Exhibit 10.1

 

MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING

 

1.1                                Objective.  This memorandum of understanding,
including the attached Exhibit A (including all Schedules attached thereto)
(“MOU”) dated as of May 6, 2011 (the “Effective Date”) sets out the key business
and commercial terms that will be reflected in a definitive agreement to be
entered into by and among EchoStar Global B.V. (“EchoStar”); solely with respect
to its guarantee set forth in Section 1 of Exhibit A to the MOU, EchoStar
Technologies L.L.C. (“ETLLC”); Bell ExpressVu Inc., in its capacity as general
partner of Bell ExpressVu Limited Partnership (“Bell ExpressVu”); Bell Mobility
Inc. (“BMI”); and Bell Canada (“BC”).  For the purposes of this MOU, the term
“Bell Parties” or “Bell” shall refer to Bell ExpressVu, BMI and BC.

 

1.2                                Binding Nature.   The Bell Parties and
EchoStar (each a “Party” and together, the “Parties”) agree to be bound by this
MOU, which shall govern the relationship between the Parties with respect to the
matters set forth herein until such time as the Definitive Agreement is entered
into.

 

1.3                                 Definitive Agreement.  Immediately upon
execution of this MOU, the Parties shall negotiate, in good faith and in a
commercially reasonable manner, an amendment to the Exclusivity Amendment to the
Pricing Agreement entered into as of February 6, 2009 and effective as of
December 12, 2008 or such other applicable or appropriate agreement(s) necessary
to reflect the key business and commercial terms contemplated by this MOU (the
“Definitive Agreement”).  The Parties shall use commercially reasonable efforts
to finalize and execute the Definitive Agreement within *** of the Effective
Date.  The Definitive Agreement shall include terms and conditions reflecting
those set forth herein and in the attached Exhibit A to this MOU.

 

1.4                                 Term.  The term of this MOU shall begin on
the Effective Date and end upon the execution of the Definitive Agreement.  This
MOU shall be superseded and replaced upon the execution and delivery of the
Definitive Agreement by both Parties.

 

1.5                                 No Admission of Liability.  The Parties
agree that execution of this MOU by the Bell Parties and compliance with its
terms, as provided herein and in Exhibit A, ***, do not constitute an admission
of liability or wrongdoing on the part of any party.

 

1.6                                 Governing Law.  This MOU shall be governed
by and construed in accordance with the laws in force in the state of New York.

 

1.7                                 Assignment.  Neither this MOU nor any of the
rights or obligations of a Party may be assigned without the prior written
consent of the other Party. Notwithstanding the foregoing, either Party may
assign this Agreement to an Affiliate (as defined in the System Agreement) in
connection with a corporate re-organization without the other Party’s consent;
provided that the assigning Party gives notice of the assignment to the other
Party.

 

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***Certain confidential portions of this exhibit were omitted by means of
redacting a portion of the text. Copies of the exhibit containing the redacted
portions have been filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission
subject to a request for confidential treatment pursuant to Rule 24b-2 under the
Securities Exchange Act.

 

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1.8                                 Confidentiality.  The terms and conditions
of this MOU, including all discussions between the Parties related thereto,
shall be subject to Section 34.1 of the System Agreement dated January 8, 1997
among Houston Tracker Systems, Inc. (now EchoStar Technologies L.L.C.), EchoStar
Satellite Corporation (now DISH Network L.L.C.) and ExpressVu Inc. (now Bell
ExpressVu) (the “System Agreement”).

 

1.9                                 Further Assurances.  From time to time, each
Party shall, at the request of the other Party and with reasonable diligence,
execute and deliver such additional documents or instruments as may be
reasonably necessary to carry out the terms of this MOU or the Definitive
Agreement.

 

1.10                           Severability.  If any provision of this MOU or
the Definitive Agreement is held invalid or unenforceable for any reason, such
invalidity shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions of this MOU
or the Definitive Agreement, each of which shall be valid and be enforced to the
fullest extent permitted by law and the Parties shall substitute for the invalid
provision a valid provision which most closely approximates the intent and
economic effect of the invalid provision.

 

1.11                           Counterparts.   This MOU may be executed in
counterparts and when each Party has executed an identical counterpart and
delivered a copy thereof to the other Party (by personal delivery or facsimile
transmission), then all the counterparts taken together shall be deemed to
constitute a single identical agreement dated as of the Effective Date. 
Electronically scanned signature pages shall be treated as originals, provided
that delivery shall occur only upon receipt by the other Party and that, if
requested by the other Party, the Party delivering signatures will also deliver
an original copy of its signature page or a copy by facsimile transmission with
confirmation of receipt.

 

1.12                           Survival.  Any Sections or provisions of this MOU
that, expressly or by their nature, are intended to survive termination or
expiration of this MOU shall continue to be in effect after expiration or
termination of this MOU.

 

THE REMAINDER OF THIS PAGE IS INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK.

 

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***Certain confidential portions of this exhibit were omitted by means of
redacting a portion of the text. Copies of the exhibit containing the redacted
portions have been filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission
subject to a request for confidential treatment pursuant to Rule 24b-2 under the
Securities Exchange Act.

 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF this MOU has been executed by the Parties as of the Effective
Date.

 

BELL EXPRESSVU INC.,

 

in its capacity as general partner of

 

BELL EXPRESSVU LIMITED PARTNERSHIP

 

 

 

 

 

Name:

 

Title:

 

 

 

 

 

BELL CANADA

 

 

 

 

 

Name:

 

Title:

 

 

 

 

 

BELL MOBILITY INC.

 

 

 

 

 

Name:

 

Title:

 

 

 

 

 

ECHOSTAR GLOBAL B.V.

 

 

 

 

 

Name:

 

Title:

 

 

 

Solely with respect to its guarantee set forth in Section 1 of Exhibit A to the
MOU,

 

 

ECHOSTAR TECHNOLOGIES L.L.C.

 

 

 

 

 

Name:

 

Title:

 

 

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***Certain confidential portions of this exhibit were omitted by means of
redacting a portion of the text. Copies of the exhibit containing the redacted
portions have been filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission
subject to a request for confidential treatment pursuant to Rule 24b-2 under the
Securities Exchange Act.

 

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EXHIBIT A

 

***

 

1.                                      Canadian Shipment License ***

 

a.                                       EchoStar represents and warrants to
Bell each of the following:

 

1.                                       The attached Schedule A excerpts from
EchoStar’s settlement agreement that EchoStar Corporation entered into with  ***
(the “Settlement”), pursuant to which EchoStar Corporation and its Subsidiaries
(as that term is defined in the Settlement)  are-granted certain licenses and
releases, the relevant terms and conditions, negotiated by or on behalf of
EchoStar in relation to certain EchoStar products-delivered to Bell in the past
and to be delivered in the future, concerning the grant to Bell ***.

 

2.                                       *** are a true and correct compilation
of such terms and conditions as contained in the Settlement. ***

 

3.                                       There is no separate, corollary,
ancillary or other agreement outside of the Settlement between *** and EchoStar
Corporation, on behalf of itself and on behalf of EchoStar that contain rights
or remedies that, if exercised, would have an adverse impact on the benefit of
the release, license and defense rights granted to ***

 

4.                                       ***

 

5.                                       *** as of the date of execution of the
MOU to which this Exhibit A is attached.

 

6.                                       For the duration of the Term (as that
term is defined in the Settlement) and except as contemplated in this MOU, ***
shall not be required to pay any further monies, credits or other forms of
consideration ***.

 

b.                                      Bell and EchoStar agree that, subject to
Bell’s compliance with the payment terms set out in Section 2 below of this
Exhibit A, *** (as defined below) set out in Schedule A and B to this Exhibit,
respectively, shall survive expiry of the Definitive Agreement and continue to
be in force until the expiry of ***.

 

c.                                       ***

 

d.                                      The Bell Parties represent, warrant, and
covenant to EchoStar that they will comply with***.

 

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***Certain confidential portions of this exhibit were omitted by means of
redacting a portion of the text. Copies of the exhibit containing the redacted
portions have been filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission
subject to a request for confidential treatment pursuant to Rule 24b-2 under the
Securities Exchange Act.

 

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e.                                       EchoStar will indemnify Bell against
any damages suffered by Bell as a result of claims brought by third parties
resulting from: (i) a breach by EchoStar or any of its Affiliates of the above
representations and warranties; or (ii) a breach by EchoStar or any of its
Affiliates of the Settlement ***.

 

***

 

2.                                      Payment Terms

In consideration for *** shall pay ***.

 

***

 

***

 

***

 

EchoStar represents to Bell that EchoStar Global B.V. is a resident of
Netherlands for purposes of the Income Tax Convention between Canada and
Netherlands (the “Convention”) and further that EchoStar Global B.V. is entitled
to the relevant benefits/articles of the Convention at the date of this MOU. 
EchoStar will notify Bell of any change to the foregoing information that may
occur whether due to a change in EchoStar Global B.V.’s tax residency status,
reorganization, change of control, permitted assignment, or otherwise.  In the
event that after any such change Bell believes that it is required to withhold
any tax from the payments to EchoStar pursuant to this Section, Bell shall have
the right to do so without any gross up requirement, provided that Bell shall
first consult with EchoStar to ensure that all factors relevant to the
determination have been taken into account.

 

Extension of Exclusivity Agreement

 

1.                                      Exclusivity Term

The Exclusivity Period (as defined in the Exclusivity Amendment to the Pricing
Agreement effective as of December 12, 2008 among the Bell Parties and EchoStar
(as successor to ETLLC) (the “Exclusivity Amendment”))  is extended for 2 years,
for the years 2012 through 2013 (the  “Extended Exclusivity Period”).

 

2.                                      EchoStar Product Roadmap

EchoStar and the Bell Parties agree that they will use commercially reasonable
efforts to meet the following dates:

 

***

 

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***Certain confidential portions of this exhibit were omitted by means of
redacting a portion of the text. Copies of the exhibit containing the redacted
portions have been filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission
subject to a request for confidential treatment pursuant to Rule 24b-2 under the
Securities Exchange Act.

 

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3.                                      Pricing

EchoStar is offering the Bell Parties the following hardware and service prices
in exchange for vendor exclusivity for STB (as defined in the Exclusivity
Amendment) purchases throughout the Extended Exclusivity Period.  Exceptions in
the Exclusivity Amendment to the scope of STB exclusivity to remain.

 

a.               Hardware

 

1.               Set-Top Box Pricing

 

***

 

The pricing listed above assumes the following hardware modifications:

 

***

 

2.               Accessory Pricing will be negotiated in good faith before ***.

 

b.               ***

 

4.                                      Annual Service Fee

The Service Fee (as defined in the Pricing Agreement) will ***. The Service Fee
includes the same level of services as provided in the current Exclusivity
Amendment plus the following:

 

***

 

5.                                      Specific Purchase Considerations

 

a.               Warranty Term

The warranty term on new STBs purchased throughout the term of the Extended
Exclusivity Period will be ***.

 

b.               Energy Star Compliance

STB hardware will support Energy Star.

 

c.               HDQAM Support on New Product

 

6.                                      Vendor Managed Inventory (“VMI”)

 

d.               EchoStar and Bell agree to the following inventory management
changes:

 

EchoStar will manufacture and store adequate inventory levels at the Unigistix
warehouse in Toronto ON to meet Bell’s forecasted needs.  Bell must take receipt
of EchoStar inventory within *** of it being warehoused.  The ordering process
and fulfillment process will be negotiated in good faith but will not include
EDI.  Payment terms under the VMI model are ***.

 

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***Certain confidential portions of this exhibit were omitted by means of
redacting a portion of the text. Copies of the exhibit containing the redacted
portions have been filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission
subject to a request for confidential treatment pursuant to Rule 24b-2 under the
Securities Exchange Act.

 

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7.                                      ***

 

a.               Purpose:                                               Purchase
of additional ***

 

b.               Acknowledgement(s):

 

1.               The Exclusivity Amendment originally provided ***.

 

2.               As of the date of this MOU, Bell ExpressVu has purchased (or
plans to purchase per its purchase orders and forecast) the following quantities
:

 

***

 

3.               The purchase price for the *** currently is ***.

 

c.               Term(s):

 

1.               EchoStar plans to launch the new STB *** on ***.  This will be
the replacement  receiver for the ***.

 

2.               Bell ExpressVu will purchase *** in place of the *** when made
available by EchoStar. ***

 

3.               In the first *** commencing with the launch date of the*** Bell
ExpressVu will purchase ***.

 

4.               EchoStar hereby offers the following *** will supersede the ***
originally set forth in the Exclusivity Amendment ***.

 

A.  The *** will be offered on a prorated basis to Bell for ***.

 

B.   ***

 

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***Certain confidential portions of this exhibit were omitted by means of
redacting a portion of the text. Copies of the exhibit containing the redacted
portions have been filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission
subject to a request for confidential treatment pursuant to Rule 24b-2 under the
Securities Exchange Act.

 

 

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