Item 1. BUSINESS

OVERVIEW

EchoStar Corporation (which, together with its subsidiaries, is referred to as “EchoStar,” the “Company,” “we,” “us” and/or “our”) is a holding company that was organized in October 2007 as a corporation under the laws of the State of Nevada. We are a global provider of satellite service operations, video delivery solutions, broadband satellite technologies and broadband internet services for home and small office customers. We also deliver innovative network technologies, managed services, and various communications solutions for aeronautical, enterprise and government customers. Our Class A common stock is publicly traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market (“Nasdaq”) under the symbol “SATS.”

We currently operate in the following two business segments:

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Hughes — which provides broadband satellite technologies and broadband internet services to domestic and international home and small office customers and broadband network technologies, managed services, equipment, hardware, satellite services and communication solutions to domestic and international consumers and aeronautical, enterprise and government customers. The Hughes segment also designs, provides and installs gateway and terminal equipment to customers for other satellite systems. In addition, our Hughes segment provides satellite ground segment systems and terminals to mobile system operators.

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EchoStar Satellite Services (“ESS”) — which uses certain of our owned and leased in-orbit satellites and related licenses to provide satellite service operations and video delivery solutions on a full-time and occasional-use basis primarily to DISH Network Corporation and its subsidiaries (“DISH Network”), Dish Mexico, S. de R.L. de C.V., a joint venture we entered into in 2008 (“Dish Mexico”), United States (“U.S.”) government service providers, internet service providers, broadcast news organizations, programmers, and private enterprise customers. ESS also manages satellite operations for certain satellites owned by DISH Network.

Our operations also include various corporate departments (primarily Executive, Strategic Development, Human Resources, IT, Finance, Real Estate and Legal) as well as other activities that have not been assigned to our operating segments, including costs incurred in certain satellite development programs and other business development activities, our centralized treasury operations, and gains (losses) from certain of our investments. These activities, costs and income are accounted for in “Corporate and Other.”

In 2008, DISH Network completed its distribution to us of its digital set-top box business, certain infrastructure, and other assets and related liabilities, including certain of its satellites, uplink and satellite transmission assets, and real estate (the “Spin-off”). Since the Spin-off, EchoStar and DISH Network have operated as separate publicly-traded companies. Prior to February 28, 2017, DISH Network held the Tracking Stock discussed below. A substantial majority of the voting power of the shares of each of EchoStar Corporation and DISH Network Corporation (“DISH”) is owned beneficially by Charles W. Ergen, our Chairman, and by certain trusts established by Mr. Ergen for the benefit of his family.

In February 2014, we entered into agreements with certain subsidiaries of DISH pursuant to which, effective March 1, 2014: (i) EchoStar and our subsidiary Hughes Satellite Systems Corporation (“HSS”) issued the Tracking Stock (as defined below) to subsidiaries of DISH in exchange for five satellites (EchoStar I, EchoStar VII, EchoStar X, EchoStar XI, and EchoStar XIV) (including the assumption of related in-orbit incentive obligations) and approximately $11.4 million in cash; and (ii) DISH and certain of its subsidiaries began receiving certain satellite services on these five satellites from us. The Tracking Stock tracked the economic performance of the residential retail satellite broadband business of our Hughes segment, including certain operations, assets and liabilities attributed to such business (collectively, the “Hughes Retail Group” or “HRG”), and represented an aggregate 80.0% economic interest in HRG (the Hughes Retail Preferred Tracking Stock issued by EchoStar Corporation (the “EchoStar Tracking Stock”) represented a 51.89% economic interest in HRG and the Hughes Retail Preferred Tracking Stock issued by HSS (the “HSS Tracking Stock”, together with the EchoStar Tracking Stock, the “Tracking Stock”) represented a 28.11% economic interest in HRG). In addition to the remaining 20.0% economic interest in HRG, EchoStar retained all economic interest in the wholesale satellite broadband business and other businesses of EchoStar.

On January 31, 2017, we and certain of our subsidiaries entered into a Share Exchange Agreement (the “Share Exchange Agreement”) with DISH and certain of its subsidiaries. Pursuant to the Share Exchange Agreement, on February 28, 2017, among other things, we and certain of our subsidiaries received all of the shares of the Tracking Stock in exchange for 100% of the equity interests of certain EchoStar subsidiaries that held substantially all of our EchoStar Technologies businesses and

certain other assets (collectively, the “Share Exchange”). Our former EchoStar Technologies businesses designed, developed and distributed secure end-to-end video technology solutions including digital set-top boxes and related products and technology, primarily for satellite TV service providers and telecommunication companies and provided digital broadcast operations, including satellite uplinking/downlinking, transmission services, signal processing, conditional access management, and other services. Following consummation of the Share Exchange, we no longer operate the EchoStar Technologies businesses, the Tracking Stock was retired and is no longer outstanding and all agreements, arrangements and policy statements with respect to the Tracking Stock terminated and are of no further effect. As a result of the Share Exchange, the consolidated financial statements of the EchoStar Technologies businesses have been presented as discontinued operations and, as such, have been excluded from continuing operations and segment results for all periods presented. See Note 3 in the notes to consolidated financial statements in Item 15 of this report for further discussion of our discontinued operations.

As a result of the Share Exchange, in March 2017, we changed our overhead allocation methodology used in our segment disclosures to reflect how our chief operating decision maker evaluates our segments. Historically, the costs of all corporate functions were included on an allocated basis in each of the business segments’ EBITDA. Under the revised allocation methodology, these costs are now reported and analyzed as part of “Corporate and Other” (previously “All Other and Eliminations”). Our prior period segment EBITDA disclosures have been restated to reflect this change.

BUSINESS STRATEGIES

Capitalize on domestic and international demand for broadband services. We intend to capitalize on the domestic and international demand for satellite-delivered broadband internet services and enterprise solutions by utilizing, among other things, our industry expertise, technology leadership, increased satellite capacity, access to spectrum resources, and high-quality, reliable service to drive growth in consumer subscribers and enterprise customers. We also intend to selectively explore opportunities to pursue investments, commercial alliances, partnerships, joint ventures, acquisitions and other strategic initiatives, domestically and internationally that we believe may allow us to increase our market share, expand into new markets, obtain new customers, broaden our portfolio of services, products and intellectual property and strengthen our relationships with our customers.

Expand satellite capacity and related infrastructure. During 2017, we significantly increased our satellite capacity in North America and certain Central and South American countries and added capability for aeronautical, enterprise and international broadband internet services. We also commenced the design and construction of a new, next-generation, high throughput geostationary satellite, with a planned 2021 launch, that is primarily intended to provide additional capacity for our HughesNet service in North, Central and South America as well as aeronautical and enterprise services. We expect that our expertise in the identification, acquisition and development of satellite spectrum and orbital rights and satellite operations, together with our increased satellite capacity and existing, acquired or developed infrastructure, will provide opportunities to enter new international markets and enhance our services to our existing customers. We currently provide satellite broadband internet service in Brazil and Colombia and expect to launch similar services in other Central and South American countries in 2018. We believe market opportunities exist that will facilitate the acquisition or leasing of additional satellite capacity which will enable us to provide services to a broader customer base, including providers of pay-TV services, satellite-delivered broadband, corporate communications, and government services.

Continue development of S-band and other hybrid spectrum resources. Commercial service has been available to customers on our EchoStar XXI satellite since the fourth quarter of 2017, and we believe we remain in a unique position to deploy a European wide mobile satellite service (“MSS”)/complementary ground component (“CGC”) network and maximize the long-term value of our S-band spectrum, in Europe and other regions within the scope of our licenses. We will also continue to explore development of S-band similar spectrum assets in additional international markets.

Develop improved and new technologies. Our engineering capabilities provide us with the opportunity to develop and deploy cutting edge technologies, license our technologies to others, and maintain a leading technological position in the industries in which we are active.

Continue to selectively explore new domestic and international strategic initiatives. We intend to continue to selectively explore opportunities to pursue investments, commercial alliances, partnerships, joint ventures, acquisitions and other strategic initiatives, domestically and internationally, that we believe may allow us to increase our existing market share, expand into new markets and new customers, broaden our portfolio of services, products and intellectual property, and strengthen our relationships with our customers. For example, our current agreement with WorldVu Satellites Limited (“OneWeb”), a global low-earth orbit (“LEO”) satellite service company, enables us to provide certain equipment and services in connection with the ground network system for OneWeb’s LEO satellites.

BUSINESS SEGMENTS

HUGHES SEGMENT

Our Products and Services

Our Hughes segment is a global provider of broadband satellite technologies and broadband internet services to domestic and international home and small office customers and broadband network technologies, managed services, equipment, hardware, satellite services and communications solutions to domestic and international consumers and aeronautical, enterprise and government customers. The Hughes segment also designs, provides and installs gateway and terminal equipment to customers for other satellite systems. In addition, our Hughes segment provides satellite ground segment systems and terminals to mobile system operators.

We incorporate 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.

We continue to focus our efforts on growing our consumer revenue by maximizing utilization of our existing satellites while planning for new satellites to be launched. Our consumer revenue growth depends on our success in adding new and retaining existing subscribers in our domestic and international markets across our wholesale and retail channels. The growth of our enterprise, including aeronautical, businesses relies heavily on global economic conditions and the competitive landscape for pricing relative to competitors and alternative technologies. Service costs related to ongoing support for our direct and indirect customers and partners are typically impacted most significantly by our growth.

Our Hughes segment currently uses capacity from our three satellites (the SPACEWAY 3 satellite, the EchoStar XVII satellite, and the EchoStar XIX satellite) and additional satellite capacity acquired from multiple third-party providers to provide services to our customers. Launched in December 2016, our EchoStar XIX satellite is a next-generation, high throughput geostationary satellite employing a multi-spot beam, bent pipe Ka-band architecture. It has provided and we expect it to continue to provide significant capacity for consumer subscriber growth, capacity for the Hughes broadband services to our customers in North America, capacity in certain Central and South American countries and capability for aeronautical and domestic and international enterprise broadband services.

We continue to expand our efforts to grow our consumer satellite services business outside of the U.S. In April 2014, we entered into a satellite services agreement pursuant to which Eutelsat do Brasil provides us Ka-band capacity into Brazil on the EUTELSAT 65 West A satellite for a 15-year term. That satellite was launched in March 2016 and we began delivering high-speed consumer satellite broadband services in Brazil in July 2016. In September 2015, we entered into satellite services agreements pursuant to which affiliates of Telesat Canada (“Telesat”) will provide to us the Ka-band capacity on a satellite to be located at the 63 degree west longitude orbital location for a 15-year term. We expect the satellite to be launched in the second quarter of 2018 and to augment the capacity being provided by the EUTELSAT 65 West A and EchoStar XIX satellites in Central and South America. We launched our consumer satellite broadband service in Colombia in the third quarter of 2017 and we expect to launch similar services in various other Central and South American countries in 2018.

In August 2017, we entered into a contract for the design and construction of a new, next-generation, high throughput geostationary satellite, with a planned 2021 launch, that is primarily intended to provide additional capacity for our HughesNet service in North, Central and South America as well as aeronautical and enterprise services. Capital expenditures associated with the construction and launch of this satellite are included in “Corporate and Other” in our segment reporting.

Our Customers

Our Hughes segment delivers broadband internet services and broadband satellite technologies to domestic and international home and small office customers. It also delivers broadband network technologies, managed services, equipment, hardware, satellite services and communications solutions to domestic and international consumers and aeronautical, enterprise and government customers. Examples of our enterprise, government and aeronautical customers include 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. In addition, our Hughes segment 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.

In October 2012, we entered into a distribution agreement (the “Distribution Agreement”) with dishNET Satellite Broadband L.L.C. (“dishNET”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of DISH Network, pursuant to which dishNET marketed, sold and distributed our Hughes satellite internet service (the “Hughes service”) under the dishNET brand. In March 2017, we entered into a master service agreement (the “MSA”) with DISH Network L.L.C. (“DNLLC”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of DISH pursuant to which DNLLC, among other things: (i) has the right, but not the obligation, to market, promote and solicit orders and upgrades for the Hughes satellite internet service and related equipment and other telecommunication services and (ii) will install Hughes service equipment with respect to activations generated by DNLLC. As a result of the MSA, we have not earned and do not expect to earn significant equipment revenue from our Distribution Agreement in the future. DISH Network accounted for 5.6%, 7.7% and 7.8% of our total Hughes segment revenue for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively. See Note 19 in the notes to consolidated financial statements in Item 15 of this report for further discussion of our related party transactions with DISH Network.

Developments toward the launch of next-generation satellite systems including low-earth orbit (“LEO”), medium-earth orbit (“MEO”) and geostationary systems could provide additional opportunities to drive the demand for our equipment, hardware, technology and services. We have an agreement with WorldVu Satellites Limited (“OneWeb”), a global LEO satellite service company, to provide certain equipment and services in connection with the ground network system for OneWeb’s LEO satellites. In November 2017, we began the production of OneWeb’s ground network system equipment and expect to begin delivering this equipment in the second half of 2018.

As of December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, our Hughes segment had approximately 1,208,000, 1,036,000 and 1,035,000 broadband subscribers, respectively. These broadband subscribers include customers that subscribe to our HughesNet broadband services in the U.S. and South America through retail, wholesale and small/medium enterprise service channels.

As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, our Hughes segment had approximately $1.62 billion and $1.52 billion, respectively, of contracted revenue backlog. We define Hughes contracted revenue backlog as our expected future revenue under customer contracts that are non-cancelable, excluding agreements with customers in our consumer market. Of the total contracted revenue backlog as of December 31, 2017, we expect to recognize approximately $424.7 million of revenue in 2018.

Our Competition

The network communications 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 markets, we compete against traditional telecommunications and wireless carriers, other satellite internet providers, as well as digital subscriber line (“DSL”), fiber and cable internet service providers offering competitive services in many markets we seek to serve. Cost, speed and accessibility are key determining factors in the selection of a service provider by the consumer. Our primary satellite competitor in our North American consumer market is ViaSat Communications, Inc. (“ViaSat Communications”), which is owned by ViaSat, Inc. (“ViaSat”). We seek to differentiate ourselves based on the ubiquitous availability of our service, quality, proprietary technology, and distribution channels.

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

Our principal competitors for the supply of very-small-aperture terminal (“VSAT”) satellite networks are Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd, ViaSat, Newtec Cy N.V. and VT iDirect, Inc. (formerly known as iDirect Technologies, 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.

Manufacturing

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.

ECHOSTAR SATELLITE SERVICES SEGMENT

Our Services

Our ESS segment is a global provider of satellite service operations and video delivery solutions. We operate our business using our owned and leased in-orbit satellites and related licenses. Revenue growth in our ESS segment depends largely on our ability to continuously make satellite capacity available for sale. We provide satellite service operations and video delivery solutions on a full-time and occasional-use basis primarily to DISH Network, Dish Mexico, U.S. government service providers, internet service providers, broadcast news organizations, programmers, and private enterprise customers. We also manage satellite operations for certain satellites owned by DISH Network. Our satellite capacity is currently used by our customers for a variety of applications:

•	DTH Services. We provide satellite capacity and satellite services to satellite TV providers, broadcasters and programmers who use our satellites to deliver programming. Our satellites are also used for the transmission of live sporting events, internet access, disaster recovery, and satellite news gathering services.

•	Government Services. We provide satellite and technical services to U.S. government service providers. We believe the U.S. government may increase its use of commercial satellites for homeland security, emergency response, continuing education, distance learning, and training.

•	Network Services. We provide satellite capacity and terrestrial network services to companies. These networks are dedicated private networks that allow delivery of video and data services for corporate communications. Our satellites can be used for point-to-point or point to multi-point communications.

We are pursuing expanding our business offerings by providing value added services such as telemetry, tracking, and control services to third parties, which leverage the ground monitoring networks and personnel currently within our ESS segment.

In August 2014, we entered into: (i) a contract with Airbus Defence and Space SAS for the construction of the EchoStar 105/SES-11 satellite with C-, Ku- and Ka-band payloads; (ii) an agreement with SES Satellite Leasing Limited for the procurement of the related launch services; and (iii) an agreement with SES Americom Inc. (“SES”) pursuant to which we transferred the title to the payloads to two affiliates of SES. We retained the right to use the entire Ku-band payload on the satellite for an initial ten-year term, with an option for us to renew the agreement on a year-to-year basis. The EchoStar 105/SES-11 satellite was launched in October 2017 and placed into service in November 2017 at the 105 degree west longitude orbital location. Our Ku-band payload on the EchoStar 105/SES-11 satellite replaces and augments the capacity we had on the AMC-15 satellite, resulting in additional sales capacity. We transferred activities from the AMC-15 satellite to the EchoStar 105/SES-11 satellite in the fourth quarter of 2017.

Our Customers

We provide satellite capacity on our satellite fleet primarily to DISH Network, Dish Mexico, U.S. government service providers, internet service providers, broadcast news organizations, programmers and private enterprise customers. For the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, DISH Network accounted for approximately 87.9%, 85.7% and 86.3% of our total ESS segment revenue. We have entered into certain commercial agreements with DISH Network pursuant to which we are obligated to provide DISH Network with satellite services at fixed prices for varying lengths of time depending on the satellite. See Note 19 in the notes to consolidated financial statements in Item 15 of this report for further discussion of our related party transactions with DISH Network. We depend on DISH Network for a significant portion of the revenue for our ESS segment, and we expect that DISH Network will continue to be the primary source of revenue for our ESS segment. Therefore, the results of operations of our ESS segment are linked to changes in DISH Network’s satellite capacity requirements. DISH Network’s capacity requirements have been driven by the addition of new channels and migration of

programming to high-definition TV and video on demand services. The services that we provide to DISH Network are critical to its nationwide delivery of content to its customers across the U.S. While we expect to continue to provide satellite services to DISH Network, its satellite capacity requirements may change for a variety of reasons, including its ability to construct and launch its own satellites. Any termination or reduction in the services we provide to DISH Network may cause us to have unused capacity on our satellites and require that we aggressively pursue alternative sources of revenue for this business. The agreement with DISH Network for satellite services relative to the EchoStar VII satellite expires in June 2018. DISH Network has not renewed the agreement past such date which may have a significant impact on our operating results in the future.

At each of December 31, 2017 and 2016, our ESS segment had contracted revenue backlog attributable to satellites currently in orbit of approximately $1.16 billion. Of the total contracted revenue backlog as of December 31, 2017, we expect to recognize approximately $332.9 million of revenue in 2018.

Our Competition

In the fixed satellite services market, our ESS segment competes against larger, well-established satellite service companies, such as Intelsat S.A. (“Intelsat”), SES S.A., Inmarsat plc, Telesat, Eutelsat Communications S.A. (“Eutelsat”), Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company Limited and the direct-to-home (DTH) satellite business of AT&T, Inc., 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 competition and competitive pricing.

OTHER BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

Our industry continues to evolve with the increasing worldwide demand for broadband internet access for information, entertainment and commerce. In addition to fiber and wireless systems, other technologies such as geostationary high throughput satellites, LEO networks, balloons, and High Altitude Platform Systems are playing 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, entertainment and commerce in North America and internationally for consumers as well as aeronautical, enterprise and government customers.

We are tracking closely the developments in next-generation satellite businesses, and we are seeking to utilize our services, technologies and expertise to find new commercial opportunities for our business. Since June 2015 we have had an equity investment in OneWeb.

We intend to continue to selectively explore opportunities to pursue investments, commercial alliances, partnerships, joint ventures, acquisitions and other strategic initiatives, domestically and internationally, that we believe may allow us to increase our existing market share, expand into new markets and new customers, broaden our portfolio of services, products and intellectual property, and strengthen our relationships with our customers. We may allocate significant resources for long-term initiatives that may not have a short or medium-term or any positive impact on our revenue, results of operations, or cash flow.

In 2012, we acquired the right to use various frequencies at the 45 degree west longitude orbital location (“Brazilian Authorization”) from ANATEL, the Brazilian communications regulatory agency. The Brazilian Authorization currently provides us the rights to utilize Ku-band spectrum. In April 2014, we entered into an agreement with Space Systems Loral, LLC for the construction of the EchoStar XXIII satellite, a high powered broadcast satellite service satellite. The EchoStar XXIII satellite was launched in March 2017 and placed into service at the 45 degree west longitude orbital location in the second quarter of 2017. We had regulatory obligations to meet certain in-service milestones by the second quarter of 2017 for our Brazilian license at the 45 degree west longitude orbital location for the Ka-, Ku- and S-band frequencies. We have satisfied our regulatory obligations for the Ku-band frequency. On October 5, 2017, ANATEL declined our request to extend our milestone deadlines for the S- band and Ka- band frequencies and, as a result, we do not have the right to use such frequency bands in Brazil. We may be subject to penalties as a result of our failure to meet these milestones.

In December 2013, we acquired 100% of Solaris Mobile, which is based in Dublin, Ireland and licensed by the European Union and its member states (“EU”) to provide MSS and CGC services covering the entire EU using S-band spectrum. Solaris Mobile changed its name to EchoStar Mobile Limited (“EchoStar Mobile”) in the first quarter of 2015. The EchoStar XXI satellite was launched in June 2017 and placed into service in November 2017. Commercial service has been available on our EchoStar XXI satellite since the fourth quarter of 2017. The EchoStar XXI satellite provides space segment capacity to EchoStar Mobile in the EU. We believe we are in a unique position to deploy a European wide MSS/CGC network and maximize the long-term value of our S-band spectrum in Europe and other regions within the scope of our licenses.

Capital expenditures associated with the construction and launch of the EchoStar XXI, EchoStar XXIII and EchoStar XXIV satellites are included in “Corporate and Other” in our segment reporting.

OUR SATELLITE FLEET

Our operating satellite fleet consists of both owned and leased satellites detailed in the table below as of December 31, 2017.

Satellites		Segment		Launch Date		Nominal Degree Orbital Location (Longitude)		Depreciable Life (In Years)
Owned:
SPACEWAY 3 (1)		Hughes		August 2007		95 W		12
EchoStar XVII		Hughes		July 2012		107 W		15
EchoStar XIX		Hughes		December 2016		97.1 W		15
EchoStar I (2)(3)(4)(7)		ESS		December 1995		77 W		—
EchoStar VI (4)(7)		ESS		July 2000		96.2 W		12
EchoStar VII (2)(3)(4)		ESS		February 2002		119 W		3
EchoStar IX (2)(4)		ESS		August 2003		121 W		12
EchoStar X (2)(3)		ESS		February 2006		110 W		7
EchoStar XI (2)(3)		ESS		July 2008		110 W		9
EchoStar XII (2)(4)(5)		ESS		July 2003		61.5 W		2
EchoStar XIV (2)(3)		ESS		March 2010		119 W		11
EchoStar XVI (2)		ESS		November 2012		61.5 W		15
EchoStar XXI		Corporate and Other		June 2017		10.25 E		15
EchoStar XXIII		Corporate and Other		March 2017		45 W		15
EUTELSAT 10A (“W2A”) (6)		Corporate and Other		April 2009		10 E		—
Capital Leases:
Nimiq 5 (2)		ESS		September 2009		72.7 W		15
QuetzSat-1 (2)		ESS		September 2011		77 W		10
Eutelsat 65 West A		Hughes		March 2016		65 W		15
EchoStar 105/SES-11		ESS		October 2017		105 W		15

(1) Depreciable life represents the remaining useful life as of June 8, 2011, the date EchoStar completed its acquisition of Hughes Communications, Inc. and its subsidiaries.

(2)	See Note 19 in the notes to consolidated financial statements in Item 15 of this report for discussion of related party transactions with DISH Network.

(3) Depreciable life represents the remaining useful life as of March 1, 2014, the effective date of our receipt of the satellites from DISH Network as part of the Satellite and Tracking Stock Transaction (See Note 19 in the notes to consolidated financial statements in Item 15 of this report).

(4) Fully depreciated assets as of December 31, 2017.

(5) Depreciable life represents the remaining useful life as of June 30, 2013, the date the EchoStar XII satellite was impaired.

(6) The Company acquired the S-band payload on this satellite, which prior to the acquisition in December 2013, experienced an anomaly at the time of the launch. As a result, the S-band payload is not fully operational.

(7) The EchoStar I satellite was retired in January 2018 and the EchoStar VI satellite is expected to be retired in the second quarter of 2018.

Construction in progress included the following owned and leased satellites under construction as of December 31, 2017.

Satellites		Segment		Expected Launch Date
Telesat T19V (“63 West”) (1)		Hughes		Second quarter of 2018
EchoStar XXIV		Corporate and Other		2021

(1) We entered into an agreement for certain capacity on this satellite once launched, but are not party to the construction contract.

Recent Developments

EchoStar I. The EchoStar I satellite was removed from its orbital location and retired from commercial service in January 2018. This retirement is not expected to have a material impact on our results of operations or financial position.

EchoStar VI. We expect to remove the EchoStar VI satellite from its orbital location and retire it from commercial service in the second quarter of 2018. This retirement is not expected to have a material impact on our results of operations or financial position.

EchoStar 105/SES-11 and AMC-15. The EchoStar 105/SES-11 satellite was launched in October 2017 and was placed into service in November 2017 at the 105 degree west longitude orbital location. Our leased Ku-band payload on the EchoStar 105/SES-11 satellite has replaced the capacity we had on the AMC-15 satellite. Our agreement for satellite services on certain transponders on the AMC-15 satellite terminated according to its terms in December 2017.

EchoStar XXI. The EchoStar XXI satellite was launched in June 2017 and was placed into service in November 2017 at the 10.25 degree east longitude orbital location. The EchoStar XXI satellite provides space segment capacity to EchoStar Mobile Limited in Europe.

EchoStar III. In July 2017, the EchoStar III satellite experienced an anomaly that caused communications with the satellite to be interrupted resulting in a loss of control. We regained communications with and control of the EchoStar III satellite and retired the satellite from commercial service in August 2017. This retirement has not had, and is not expected to have, a material impact on our results of operations or financial position.

EchoStar VIII. During the second quarter of 2017, the EchoStar VIII satellite was removed from its orbital location and retired from commercial service. This retirement has not had, and is not expected to have, a material impact on our results of operations or financial position.

EchoStar XXIII. The EchoStar XXIII satellite, a Ku-band broadcast satellite services satellite, was launched in March 2017 and placed into service at the 45 degree west longitude orbital location in May 2017.

EchoStar XIX. The EchoStar XIX satellite was launched in December 2016 and placed into service in March 2017 at the 97.1 degree west longitude orbital location. The EchoStar XIX satellite provides capacity for the Hughes broadband services to our customers in North America, capacity in certain Central and South American countries and capability for aeronautical, enterprise and international broadband services. EchoStar contributed the EchoStar XIX satellite to its Hughes segment in February 2017.

Satellite Anomalies and Impairments

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, 2017. There can be no assurance, however, that anomalies will not have any such adverse impacts 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 in-orbit satellites were to fail.

EchoStar X experienced anomalies in the past which affected seven solar array circuits. In December 2017, EchoStar X experienced anomalies which affected one additional solar array circuit reducing the number of functional solar array circuits to 16. While these anomalies did not significantly impact commercial operation or remaining useful life of the satellite or our operating results or financial position for the year ended December 31, 2017, we do expect a loss of future revenue on this satellite as a result of such anomalies.

We historically have not carried in-orbit insurance on our satellites because we assessed that the cost of insurance was uneconomical relative to the risk of failures. Therefore, we generally bear the risk of any in-orbit failures. Pursuant to the terms of the agreements governing certain portions of our indebtedness, we are required, subject to certain limitations on coverage, to maintain in-orbit insurance for our SPACEWAY 3, EchoStar XVI, and EchoStar XVII satellites. Based on economic analysis of the current insurance market we obtained launch plus one year in-orbit insurance, subject to certain limitations, for the EchoStar XIX, EchoStar XXI and EchoStar XXIII satellites. Additionally, we obtained certain launch and in-orbit insurance for our interest in the EchoStar 105/SES-11 satellite. Our other satellites, 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 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.

GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS

We are subject to comprehensive regulation by the FCC for our domestic, as well as various international, satellite and telecommunications operations and equipment businesses. We are also regulated by other U.S. federal agencies, state and local authorities, the International Telecommunication Union (“ITU”), and certain foreign governments, including those in the EU and North, South and Central American countries. In addition, we are also subject to the export control laws and regulations and trade sanctions laws and regulations of the U.S. and other countries with respect to the export of telecommunications equipment and services. Depending upon the circumstances, noncompliance with applicable legislation or regulations could result in suspension or revocation of our licenses or authorizations, the termination or loss of contracts or the imposition of contractual damages, civil fines or criminal penalties.

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.

FCC Regulations Applicable to Our Operations

FCC Jurisdiction over Satellite and Terrestrial Operations. Non-governmental, including commercial entities, that use radio frequencies to provide communications services to, from or within the U.S. are subject to the jurisdiction of the FCC under the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (the “Communications Act”). The Communications Act gives the FCC regulatory jurisdiction over many areas relating to communications operations, including:

•	the assignment of satellite radio frequencies and orbital locations to specific services and companies, the licensing of satellites and earth stations, and the granting of related authorizations;

•	approval for the relocation of satellites to different orbital locations, the replacement of a satellite with another new or existing satellite, and the authorization of specific earth stations to communicate with such newly relocated satellites;

•	ensuring compliance with the terms and conditions of assignments, licenses, authorizations, and approvals;

•	avoiding harmful interference with other radio frequency emitters; and

•	ensuring compliance with other applicable provisions of the Communications Act and FCC rules and regulations.

All satellite licenses issued by the FCC are subject to expiration unless extended by the FCC. The term of each of our U.S. direct broadcast satellite (“DBS”) licenses is 10 years, and our U.S. fixed satellite services (“FSS”) licenses generally have 15 year terms. We hold licenses and authorizations for satellite and earth stations as well as other services, including terrestrial wireless 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, implementation bonds, annual regulatory fees and various reporting requirements. A license must be obtained prior to launching or operating a satellite.

Telecommunications Regulation. Many of the services we provide are also subject to FCC regulation as telecommunications services. For certain services in the U.S., we are required to contribute fees, computed as a percentage of our revenue from telecommunications services to the Universal Service Fund (“USF”) to support mechanisms that subsidize the provision of services to low-income consumers, high-cost areas, schools, libraries, and rural health care providers. Current FCC rules permit us to pass this USF contribution through to our customers. The FCC also requires broadband internet access and internet telephony service providers to comply with the requirements of the Federal Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (“CALEA”). CALEA generally requires telecommunications carriers to ensure that law enforcement agencies are able to conduct l

awfully-authorized surveillance of users of their services. In addition, as a provider of interconnected voice over internet protocol services (“VOIP”), we are required to abide by a number of rules related to telephony service, including rules dealing with the protection of customer information and the processing of emergency calls.

State and Local Regulation

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 VSATs 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.

International Regulation

Foreign Administrations’ Jurisdiction Over Satellite and Terrestrial Operations. Some of our satellites and earth stations are licensed in foreign jurisdictions. We also have terrestrial authorizations in foreign jurisdictions. In order to provide service to a foreign location from a U.S. satellite, we are required to obtain approvals from the FCC and foreign administrative agencies. The laws and regulations addressing access to satellite and terrestrial systems vary from country to country. In most countries, a license is required to provide our services and to operate satellite earth stations. Such licenses may impose certain conditions, including implementation and operation of the satellite system in a manner consistent with certain milestones (such as for contracting, satellite design, construction, launch, and implementation of service), that the satellite or its launch be procured through a national entity, that the satellite control center be located in national territory, that a license be obtained prior to launching or operating the satellite, or that a license be obtained before interconnecting with the local switched telephone network. Some countries may have restrictions on the services we provide and how we provide them. In addition, certain countries may limit the rates that can be charged for the services we provide or impose other service terms or restrictions. Furthermore, foreign countries in which we currently, or may in the future, operate may not authorize us access to all of the spectrum that we need to provide service in a particular country.

The ITU Frequency and Orbital Location Registration. The orbital location and frequencies for our satellites are subject to the frequency registration and coordination process of the ITU. The ITU Radio Regulations define the international rules, regulations, and rights for a satellite and associated earth stations to use specific radio frequencies at a specific orbital location. These rules, which include deadlines for the bringing of satellite networks into use, differ depending on the type of service to be provided and the frequencies to be used by the satellite. On our behalf, various countries have made, and may in the future make, additional filings for the frequency assignments at particular orbital locations that are used or to be used by our current satellite networks and potential future satellite networks we may build or acquire. In the event the international coordination process that is triggered by ITU filings under applicable rules is not successfully completed, or that the requests for modification of the broadcast satellite service (“BSS”) plan regarding the allocation of orbital locations and frequencies are not granted by the ITU, we will have to operate the applicable satellite(s) on a non-interference basis, which could have an adverse impact on our business operations. If we cannot do so, we may have to cease operating such satellite(s) at the affected orbital locations. We cannot be sure of the successful outcome of these ITU coordination processes. We make commercially reasonable efforts to cooperate with the filing nation in the preparation of ITU filings, coordination of our operations in accordance with the relevant ITU Radio Regulations, and responses to relevant ITU inquiries.

Registration in the UN Registry of Space Objects. The U.S. and other jurisdictions in which we license satellites are generally parties to the United Nations (“UN”) Convention on the Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space (“UN Convention”). The UN Convention requires a satellite’s launching state to register the satellite as a space object. The act of registration carries liability for the registering country in the event that the satellite causes third party damage. Administrations may place certain requirements on satellite licensees in order to procure the necessary launch or operational authorizations that accompany registration of the satellite. In some jurisdictions, these authorizations are separate and distinct, with unique requirements, from the authorization to use a set of frequencies to provide satellite services.

Telecommunications Regulation. Many of the services we provide are also subject to the regulation of other countries as telecommunications services. For certain services, we may be required to contribute fees to a universal service or other fund to support mechanisms that subsidize the provision of services to designated groups. Many countries also impose requirements on telecommunications carriers to ensure that law enforcement agencies are able to conduct lawfully-authorized surveillance of users of their services. In addition, we are subject to a number of other rules, including rules related to telephony service such as the protection of customer information and processing of emergency calls.

Export Control Regulation

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 other similar foreign regulations, which generally prohibits 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.

Environmental Regulation

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 (“RCRA”) and the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (“EPCRA”). Under the RCRA, 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 SARA 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 2018. 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.

PATENTS AND TRADEMARKS

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 report for more information.

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT AND ENGINEERING

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.

Costs incurred in research and development activities generally are expensed as incurred. A significant portion of our research and development costs are incurred in connection with the specific requirements of a customer’s order. In such instances, the amounts for these customer funded development efforts are included in cost of sales. Cost of sales includes research and development costs incurred in connection with customers’ orders of approximately $27.9 million, $23.7 million and $19.6 million for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively. In addition, we incurred other research and development expenses of approximately $31.7 million, $31.2 million and $26.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively.

GEOGRAPHIC AREA DATA AND TRANSACTIONS WITH MAJOR CUSTOMERS

For principal geographic area data and transactions with major customers for 2017, 2016 and 2015, see Note 17 in the notes to consolidated financial statements in Item 15 of this report. See Item 1A. — Risk Factors for information regarding risks related to our foreign operations.

EMPLOYEES

As of December 31, 2017, we had approximately 2,100 employees and generally consider relations with them to be good. Other than approximately 170 of our employees located in Italy and Brazil, none are represented by a union.

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

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 Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The public may read and copy any materials filed with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, D.C. 20549. Please call the SEC at (800) SEC-0330 for further information on the operation of the Public Reference Room. As an electronic filer, our public filings are also maintained on the SEC’s internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC. The address of that website is http://www.sec.gov.

WEBSITE ACCESS

Our annual report on 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 as soon as reasonably practicable after we have electronically filed such material with, or furnished it to, the SEC. The address of that website is http://www.echostar.com.

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.

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS OF THE REGISTRANT

(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:

Name		Age		Position
Charles W. Ergen		64		Chairman
Michael T. Dugan		69		Chief Executive Officer, President and Director
David J. Rayner		60		Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Treasurer
Anders N. Johnson		60		Chief Strategy Officer and President, EchoStar Satellite Services L.L.C.
Pradman P. Kaul		71		President, Hughes Communications, Inc. and Director
Kranti K. Kilaru		52		Executive Vice President
Dean A. Manson		51		Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary

Charles W. Ergen. Mr. Ergen has served as our executive Chairman since November 2009 and Chairman of the Board of Directors since our formation in 2007. Mr. Ergen served as our Chief Executive Officer from our formation in 2007 until November 2009. Mr. Ergen serves as executive Chairman and has been Chairman of the Board of Directors of DISH Network since its formation and, during the past five years, has held executive officer and director positions with DISH Network and its subsidiaries, most recently serving as the Chief Executive Officer of DISH Network from March 2015 to December 2017.

Michael T. Dugan. Mr. Dugan has served as our Chief Executive Officer and President since November 2009. Mr. Dugan has also served as a member of our Board of Directors since our formation in 2007. Mr. Dugan served as a senior advisor to EchoStar from January 1, 2008 until November 2009. From May 2004 to December 2007, he was a director of DISH Network and from 1990 to 2006 served in several executive roles at DISH Network, including as President, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Technical Officer and senior advisor.

David J. Rayner. Mr. Rayner has served as our Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Treasurer since December 2012 and as our Chief Operating Officer since September 2016. From November 2011 to November 2012, Mr. Rayner served as Chief Financial Officer of Tendril Networks, Inc., a Boulder, Colorado software company. Mr. Rayner served as our Chief Financial Officer from June 2010 to November 2011 and served as our Chief Administrative Officer from January 2008 to June 2010. Prior to that, Mr. Rayner served as Executive Vice President of Installation and Service Networks of DISH Network and previously as Chief Financial Officer of DISH Network. Before joining DISH Network in December 2004, Mr. Rayner served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Time Warner Telecom in Denver, beginning in June 1998.

Anders N. Johnson. Mr. Johnson has served as President of EchoStar Satellite Services L.L.C. since June 2011 and as our Chief Strategy Officer since September 2016. Before joining EchoStar, Mr. Johnson was most recently at SES World Skies where he served as Senior Vice President of Strategic Satellite Development. Mr. Johnson joined SES GLOBAL after the combination of GE Americom and SES GLOBAL in 2001. Prior to SES GLOBAL, Mr. Johnson worked at GE Capital beginning in 1985 in a variety of executive level roles in Satellite Services, Aviation Services, and Transportation & Industrial Financing.

Pradman P. Kaul. Mr. Kaul has served as President of Hughes Communications, Inc. (“Hughes Communications”) since its formation in February 2006, and as President of Hughes Network Systems, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hughes Communications (“HNS” and, together with Hughes Communications, “Hughes”) since 2000. Mr. Kaul has also served as a member of our Board of Directors since August 2011 as well as a member of the board of directors of Hughes Communications from February 2006 until June 2011. Previously, Mr. Kaul served as the Chief Operating Officer, Executive Vice President and Director of Engineering of HNS.

Kranti K. Kilaru. Mr. Kilaru has served as an Executive Vice President since May 2017 and from July 2013 until May 2017 as our Executive Vice President, Business Systems, IT and Operations. Mr. Kilaru served as Senior Vice President of our systems engineering group from April 2005 to July 2013.

Dean A. Manson. Mr. Manson has served as our Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary since November 2011. Mr. Manson also serves as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Hughes Communications. Mr. Manson joined Hughes in 2000 from the law firm of Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP, where he focused on international project finance and corporate transactions, and was appointed General Counsel of Hughes in 2004.

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.