Hughes segment incorporates advances in technology to reduce costs and to increase the functionality and reliability of our products and services.  Through advanced and proprietary methodologies, technologies, software and techniques, we continue to improve the efficiency of our networks.  We invest in technologies to enhance our system and network management capabilities, specifically our managed services for enterprises.  We also continue to invest in next generation technologies that can be applied to our future products and services.

Our Hughes segment continues to focus our efforts on optimizing financial returns of our existing satellites while planning for new satellite capacity to be launched, leased or acquired. In addition, we are also pursuing wireline and wireless capacity to utilize in markets that include residential, community WiFi, backhaul, and other enterprise broadband and multi-transport services. Our consumer revenue growth depends on our success in adding new and retaining existing subscribers, as well as increasing our Average Revenue Per User/subscriber (“ARPU”). Service and acquisition costs related to ongoing support for our direct and indirect customers and partners are typically impacted most significantly by our growth. The growth of both our enterprise and consumer businesses rely heavily

on global economic conditions and the competitive landscape for pricing relative to competitors and alternative technologies.

 

Our Hughes segment currently uses capacity from our owned and leased satellites, including additional satellite capacity leased from third-party providers to provide services to our customers. We also use other multi-transport capacity that includes cable, fiber, 5G, and 4G/LTE. Growth of our consumer subscriber base in the U.S. continues to be constrained where we are nearing or have reached maximum capacity in most areas. Our Latin America consumer subscriber base in certain areas has also become capacity constrained. These constraints are not expected to be resolved until we acquire additional capacity.

In May 2019, we entered into an agreement with Yahsat pursuant to which, in November 2019, Yahsat contributed its satellite communications services business in Brazil to one of our Brazilian subsidiaries in exchange for a 20% ownership interest in that subsidiary. The combined business provides broadband internet services and enterprise solutions in Brazil using the Telesat T19V satellite, the Eutelsat 65W satellite and Yahsat’s Al Yah 3 satellite.  Under the terms of the agreement, Yahsat may also acquire, for further cash investments, additional minority ownership interests in the business in the future provided certain conditions are met.

In May 2019, we entered into an agreement with Bharti, pursuant to which Bharti will contribute its VSAT telecommunications services and hardware business in India to our two existing Indian subsidiaries that conduct our VSAT services and hardware business. On January 4, 2022, the formation of this joint venture was announced, with Bharti obtaining a 33% ownership interest in the combined business. The joint venture combines the VSAT businesses of both companies to offer flexible and scalable enterprise networking solutions using satellite connectivity for primary transport, back-up and hybrid implementation.

In August 2017, we entered into a long-term contract for the design and construction of the EchoStar XXIV satellite, a new, next-generation, high throughput geostationary satellite. The EchoStar XXIV satellite is primarily intended to provide additional capacity for our HughesNet service in North, Central and South America as well as enterprise broadband services. The EchoStar XXIV satellite is expected to be launched in the fourth quarter of 2022. Further delays or impediments could have a material adverse impact on our business operations, future revenues, financial position and prospects, the completion of manufacture of the EchoStar XXIV satellite and our planned expansion of satellite broadband services throughout North, South and Central America. In December 2020, we entered into an agreement with a launch provider for the launch of EchoStar XXIV. Capital expenditures associated with the construction and launch of the EchoStar XXIV satellite are included in Corporate and Other segment in our segment reporting.

 

Our enterprise customers include, but are not limited to, lottery agencies, gas station operators, aircraft connectivity providers and companies with multi-branch networks that rely on satellite or terrestrial networks for critical communication across wide geographies. Most of our enterprise customers have contracts with us for the services they purchase. Our Hughes segment also designs, provides and installs gateway and terminal equipment to customers for other satellite systems and provides satellite ground segment systems and terminals for other satellite systems, including mobile system operators. Developments toward the launch of next-generation satellite systems, including LEO, MEO and geostationary systems, as well as other multi-transport technologies, could provide additional opportunities to drive the demand for our equipment, hardware, technology and services.

 

Our industry is highly competitive.  As a global provider of network technologies, products and services, our Hughes segment competes with a large number of telecommunications service providers, which puts pressure on prices and margins.  To compete effectively, we emphasize our network quality, customization capability, offering of networks as a turnkey managed service, position as a single point of contact for products and services and competitive prices.

 

In our consumer broadband satellite technologies and internet services markets, we compete against traditional telecommunications and wireless carriers, other satellite internet providers, as well as fiber, cable, and wireless

internet service providers offering competitive services in the markets we seek to serve.  Cost, speed and accessibility are key determining factors in the selection of a service provider by the consumer.  In addition, government subsidies, such as the Federal Communication Commission’s (“FCC”) Rural Development Opportunity Fund can have the effect of subsidizing the growth of our wired, wireless and satellite competitors. Our primary satellite competitor in our North American consumer market is ViaSat Communications, Inc., which is owned by ViaSat, Inc. (“ViaSat”).  ViaSat has also announced plans to enter the South and Central American consumer markets. Starlink has begun offering competing services in the markets we serve and it may become a significant competitor in the future.  We seek to differentiate ourselves based on the ubiquitous availability of our service, quality, proprietary technology, and distribution channels.

 

In our enterprise markets, we compete against providers of satellite-based and terrestrial-based networks, including fiber, cable, wireless internet service, multiprotocol label switching and internet protocol-based virtual private networks.

Our principal competitors for the supply of very-small-aperture terminal satellite networks are Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd, ViaSat, and ST Engineering iDirect, Inc.  To differentiate ourselves from our competitors, we emphasize particular technological features of our products and services, our ability to customize networks and perform desired development work and the quality of our customer service.  We also face competition from resellers and numerous local companies who purchase equipment and sell services to local customers, including domestic and international telecommunications operators, cable companies and other major carriers.

 

Certain products in our Hughes segment are assembled at our facilities in Maryland and we outsource a significant portion of the manufacturing of our products to third parties.  We believe that the manufacturing facilities used by our Hughes segment have sufficient capacity to handle current demand.  We adjust our capacity based on our production requirements.  We also work with third-party vendors for the development and manufacture of components that are integrated into our products.  We develop dual sourcing capabilities for critical parts when practical and we evaluate outsourced subcontract vendors on a periodic basis.  Our operations group, together with our engineering group, works with our vendors and subcontractors to reduce development costs, to increase production efficiency, and to obtain components at lower prices.

 

 

Our ESS segment provides satellite services on a full-time and/or occasional-use basis to U.S. government service providers, internet service providers, broadcast news organizations, content providers and private enterprise customers. We operate our ESS business using primarily the EchoStar IX satellite and the EchoStar 105/SES-11 satellite and related infrastructure. Revenue in our ESS segment depends largely on our ability to continuously make use of our available satellite capacity with existing customers and our ability to enter into commercial relationships with new customers. Our ESS segment, like others in the fixed satellite services industry, has encountered, and may continue to encounter, negative pressure on transponder rates and demand.

 

Our satellite capacity is currently used by our customers for a variety of applications, including:

 

 

Our ESS segment competes against larger, well-established satellite service companies, such as Intelsat S.A., SES S.A., Telesat and Eutelsat Communications S.A., in an industry that is characterized by long-term contracts and high costs for customers to change service providers.  Several of our competitors maintain key North American and other international orbital slots that may further limit our ability to compete and offer competitive pricing.

We intend to continue to selectively explore opportunities to pursue investments, commercial alliances, partnerships, joint ventures, acquisitions, dispositions and other strategic initiatives and transactions, domestically and internationally, that we believe may allow us to increase our existing market share, increase our satellite capacity, expand into new satellite and other technologies, markets and customers, broaden our portfolio of services, products and intellectual property, make our business more valuable, align us for future growth and expansion, maximize the return on our investments and strengthen our business and relationships with our customers. We may allocate or dispose of significant resources for long-term value that may not have a short or medium-term or any positive impact on our revenue, results of operations, or cash flow.

As of December 31, 2021, our satellite fleet consisted of ten GEO satellites, seven of which are owned and three of which are leased. They are all in geosynchronous orbit, approximately 22,300 miles above the equator. Our owned S-band LEO nano-satellites are not included in the table below.

The following table presents our GEO satellite fleet as of December 31, 2021:

Our EchoStar XXIV satellite is included in construction in progress as of December 31, 2021. The satellite is expected to be launched in the fourth quarter of 2022.

 

Our satellites may experience anomalies from time to time, some of which may have a significant adverse effect on their remaining useful lives, the commercial operation of the satellites or our operating results or financial position. We are not aware of any anomalies with respect to our owned or leased satellites that have had any such significant adverse effect during the year ended December 31, 2021. There can be no assurance, however, that anomalies will not have any such adverse effects in the future. In addition, there can be no assurance that we can recover critical transmission capacity in the event one or more of our satellites were to fail.

We generally do not carry in-orbit insurance on our satellites or payloads because we have assessed that the cost of insurance is not economical relative to the risk of failures. Therefore, we generally bear the risk of any in-orbit failures. Pursuant to the terms of our joint venture agreement with Yahsat, we are required to maintain insurance for the Al Yah 3 Brazilian payload during the commercial in-orbit service of such payload, subject to certain limitations on coverage. Our satellites and other payloads, either in orbit or under construction, are not covered by launch or in-orbit insurance. We will continue to assess circumstances going forward and make insurance-related decisions on a case-by-case basis.

We evaluate our satellites for impairment and test for recoverability whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that their carrying amount may not be recoverable. Certain of the anomalies previously disclosed may be considered to represent a significant adverse change in the physical condition of a particular satellite. However, based on the redundancy designed within each satellite, certain of these anomalies are not necessarily considered to be significant events that would require a test of recoverability.

 

 

The following summary of regulations and legislation is not intended to describe all present and proposed government regulation and legislation affecting our business.  Government regulations that are currently the subject of judicial or administrative proceedings, draft legislation or administrative proposals could impact us and our industries to varying degrees.  The FCC and other regulators from time to time initiate proceedings that could adversely impact our satellite operations, including spectrum usage.  We cannot predict either the outcome of these proceedings or proposals or any potential impact they might have on the industry or on our operations.

 

 

 

All satellite licenses issued by the FCC are subject to expiration unless extended by the FCC.  Our U.S. FSS licenses generally have 15 year terms.  We hold licenses and authorizations for satellite and earth stations as well as other services.  To obtain and operate under such FCC licenses and authorizations, we must satisfy legal, technical qualification requirements and other conditions including, among other things, satisfaction of certain technical and ongoing due diligence obligations, maintaining bonds, payment of annual regulatory fees and various reporting requirements.

 

 

We are also regulated by state and local authorities.  While the FCC has preempted many state and local regulations that would impair the installation and use of very-small-aperture terminals and other consumer satellite dishes, our businesses nonetheless are subject to state and local regulation, including, among others, obtaining regulatory authorizations and zoning regulations that affect the ability to install these consumer satellite earth station antennas. In addition, in order to obtain universal service funding, we are subject to being an eligible telecommunications carrier in certain states.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the operation of our business, we must comply with all applicable export control and trade sanctions laws and regulations of the U.S. and other countries.  Applicable U.S. laws and regulations include the Arms Export Control Act, the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (“ITAR”), the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”) and the trade sanctions laws and regulations administered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”).

 

The export of certain hardware, technical data, and services relating to satellites and the supply of certain ground control equipment, technical data and services to non-U.S. persons or to destinations outside the U.S. is regulated by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) under the EAR.  In addition, BIS regulates our export of satellite communications network equipment to non-U.S. persons or to destinations outside of the U.S.  The export of other items is regulated by the U.S. Department of State’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (“DDTC”) under the ITAR and are subject to strict export control and prior approval requirements.  In addition, we cannot provide certain equipment or services to certain countries subject to U.S. trade sanctions unless we first obtain the necessary authorizations from OFAC.  We are also subject to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and similar anti-bribery laws in other jurisdictions that generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments or giving or promising to give anything of value to foreign government officials and other individuals for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business or gaining a competitive advantage.

 

 

We are subject to the requirements of federal, state, local and foreign environmental and occupational safety and health laws and regulations.  These include laws regulating air emissions, waste-water discharge and waste management, most significantly the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (“EPCRA”).  Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, our Hughes segment is considered a small quantity generator.

 

As required by the EPCRA, we file annual reports with regulatory agencies covering four areas: Emergency Planning, Emergency Release, Hazardous Chemical Storage and Toxic Chemical Release Inventory.  We maintain small quantities of hazardous materials on our premises and, therefore, have relatively modest reporting requirements under the EPCRA.  We are also subject to the requirements of other environmental and occupational safety and health laws and regulations.  Additionally, we review the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act Title III regulatory requirements and annually report quantities of onsite material storage using Tier II, state DEQ (Department of Environmental Quality) reporting systems.

 

Our environmental compliance costs, capital and other expenditures to date have not been material, and we do not expect them to be material in 2021.  However, environmental requirements are complex, change frequently and have become more stringent over time.  Accordingly, we cannot provide assurance that these requirements will not

change or become more stringent in the future in a manner that could have a material adverse effect on our business and/or environmental compliance costs, capital or other expenditures.

 

We currently rely on a combination of patent, trade secret, copyright and trademark law, together with licenses, non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements and technical measures, to establish and protect proprietary rights in our products.  We hold U.S. and foreign patents covering various aspects of our products and services.  The duration of each of our U.S. patents is generally 20 years from the earliest filing date to which the patent has priority.  We have granted licenses to use our trademarks and service-marks to affiliates and resellers worldwide, and we typically retain the right to monitor the use of those marks and impose significant restrictions on their use in efforts to ensure a consistent brand identity.  We protect our proprietary rights in our software through software licenses that, among other things, require that the software source code be maintained as confidential information and that prohibit any reverse-engineering of that code.

 

We believe that our patents are important to our business.  We also believe that, in some areas, the improvement of existing products and the development of new products, as well as reliance upon trade secrets and unpatented proprietary know-how, are important in establishing and maintaining a competitive advantage.  We believe, to a certain extent, that the value of our products and services are dependent upon our proprietary software, hardware and other technology remaining trade secrets and/or subject to copyright protection.  Generally, we enter into non-disclosure and invention assignment agreements with our employees, subcontractors and certain customers and other business partners.  Please see Item 3. Legal Proceedings of this Form 10-K for more information.

 

We have a skilled and multi-disciplined engineering organization that develops our products and services.  Our in-house technological capability includes a wide range of skills required to develop systems, hardware, software and firmware used in our products and services. 

 

With respect to hardware development, we have skill sets that include complex digital designs, radio frequency and intermediate frequency analog designs, advanced application-specific integrated circuit designs and sophisticated consumer and system level packaging designs.  We also have extensive experience in developing products for high-volume, low-cost manufacturing for the consumer industry, including dual mode satellite and wireless handsets.

 

As a complement to our hardware development, we have extensive experience in designing reliable, real time, embedded software systems as part of our communication systems and services offerings.  For example, our broadband product line for the enterprise market supports an extensive range of protocols for data communications.  Our engineers have also developed many large turnkey systems for our customers by designing the overall solution, implementing the various subsystems, deploying the entire network and user terminals, integrating and verifying the operational system and ultimately training the customers’ technicians and operators.

 

 

For principal geographic area data and transactions with major customers for 2021, 2020 and 2019, see Note 22 in our Consolidated Financial Statements.  See Item 1A. Risk Factors for information regarding risks related to our foreign operations.

As of December 31, 2021, we had approximately 2,500 employees globally; of which approximately 1,900 were located in the U.S. and 600 internationally. We generally consider relations with our employees to be good. Other than approximately 200 of our employees located in Italy and Brazil, none are represented by a union. Our mission is to be a global connectivity provider for people, enterprises and things.

We have a robust ongoing training and development program to enable employees to further refine and develop their skills. These training and development programs include technical programs meant to keep our employees abreast of the latest developments in our industry as well as courses to assist employees in developing their business communications and management skills.

 

We are subject to the informational requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and accordingly file an annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, proxy statements and other information with the SEC.  Our public filings are maintained on the SEC’s internet site at http://www.sec.gov, which contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC.

 

Our Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, may also be accessed free of charge through our website at http://www.echostar.com as soon as reasonably practicable after we have electronically filed such material with, or furnished it to, the SEC.

 

We have adopted a written code of ethics that applies to all of our directors, officers and employees, including our principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer and controller, in accordance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the rules of the SEC promulgated thereunder.  Our code of ethics is available on our corporate website at http://www.echostar.com.  In the event that we make changes in, or provide waivers of, the provisions of this code of ethics that the SEC requires us to disclose, we intend to disclose these events on our website.

Furnished in accordance with Item 401(b) of Regulation S-K, pursuant to General Instruction G(3) of Form 10-K.

The following table and information below sets forth the name, age and position with EchoStar of each of our executive officers, the period during which each executive officer has served as such and each executive officer’s business experience during at least the past five years:

 

 

 

 

 

There are no arrangements or understandings between any executive officer and any other person pursuant to which any executive officer was selected as such.  Pursuant to the Bylaws of EchoStar, executive officers serve at the discretion of the Board of Directors.

The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones facing us. If any of the following events occur or evolve in a way different than expected, our business, financial condition, results of operation, prospects or ability to fund a share or debt repurchase program, invest capital in or otherwise run our business, execute on our strategic plans or return capital to our shareholders could be materially and adversely affected.

As the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects continue to develop, it is impossible at this time to predict its ultimate impact on our business. We have set forth some key risks identified to date.

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have disrupted our and our customers’, suppliers’, vendors’ and other business partners’ and investees’ businesses, and have delayed the manufacture and deployment of our satellites, specifically our EchoStar XXIV satellite. Disruption to our vendors’ and suppliers’ businesses could adversely impact our supply chain. Additionally, some regulatory bodies have reduced activities and/or temporarily closed their offices which may materially delay the review and/or approval of licenses or authorizations we need to operate our business. We cannot currently estimate or determine the final magnitude of these impacts.

Additionally, many of our subscribers are working remotely or engaging in distance learning. These activities have increased the usage on our HughesNet service so that there is little or no capacity remaining for subscriber growth in our most popular geographic areas. This limitation on capacity has resulted in our subscribers experiencing slower speeds, which, in turn, has resulted in higher churn.

Due to the economic downturn arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of our enterprise customers are facing uncertain futures and certain of these customers have filed for bankruptcy protection. When enterprise customers fail or seek reorganization under the bankruptcy laws, we may be obliged to provide services for which we are not being paid. Further, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in increased unemployment, which could result in reduced demand and increased inability to pay from our consumer customers.

 

 

Our success may depend on the existence of, and our ability to capitalize on, opportunities to acquire or develop other businesses or technologies or partner with other companies that could complement, enhance or expand our current business, services or products or that may otherwise offer us growth opportunities.  We may pursue a number of strategic initiatives to complement or expand our business.  Any such strategic initiatives may involve a high degree of risk, including, but not limited to, the following:

 

New strategic initiatives may require the commitment of significant capital that would otherwise have been directed to investments in our existing businesses or distributed to shareholders.

 

Our business operates in an intensely competitive, consumer- and enterprise-driven and rapidly changing environment and competes with a growing number of companies that provide similar products and services to consumer and enterprise customers.  There can be no assurance that we will be able to effectively compete against our competitors due to their significant resources and operating history. Material competitive risks to our business include, but are not limited to, the following:

 

 

 

We have made substantial contractual commitments for satellite capacity based on our existing customer contracts and backlog.  If our existing customer contracts were to be terminated prior to their respective expiration dates, we may have insufficient revenue to cover our satellite capacity costs. On the other hand, we may not have sufficient satellite capacity available to meet increases in demand and we may not be able to quickly or easily adjust our capacity to such changes in demand.  At present, until the launch and operation of additional satellites that our systems can utilize, there is limited additional capacity in North America and in certain areas of Latin America, including within our own fleet of satellites, which could materially and adversely affect our ability to provide services to customers and grow our revenue and business.  Our business could be adversely affected if we are not able to renew our capacity leases at economically viable rates, or if sufficient capacity is not available to us.

Our dependence upon third-party providers causes certain risks to our business, including the following:

 

Our sales outside the U.S. accounted for 21.4%, 19.6% and 20.4% of our revenue for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively.  We expect our foreign operations to represent a significant and growing portion of our business.  Our foreign operations involve varying degrees of risk and uncertainties inherent in doing business abroad.  Such risks include:

 

 

As of December 31, 2021, our total indebtedness was $1.5 billion.  Our ability to make payments on or to refinance our indebtedness and to fund our operations will depend on our ability to generate cash in the future. If we are unable to generate sufficient cash, we may be forced to take actions such as revising or delaying our strategic plans, reducing or delaying capital expenditures and/or the development, design, acquisition and construction of new satellites, selling assets, restructuring or refinancing our debt or seeking additional equity capital. We may not be able to implement any of these actions on satisfactory terms, or at all.

 

The indentures governing the Hughes Satellite Systems Corporation (“HSSC”) 5.250% Senior Secured Notes due August 1, 2026 and 6.625% Senior Unsecured Notes due August 1, 2026 contain various covenants, subject to certain exceptions, that limit HSSC’s ability and/or certain of its subsidiaries’ ability to, among other things:

 

Failure to comply with these and certain other financial covenants, if not cured or waived, may result in an event of default under the indentures, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects.  If certain events of default occur and are continuing under the respective indenture, the trustee under that indenture or the requisite holders of the notes under that indenture may declare all such notes to

be immediately due and payable and, in the case of the indenture governing our secured notes, could proceed against the collateral that secures the secured notes. If certain other events of default occur, the indentures will become immediately due and payable. Certain of our subsidiaries have pledged a significant portion of our assets as collateral to secure the 5.250% Senior Secured Notes due August 1, 2026.

Natural disasters could damage or destroy our ground infrastructure and/or our other or our vendors’ infrastructure, equipment and facilities, resulting in a disruption of service to our customers, which may adversely affect our business.

We believe that our future success depends to a significant extent upon the performance of Mr. Charles W. Ergen, our Chairman, and certain other key executives. The loss of Mr. Ergen or certain other key executives, the ability to effectively provide for the succession of our senior management, or the ability of Mr. Ergen or such other key executives to devote sufficient time and effort to our business could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Although some of our key executives may have agreements relating to their equity compensation that limit their ability to work for or consult with competitors, we generally do not have employment agreements with them. To the extent Mr. Ergen is performing services for both DISH Network and us, his attention may be diverted away from our business and therefore adversely affect our business.

 

In connection with the BSS Transaction, we transferred our satellite operation centers, which are used to monitor and control our satellites, to DISH Network. Therefore, we now are subject to the inherent risks of having a related party operate, maintain and manage these satellite operations centers. In addition, certain of our satellites are operated, maintained and managed by third parties.

 

Meteoroid events, decommissioned satellites, and increased solar activity also pose a potential threat to all in-orbit satellites. We may be required to perform maneuvers to avoid collisions and these maneuvers may prove unsuccessful or could reduce the useful life of the satellite through the expenditure of fuel to perform these maneuvers.

Generally, the minimum design life of each of our satellites is 15 years. We can provide no assurance, however, as to the actual operational lives of our satellites, which may be shorter or longer than their design lives. Our ability to earn revenue depends on the continued operation of our satellites, each of which has a limited useful life.

 

 

Satellite operators are required to enter into international spectrum coordination agreements with other affected satellite operators and must be approved by the relevant governments. If a required agreement cannot be concluded, we may have to operate the applicable satellite(s) in a manner that does not cause harmful radio frequency interference with the affected satellite. If we cannot do so, we may have to cease operating such satellite(s) at the affected orbital locations.

 

The FCC and other regulators have adopted rules or may adopt rules in the future that require us to share spectrum on a basis with other radio services. There can be no assurance that these operations would not interfere with our operations and adversely affect our business.

 

 

Future demand and effective delivery for our products and services will depend significantly on the growing demand for our services, such as broadband internet connectivity.  If the deployment of, or demand for, our services is not as widespread or as rapid as we or our customers expect, our revenue growth will be negatively impacted.

 

 

We rely on our patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, licenses and other agreements to conduct our business. Legal challenges to our intellectual property rights and claims of intellectual property infringement could result in significant monetary liability and require us to change our business practices or limit our ability to compete effectively or could otherwise have a material adverse effect on our business. Even if any such challenges or claims prove to be without merit, they can be time-consuming and costly to defend and may divert management’s attention and resources away from our business.

 

Moreover, we rely in part on technologies developed or licensed by third parties. If we are unable to obtain or retain licenses or other required intellectual property rights from these third parties on reasonable terms, our business could be adversely affected. In addition, we work with suppliers for the development and manufacture of components that are integrated into our products and our products may contain technologies provided to us by these suppliers. We may have little or no ability to determine in advance whether any such technology infringes the intellectual property rights of others, or whether such suppliers have obtained or continue to obtain the appropriate licenses or other intellectual property rights to use such technology. Our suppliers may not be required to indemnify us in the event that a claim of infringement is asserted against us, or they may be required to indemnify us only up to a maximum amount. Legal challenges to these intellectual property rights may impair our ability to use the products and technologies that we need in order to operate our business and may have a material adverse effect on our business. See further discussion under Item 1. Business — Patents and Trademarks and Item 3. Legal Proceedings of this Form 10-K.

 

 

We are involved in lawsuits, regulatory inquiries, audits, consumer claims and governmental and other legal proceedings. Some of these proceedings may raise difficult and complicated factual and legal issues and can be subject to uncertainties and complexities. The timing of the final resolutions is typically uncertain. Additionally, the possible outcomes of, or resolutions to, these proceedings could include adverse judgments, settlements, injunctions or liabilities, any of which could require substantial payments or have other adverse impacts on our business.

 

Our systems are vulnerable to damage, intrusion, or disruption from criminal and/or terrorist attacks, natural disasters/climate change such as sea level rise, drought, flooding, wildfires, increased storm severity, pandemics like COVID-19 and power loss, telecommunications failures, computer viruses, ransomware attacks, digital denial of service attacks, phishing, or other attempts to injure or maliciously access our systems. Some of our systems are not fully redundant, and disaster recovery planning cannot account for all possibilities. In addition, our products and services are highly technical and complex and may contain errors or vulnerabilities, which could result in interruptions in or failure of our services or systems.

Our international operations continue to grow. In addition to risks described elsewhere in this segment, our international businesses expose us to other risks, including but not limited to the following:

We have experienced, and may experience in the future, security issues, whether due to insider error or malfeasance or system errors or vulnerabilities in our or our 3rd parties’ systems, which could result in substantial legal and financial exposure, government inquiries and enforcement actions, litigation, and unfavorable media coverage. We may be unable to anticipate or detect attacks or vulnerabilities or implement adequate preventative measures. Attacks and security issues could also compromise trade secrets and other sensitive information.

In addition to our efforts to mitigate cyber-attacks, we are making significant investments to assure that our products are resistant to compromise. As a result of these efforts, we could discover new vulnerabilities within our products and systems that would be undesirable for our users and customers. We may not discover all such vulnerabilities due to the scale of activities on our platforms, or due to other factors, including but not limited to issues outside of our control such as natural disasters or pandemic (including COVID-19), and we may be notified of such vulnerabilities via third parties. Any of the foregoing developments may negatively affect user and customer trust, harm our reputation and brands, and adversely affect our business and financial results. Any such developments may also subject us to litigation and regulatory inquiries, which could result in monetary penalties and damages, distract management’s time and attention, and lead to enhanced regulatory oversight.

The personal information and data we process and store is increasingly subject to data security and data privacy laws of many jurisdictions. These laws impose a significant compliance burden and complying with them has required us to change our business practices or the functionality of our products and services. Privacy laws and regulations are becoming more complex and onerous, and a data privacy breach could have a material adverse effect on our business.

 

The products and the networks we deploy are highly complex, and some may contain defects when first introduced or when new versions or enhancements are released, despite testing and our quality control procedures. Defects may also occur in components and products that we purchase from third parties. In addition, many of our products and network services are designed to interface with our customers’ existing networks, each of which has different specifications and utilizes multiple protocol standards. Our products and services must interoperate with the other products and services within our customers’ networks, as well as with future products and services that might be added to these networks, to meet our customers’ requirements. There can be no assurance that we will be able to detect and fix all defects in the products and networks we sell. The occurrence of any defects, errors or failures in our products or network services could materially affect our business.

These laws and regulations are subject to the administrative and political process and do change from time to time. Our business could suffer a material adverse impact if laws and regulations change and we are not able to adapt to these changes efficiently.

 

 

Generally, all licenses granted by the FCC and most other countries are subject to expiration unless renewed by the regulatory agency. Our satellite licenses are currently set to expire at various times. In addition, we occasionally receive special temporary authorizations that are granted for limited periods of time (e.g., 180 days or less) and subject to possible renewal. Generally, our licenses and special temporary authorizations have been renewed on a routine basis, but there can be no assurance that this will continue.

The parties to the BSS Transaction received a tax opinion from their respective counsels as to the tax‑free nature of the transactions. They did not obtain a private letter ruling from the IRS with respect to the Distribution and the Merger and instead are relying solely on their respective tax opinions for comfort that the Distribution and the Merger qualify for tax‑free treatment for U.S. federal income tax purposes under the Code. The failure of any factual representation or assumption to be true, correct and complete, or any undertaking to be fully complied with, could affect the validity of the tax opinions and result in tax liabilities for our shareholders and/or us.

We have divested the BSS Business and our business will be subject to increased concentration of risks that affect our retained businesses. We are now a smaller, less diversified and more narrowly focused business, which makes us more vulnerable to changing market and economic conditions.

Charles W. Ergen, our Chairman, beneficially owns approximately 58% of our total equity securities (assuming conversion of the Class B common stock beneficially owned by Mr. Ergen into Class A common stock and giving effect to the exercise of options held by Mr. Ergen that are either currently exercisable as of, or may become exercisable within 60 days after, February 15, 2022) and beneficially owns approximately 93% of the total voting power of all classes of shares (assuming no conversion of any Class B common stock and giving effect to the exercise of options held by Mr. Ergen that are either currently exercisable as of, or may become exercisable within 60 days after, February 15, 2022).  Through his beneficial ownership of our equity securities, Mr. Ergen has the ability to elect a majority of our directors and to control all other matters requiring the approval of our stockholders.  As a result of Mr. Ergen’s voting power, we are a “controlled company” as defined in the NASDAQ listing rules and, therefore, are not subject to NASDAQ requirements that would otherwise require us to have (i) a majority of independent directors; (ii) a nominating committee composed solely of independent directors; (iii) compensation of our executive officers determined by a majority of the independent directors or a compensation committee composed solely of independent directors; (iv) a compensation committee charter which provides the compensation committee with the authority and funding to retain compensation consultants and other advisors; and/or (v) director nominees selected, or recommended for the Board’s selection, either by a majority of the independent directors or a nominating committee composed solely of independent directors.

Questions relating to conflicts of interest may arise between DISH Network and us in a number of areas relating to our past and ongoing relationships.  Areas in which conflicts of interest between DISH Network and us could arise include, but are not limited to, the following:

 

We may not be able to resolve any potential conflicts of interest with DISH Network and, even if we do so, the resolution may be less favorable to us than if we were dealing with an unaffiliated party.

 

We do not have any agreements not to compete with DISH Network.  However, many of our potential customers who compete with DISH Network have historically perceived us as a competitor due to our affiliation with DISH Network.  There can be no assurance that we will be successful in entering into any commercial relationships with potential customers who are competitors of DISH Network (particularly if we continue to be perceived as affiliated with DISH Network as a result of common ownership, certain shared management services and other arrangements with DISH Network).

 

 

Certain provisions of our articles of incorporation and bylaws may discourage, delay or prevent a change in control of our company that a shareholder may consider favorable.  These provisions include the following:

 

 

As discussed above, Mr. Ergen beneficially owns approximately 58% of our total equity securities and approximately 93% of the total voting power of all classes of shares and such ownership may make it impractical for any third party to obtain control of us.

In addition, pursuant to our articles of incorporation we have a significant amount of authorized and unissued stock that would allow our board of directors to issue shares to persons friendly to current management, thereby protecting the continuity of management, or which could be used to dilute the stock ownership of persons seeking to obtain control of us.

Any person purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in any shares of our capital stock shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to this provision of our articles of incorporation. This choice of forum provision may limit our stockholders’ ability to bring certain claims, including claims against our directors, officers or employees, in a judicial forum that the stockholder finds favorable and therefore the choice of forum provision may discourage lawsuits or increase costs with respect to such claims.

 

None.

 

 

Our principal executive offices are located at 100 Inverness Terrace East, Englewood, Colorado 80112-5308 and our telephone number is (303) 706-4000.  The following table sets forth certain information concerning our principal properties related to Hughes segment and ESS segment and to Corporate and Other segment as of December 31, 2021.  We operate various facilities in the United States and abroad.  We believe that our facilities are well maintained and are sufficient to meet our current and projected needs. 

For a discussion of legal proceedings, see Note 21 in our Consolidated Financial Statements.

 

Not applicable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our Board of Directors previously authorized us to repurchase up to $500.0 million of our Class A common stock through and including December 31, 2021. On November 2, 2021, our Board of Directors authorized us to repurchase up to $500.0 million of our Class A common stock commencing January 1, 2022 through and including December 31, 2022. Purchases under our repurchase authorizations may be made through privately negotiated transactions, open market repurchases, one or more trading plans in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or otherwise, subject to market conditions and other factors. We may elect not to purchase the maximum amount or any of the shares allowable under these authorizations and we may also enter into additional share repurchase programs authorized by our Board of Directors. During the year ended December 31, 2021, we repurchased 10,941,872 shares of our Class A common stock.

The following table provides information regarding repurchases of our Class A common stock during the three months ended December 31, 2021:

The following Management’s Discussion and Analysis of our Financial Condition and Results of Operations (“Management’s Discussion and Analysis”) should be read in conjunction with our Consolidated Financial Statements.  This Management’s Discussion and Analysis is intended to help provide an understanding of our financial condition, changes in our financial condition and our results of operations.  Many of the statements in this Management’s Discussion and Analysis are forward-looking statements that involve assumptions and are subject to risks and uncertainties that are often difficult to predict and beyond our control.  Actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.  See Disclosure Regarding Forward-Looking Statements in this Form 10-K for further discussion.  For a discussion of additional risks, uncertainties and other factors that could impact our results of operations or financial condition, see Item 1A. Risk Factors of this Form 10-K.  Further, such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this Form 10-K and we undertake no obligation to update them.

 

We are an industry leader in both networking technologies and services, innovating to deliver the global solutions that power a connected future for people, enterprises and things everywhere. We provide broadband satellite technologies, broadband internet services for consumer customers, which include home and small to medium-sized businesses, satellite services and solutions for enterprise customers, which include aeronautical and government enterprises.

We currently operate in two business segments:  Hughes segment and ESS segment. These segments are consistent with the way we make decisions regarding the allocation of resources, as well as how operating results are reviewed by our CODM, who is the Company’s Chief Executive Officer.

Our operations include various corporate departments (primarily Executive, Treasury, Strategic Development, Human Resources, Information Technology, Finance, Accounting, Real Estate and Legal) and other activities, such as costs incurred in certain satellite development programs and other business development activities, and gains or losses from certain of our investments, that have not been assigned to our business segments. These activities, costs and income, as well as eliminations of intersegment transactions, are accounted for in our Corporate and Other segment in our segment reporting.

In September 2019, pursuant to the Master Transaction Agreement with DISH and the Merger Sub, we completed the BSS Transaction.

In connection with the BSS Transaction, we and DISH Network agreed to indemnify each other against certain losses with respect to breaches of certain representations and covenants and certain retained and assumed liabilities, respectively. Refer to Note 19 in our Consolidated Financial Statements for further details on certain customary agreements entered into with DISH in relation to the BSS Transaction.

The BSS Transaction was structured in a manner intended to be tax-free to us and our stockholders for U.S. federal income tax purposes and was accounted for as a spin-off to our shareholders as we did not receive any consideration. Following the consummation of the BSS Transaction, we no longer operate the BSS Business, which was a substantial portion of our ESS segment. As a result of the BSS Transaction, the financial results of the BSS Business, except for certain real estate that transferred in the transaction, are presented as discontinued operations and, as such, excluded from continuing operations and segment results for the year ended December 31, 2019 in our Consolidated Financial Statements. See Note 5 in our Consolidated Financial Statements for further discussion of our discontinued operations.

Highlights from our financial results are as follows:

 

 

 

Our Hughes segment is an industry leader in both networking technologies and services, innovating to deliver the global solutions that power a connected future for people, enterprises and things everywhere. We provide broadband satellite technologies and broadband internet products and services to consumer customers. We provide broadband network technologies, managed services, equipment, hardware, satellite services and communications solutions to government and enterprise customers. We also design, provide and install gateway and terminal equipment to customers for other satellite systems. In addition, we design, develop, construct and provide telecommunication networks comprising satellite ground segment systems and terminals to mobile system operators and our enterprise customers.

 

Our Hughes segment incorporates advances in technology to reduce costs and to increase the functionality and reliability of our products and services.  Through advanced and proprietary methodologies, technologies, software and techniques, we continue to improve the efficiency of our networks.  We invest in technologies to enhance our system and network management capabilities, specifically our managed services for enterprises.  We also continue to invest in next generation technologies that can be applied to our future products and services.

Our Hughes segment continues to focus our efforts on optimizing financial returns of our existing satellites while planning for new satellite capacity to be launched, leased or acquired. In addition, we are also pursuing wireline and wireless capacity to utilize in markets that include residential, community WiFi, backhaul, and other enterprise broadband and multi-transport services. Our consumer revenue growth depends on our success in adding new and retaining existing subscribers, as well as increasing our ARPU. Service and acquisition costs related to ongoing support for our direct and indirect customers and partners are typically impacted most significantly by our growth. The growth of both our enterprise and consumer businesses rely heavily on global economic conditions and the competitive landscape for pricing relative to competitors and alternative technologies.

Our Hughes segment currently uses capacity from our owned and leased satellites, including additional satellite capacity leased from third-party providers to provide services to our customers. We also use other multi-transport capacity that includes cable, fiber, 5G, and 4G/LTE. Growth of our consumer subscriber base in the U.S. continues to be constrained where we are nearing or have reached maximum capacity in most areas. Our Latin America consumer subscriber base in certain areas has also become capacity constrained. These constraints are not expected to be resolved until we acquire additional capacity.

In May 2019, we entered into an agreement with Yahsat pursuant to which, in November 2019, Yahsat contributed its satellite communications services business in Brazil to one of our Brazilian subsidiaries in exchange for a 20% ownership interest in that subsidiary. The combined business provides broadband internet services and enterprise solutions in Brazil using the Telesat T19V satellite, the Eutelsat 65W satellite and Yahsat’s Al Yah 3 satellite.  Under the terms of the agreement, Yahsat may also acquire, for further cash investments, additional minority ownership interests in the business in the future provided certain conditions are met.

In May 2019, we entered into an agreement with Bharti, pursuant to which Bharti will contribute its VSAT telecommunications services and hardware business in India to our two existing Indian subsidiaries that conduct our VSAT services and hardware business. On January 4, 2022, the formation of this joint venture was announced, with Bharti obtaining a 33% ownership interest in the combined business. The joint venture combines the VSAT businesses of both companies to offer flexible and scalable enterprise networking solutions using satellite connectivity for primary transport, back-up and hybrid implementation.

In August 2017, we entered into a long-term contract for the design and construction of the EchoStar XXIV satellite, a new, next-generation, high throughput geostationary satellite. The EchoStar XXIV satellite is primarily intended to provide additional capacity for our HughesNet service in North, Central and South America as well as enterprise broadband services. The EchoStar XXIV satellite is expected to be launched in the fourth quarter of 2022. Further delays or impediments could have a material adverse impact on our business operations, future revenues, financial position and prospects, the completion of manufacture of the EchoStar XXIV satellite and our planned expansion of satellite broadband services throughout North, South and Central America. In December 2020, we entered into an agreement with a launch provider for the launch of EchoStar XXIV. Capital expenditures associated with the construction and launch of the EchoStar XXIV satellite are included in our Corporate and Other segment in our segment reporting.

Our broadband subscribers include customers that subscribe to our HughesNet services in the U.S. and Latin America through retail, wholesale and small/medium enterprise service channels.

The following table presents our approximate number of broadband subscribers:

The following table presents the approximate number of net subscriber additions for each quarter in 2021:

Our U.S. consumer subscriber base in certain areas continues to be capacity constrained and we are managing the available capacity to maintain service quality to our existing subscribers. Balancing of total subscribers relative to capacity utilization in the fourth quarter resulted in lower total subscribers. During the fourth quarter, the lower net subscribers were due to both lower gross additions and higher churn as compared to the third quarter.

Our Latin America consumer subscriber base in certain areas, similar to the U.S., has also become capacity constrained. Continued high bandwidth demand in certain areas has resulted in managing subscriber growth, and similar to the U.S. we are balancing capacity utilization with subscriber levels in the impacted areas which resulted in lower total subscribers. During the fourth quarter, the lower net subscribers were due to both lower gross additions and higher churn as compared to the third quarter.

As of December 31, 2021 and 2020, our Hughes segment had $1.4 billion and $1.3 billion of contracted revenue backlog, respectively. We define Hughes segment contracted revenue backlog as our expected future revenue under enterprise customer contracts that are non-cancelable, including lease revenue. Our contracted revenue backlog as of December 31, 2021 changed primarily due to an increase in contracts from our international customers. Of the total Hughes segment contracted revenue backlog as of December 31, 2021, we expect to recognize $506.1 million of revenue in 2022.

Our ESS segment provides satellite services on a full-time and/or occasional-use basis to U.S. government service providers, internet service providers, broadcast news organizations, content providers and private enterprise customers. We operate our ESS business using primarily the EchoStar IX satellite and the EchoStar 105/SES-11 satellite and related infrastructure. Revenue in our ESS segment depends largely on our ability to continuously make use of our available satellite capacity with existing customers and our ability to enter into commercial relationships with new customers. Our ESS segment, like others in the fixed satellite services industry, has encountered, and may continue to encounter, negative pressure on transponder rates and demand.

As of December 31, 2021 and 2020, our ESS segment had contracted revenue backlog of $10.4 million and $6.7 million, respectively. We define contracted revenue backlog for our ESS segment as contracted future satellite lease revenue. Our contracted revenue backlog as of December 31, 2021, changed due to an increase in satellite service contracts with existing and new customers. Of the total ESS segment contracted revenue backlog as of December 31, 2021, we expect to recognize $5.9 million of revenue in 2022.

 

Our industry continues to evolve with the increasing worldwide demand for broadband internet access for information, entertainment and commerce. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has made even more evident the worldwide need and demand for connectivity and communications to facilitate an ever-increasing virtual global community and workplace. In addition to fiber and wireless systems, technologies such as geostationary high throughput satellites, LEO networks, MEO systems and multi-transport networks using combinations of technologies are expected to continue to play significant roles in enabling global broadband access, networks and services. We intend to use our expertise, technologies, capital, investments, global presence, relationships and other capabilities to continue to provide broadband internet systems, equipment, networks and services for information, the internet-of-things, entertainment, education, remote-connectivity and commerce across industries and communities globally for consumer and enterprise customers. We are closely tracking the developments in next-generation satellite businesses, and we are seeking to utilize our services, technologies, licenses and expertise to find new commercial opportunities for our business.

We intend to continue to selectively explore opportunities to pursue investments, commercial alliances, partnerships, joint ventures, acquisitions, dispositions and other strategic initiatives and transactions, domestically and internationally, that we believe may allow us to increase our existing market share, increase our satellite capacity, expand into new satellite and other technologies, markets and customers, broaden our portfolio of services, products and intellectual property, make our business more valuable, align us for future growth and expansion, maximize the return on our investments and strengthen our business and relationships with our customers. We may allocate or dispose of significant resources for long-term value that may not have a short or medium-term or any positive impact on our revenue, results of operations, or cash flow.

S-Band Strategy

We continue to explore the development and deployment of S-band technologies that we expect will reduce the cost of satellite communications for internet of things, machine-to-machine communications, public protection, disaster relief and other end-to-end services worldwide and the integration of our products and services into new global, hybrid networks that leverage multiple satellites and terrestrial technologies. We believe we remain in a unique position to develop a hybrid MSS and CGC network in the E.U., the U.K. and other European countries, including through the use of our EchoStar XXI satellite, which was placed into service in November 2017, and the EUTELSAT 10A payload.  We have positioned ourselves to continue to develop the S-band spectrum globally by acquiring Sirion Global Pty Ltd., which we have renamed EchoStar Global which holds global S-band non-geostationary satellite spectrum rights for MSS. Additionally, we entered into a contract with Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems, Inc. for the design and construction of S-band nano-satellites. We launched two nano-satellites in the third quarter of 2020. Following launch, both nano-satellites experienced technical anomalies that precluded them from fulfilling their intended regulatory milestone missions. We obtained milestone relief due to these force majeure events. In the second quarter of 2021, we launched our third nano-satellite. The nano-satellite was successfully commissioned

and placed at the altitude prescribed in our license for the S-band frequency. We have completed the process of fulfilling the remaining requirements under the ITU Radio Regulations of bringing the Australian filing into use. The nano-satellite will now be used to develop and test a wide range of potential S-band applications and services. We also hold licenses for S-band MSS and terrestrial services in Mexico.

We and the third parties whom we work with face a constantly evolving landscape of cybersecurity threats in which hackers and other parties use complex assortments of techniques and methods to execute cyberattacks. Cybersecurity incidents have increased significantly in quantity and severity and are expected to continue to increase. In addition to our efforts to mitigate cyber-attacks, we are making investments to alleviate the potential impact to our products. As a result of these efforts, we could discover new vulnerabilities within our products and systems. We may not discover all such vulnerabilities due to the scale of activities on our platforms, or due to other factors, including but not limited to issues outside of our control. In addition, our IT systems and infrastructure are vulnerable to damage from a variety of sources, including telecommunications or network failures, malicious acts, human errors and natural disasters. Moreover, despite network security and backup measures, some of our servers are potentially vulnerable to physical or electronic break-ins, computer viruses and similar disruptive problems.

We are not aware of any cyber-incidents with respect to our owned or leased satellites or other networks, equipment or systems that have had a material adverse effect on our business, costs, operations, prospects, results of operation or financial position during the year ended December 31, 2021 and through February 24, 2022. There can be no assurance, however, that any such incident can be detected or thwarted or will not have such a material adverse effect in the future.

The following table presents our consolidated results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020:

The following discussion relates to our results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020.

The following tables present our total revenue, capital expenditures and EBITDA by segment for the year ended December 31, 2021, as compared to the year ended December 31, 2020:

 

Total revenue was $2.0 billion for the year ended December 31, 2021, an increase of $95.4 million, or 5.1%, as compared to 2020.  Services and other revenue increased primarily due to increases in sales of broadband services to our consumer customers of $27.8 million and to our mobile satellite system customers of $1.4 million. Sales of broadband services to our enterprise customers remained flat compared to 2020. Equipment revenue increased primarily due to increases in hardware sales of $76.7 million to our enterprise customers, partially offset by decreases in hardware sales to our mobile satellite system customers of $8.0 million and to our consumer customers of $ 3.9 million. These variances reflect the negative impact of exchange rate fluctuations of $4.7 million.

Capital expenditures were $296.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, a decrease of $58.9 million, or 16.6%, as compared to 2020, primarily due to decreases in expenditures associated with our consumer business, partially offset by increased expenditures related to our enterprise business and construction of our satellite-related ground infrastructure in preparation of the launch of EchoStar XXIV.

Total revenue was $17.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, which is primarily flat compared to 2020.

 

EBITDA was $9.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, an increase of $1.3 million, or 16.7%, as compared to 2020, primarily due to the recovery of a bad debt reserve.

Total revenue was $11.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, an increase of $2.1 million, or 22.1%, as compared to 2020, primarily due to increased services and other revenue from DISH Network.

Capital expenditures were $142.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, an increase of $88.6 million, as compared to 2020, primarily due to increases in expenditures related to the EchoStar XXIV satellite program.

The following table presents our consolidated results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2020 compared to the year ended December 31, 2019:

The following discussion relates to our results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019.

 

The following tables present our total revenue, capital expenditures and EBITDA by segment for the year ended December 31, 2020, as compared to the year ended December 31, 2019:

 

 

Total revenue was $1.9 billion for the year ended December 31, 2020, an increase of $8.1 million, or 0.4%, as compared to 2019.  Services and other revenue increased primarily due to increases in sales of broadband services to our consumer customers of $109.3 million, partially offset by a decrease in sales of services to our enterprise customers of $35.9 million. These variances reflect the negative impact of exchange rate fluctuations of $35.6 million, primarily attributable to our consumer customers. Equipment revenue decreased primarily due to $43.2 million related to the bankruptcy of a certain customer and $38.9 million decreased sales to our international enterprise customers, partially offset by $24.7 million increased sales to our domestic enterprise customers. These variances reflect the negative impact of exchange rate fluctuations of $3.5 million, primarily attributable to our enterprise customers.

 

Capital expenditures were $355.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, an increase of $46.4 million, or 15.0%, as compared to 2019, primarily due to increases in expenditures associated with our consumer business and construction of our satellite-related ground infrastructure.

Total revenue was $17.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, an increase of $1.1 million, or 7.0%, as compared to 2019, primarily due to an increase in transponder services provided to third parties.

EBITDA was $7.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, an increase of $0.9 million, or 12.6%, as compared to 2019, primarily due to the increase in overall ESS segment revenue.

Capital expenditures were $53.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, a decrease of $55.7 million, or 51.0%, as compared to 2019, primarily due to decreases in satellite expenditures on the EchoStar XXIV satellite.

 

 

We consider all liquid investments purchased with an original maturity of 90 days or less to be cash equivalents. See Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk in this Form 10-K for further discussion regarding our marketable investment securities.

As of December 31, 2021 and 2020, our cash, cash equivalents and marketable investment securities totaled $1.5 billion and $2.5 billion, respectively, of which $1.0 billion and $1.6 billion, respectively, we held as marketable investment securities, consisting of various debt and equity instruments including corporate bonds, corporate equity securities, government bonds and mutual funds.

The following discussion highlights our cash flow activities, which include results from continuing and discontinued operations, for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019.

The following table summarizes our cash flows provided by (used for) operating, investing and financing activities, as reflected in the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows: