EDGAR 10-K Filing

Company CIK: 1533758
Filing Year: 2023
Filename: 1533758_10-K_2023_0001533758-23-000005.json

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ITEM 1. BUSINESS
ITEM 1. BUSINESS
OVERVIEW
Hughes Satellite Systems Corporation (which, together with its subsidiaries, is referred to as “HSSC,” the “Company,” “we,” “us” and “our”) is a holding company and a subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation (“EchoStar” and “parent”). We were formed as a Colorado corporation in March 2011 to facilitate the acquisition by EchoStar (the “Hughes Acquisition”) of Hughes Communications, Inc. and its subsidiaries and related financing transactions. In connection with our formation, EchoStar contributed the assets and liabilities of its satellite services business to us, including the principal operating subsidiary of its satellite services business, EchoStar Satellite Services L.L.C. A substantial majority of the voting power of the shares of EchoStar is owned beneficially by Charles W. Ergen, our Chairman, and by certain entities established for the benefit of his family. During 2022, Hamid Akhavan joined the Company as its Chief Executive Officer and President.
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 internet services to consumer customers, which include home and small to medium-sized businesses, and satellite and multi-transport technologies and managed network services to enterprise customers, telecommunications providers, aeronautical service providers and government entities, including the U.S. Department of Defense.
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, 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 connectivity, 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 managed 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.
All amounts presented in this Form 10-K are expressed in thousands of U.S. dollars, except share and per share amounts and unless otherwise noted.
BUSINESS SEGMENTS
We currently operate in two business segments: our Hughes segment and our EchoStar Satellite Services segment (“ESS segment”). These business 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 functions (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.
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 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.
WEBSITE ACCESS
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 at http://www.echostar.com, the website of our parent company EchoStar, as soon as reasonably practicable after we have electronically filed such material with, or furnished it to, the SEC.
EchoStar has 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. This code of ethics is available on EchoStar’s corporate website at http://www.echostar.com. In the event that EchoStar makes changes in, or provides waivers of, the provisions of this code of ethics that the SEC requires EchoStar to disclose, it intends to disclose these events on its website.

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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
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 debt repurchase program, invest capital in or otherwise run our business or execute on our strategic plans could be materially and adversely affected.
RISKS RELATED TO OUR BUSINESS OPERATIONS
We may pursue acquisitions, dispositions, capital expenditures, the development, acquisition and launch of new satellites and other strategic initiatives to complement or expand our business, which may not be successful and we may lose a portion or all of our investment.
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:
•the risks associated with developing and constructing new satellites;
•the diversion of our management’s attention away from our existing business onto a strategic initiative;
•possible adverse effects on our and our targets’ and partners’ business, financial condition or operating results during the integration process;
•exposure to significant financial losses if the strategic initiatives are not successful;
•the inability to obtain regulatory approvals in the anticipated time frame, or at all;
•the risks associated with complying with regulations applicable to the acquired or developed business or technologies which may cause us to incur substantial expenses;
•the disruption of relationships with employees, vendors or customers; and
•the risks associated with foreign and international operations and/or investments or dispositions.
New strategic initiatives may require the commitment of significant capital that would otherwise have been directed to investments in our existing businesses.
We are facing increasing competition which could impact demand for, and result in increasing pricing pressures with respect to, our products and services.
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:
•Competition from new or different technology compared to our offerings;
•Competition from existing or new competitors entering the same markets we serve;
•Government funding for competing products and services, reducing demand for our products and services; and
•Competitive pressures to provide enhanced functionality for the same or lower price with each new generation of technology.
Our business will be negatively impacted if we fail to adequately anticipate our satellite capacity needs or are unable to obtain satellite capacity.
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.
We are dependent upon third-party providers for components, manufacturing, installation services and customer support services, and our results of operations may be materially adversely affected if any of these third-party providers fail to appropriately deliver the contracted goods or services.
Our dependence upon third-party providers causes certain risks to our business, including the following:
•Components. A limited number of suppliers manufacture, and in some cases a single supplier manufactures, some of the key components required to build our products. We do not generally maintain long-term agreements with our suppliers or subcontractors for our products. If we change or lose suppliers, we could experience a delay in manufacturing our products. In addition, if either our current suppliers or any new suppliers increase prices beyond what we currently pay, we may be unable to produce our products at competitive prices and we may be unable to satisfy demand from our customers.
•Commodity Price Risk. Fluctuations in pricing of raw materials can affect our product costs and we may not be able to pass on the increased costs to our customers. Additionally, we are seeing increasing inflationary price pressure and where we have fixed-price customer contracts, we may have to absorb the increased costs.
•Manufacturing. While we develop and manufacture prototypes for certain of our products, we use contract manufacturers to produce a portion of our hardware. If these contract manufacturers fail to provide products that meet our specifications in a timely manner or at all, our business could be adversely impacted.
•Installation, customer support, and other services. Some of our products and services utilize a network of third-party service providers. The costs incurred for these services may increase due to a shortage of experienced workers and higher salaries required to recruit and retain a skilled third-party workforce. A decline in levels of service or attention to the needs of our customers could adversely affect our reputation, renewal rates and ability to win and retain customers. In addition, if the agreements for the provision of these services are terminated or not renewed, we could face difficulties replacing these service providers.
Our foreign operations and investments expose us to risks and restrictions not present in our domestic operations.
Our sales outside the U.S. accounted for 24.5%, 22.3% and 20.5% of our revenue for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020, 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:
•Complications in complying with restrictions on foreign ownership and investment and limitations on repatriation of earnings. We may not be permitted to be the sole owner of our operations in some countries and may have to enter into partnership or joint venture relationships. Many foreign legal regimes and/or our contractual arrangements restrict our repatriation of earnings to the U.S. from our subsidiaries and joint venture entities. Applicable law in such foreign countries may also limit our ability to distribute or access our assets or offer our products and services in certain circumstances. In such event, we will not have unrestricted access to the cash flow and assets of our subsidiaries and joint ventures.
•Regulatory restrictions. Satellite market access, landing rights and terrestrial wireless rights are dependent on the national regulations established by foreign governments and international non-
governmental bodies. Non-compliance with these requirements may result in the loss of the authorizations and licenses to conduct business in these countries, as well as fines, penalties, or other sanctions.
•Financial and legal constraints and obligations. Operating pursuant to foreign licenses subjects us to certain financial constraints and obligations, including, but not limited to: (a) tax liabilities that may or may not be dependent on revenue; (b) the regulatory requirements associated with maintaining such licenses, which may be subject to interpretation by foreign courts and regulatory bodies; (c) the burden of creating and maintaining additional entities, branches, facilities and/or staffing in foreign jurisdictions; and (d) regulations requiring that we make certain satellite capacity available for “free” or available at reduced rates.
•Compliance with applicable export control laws and regulations in the U.S. and other countries. We must comply with all applicable export control and trade sanctions laws and regulations of the U.S. and other countries. A violation any export or trade-related regulations could materially adversely affect our business.
•Changes in exchange rates between foreign currencies and the U.S. dollar. Fluctuations in currency exchange rates, recessions and currency devaluations have affected, and may in the future affect, revenue, profits and cash earned from our international businesses.
•Regulations may favor state-owned enterprises or local service providers. Many of the countries in which we conduct business have traditionally had state-owned or state-granted monopolies on telecommunications services that favor an incumbent service provider. We face competition from these favored and entrenched companies in countries that have not liberalized.
We may not be able to generate cash to meet our debt service needs or fund our operations.
As of December 31, 2022, 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.
Covenants in our indentures restrict our business in many ways.
The indentures governing our 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 our ability and/or certain of our subsidiaries’ ability to, among other things:
•incur additional debt;
•pay dividends or make distributions on our capital stock or repurchase our capital stock;
•allow to exist certain restrictions on such subsidiaries’ ability to pay dividends, make distributions, make other payments, or transfer assets;
•make certain investments;
•create liens or enter into sale and leaseback transactions;
•enter into transactions with affiliates;
•merge or consolidate with another company; and
•transfer and sell assets.
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. We and 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.
A natural disaster could diminish our ability to provide service to our customers.
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.
RISKS RELATED TO OUR HUMAN CAPITAL
We rely on key personnel and the loss of their services may negatively affect our businesses.
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 Corporation (“DISH”) and its subsidiaries (together with DISH, “DISH Network”) and us, his attention may be diverted away from our business and therefore adversely affect our business.
Our business growth and customer retention strategies rely in part on the work of technically skilled employees.
Our response to technological developments depends, to a significant degree, on the work of technically skilled employees. In addition, we have made and will continue to make significant investments in research, development, and marketing for new products, services, satellites and related technologies, as well as entry into new business areas. Investments in new technologies, satellites and business areas are inherently dependent on these technically skilled employees as well. Competition for the services of such employees has become more intense as demand for these types of employees grows. We compete with other companies for these employees and although we strive to attract and retain these employees, we may not succeed in these respects. Additionally, if we were to lose certain key technically skilled employees, the loss of knowledge and intellectual capital might have an adverse impact on our business.
Restrictions on immigration or increased enforcement of immigration laws could limit our access to qualified and skilled professionals, increase our cost of doing business or otherwise disrupt our operations.
The success of our business is dependent on our ability to recruit engineers and other professionals, including those who are citizens of other countries. Immigration laws in the U.S. and other countries in which we operate are subject to legislative and regulatory changes, as well as variations in the standards of application and enforcement due to political forces and economic conditions. It is difficult to predict the political and economic events that could affect immigration laws, or the restrictive impact they could have on obtaining or renewing work visas for our professionals. If immigration laws are changed or if new and more restrictive government regulations are enacted or increased, our access to qualified and skilled professionals may be limited.
RISKS RELATED TO OUR SATELLITES
Our ability to operate and control our satellites is subject to risks related to DISH Network’s operation and third-parties’ operation of satellite operations centers.
In September 2019, we transferred our satellite operation centers, which are used to monitor and control our satellites, to DISH Network in connection with our 2019 transfer to DISH of our broadband satellite services and
certain related businesses and assets (the “BSS Transaction”). 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.
Our owned and leased satellites in orbit are subject to significant operational and environmental risks that could limit our ability to utilize these satellites.
Satellites are subject to significant operational risks while in orbit. These risks include malfunctions, commonly referred to as anomalies, which have occurred and may occur in the future in our satellites and the satellites of other operators. Any single anomaly could materially and adversely affect our ability to utilize the satellite. Anomalies may also reduce the expected capacity, commercial operation and/or useful life of a satellite, thereby reducing the revenue that could be generated by that satellite, or create additional expenses due to the need to provide replacement or back-up satellites or satellite capacity earlier than planned and could have a material adverse effect on our business. We may not be able to prevent or mitigate the impacts of anomalies in the future.
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.
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. If one or more of our in-orbit uninsured satellites or payloads fail, we could be required to record significant impairment charges for the satellite or payload.
Our satellites under construction, including the EchoStar XXIV satellite, are subject to risks related to construction, technology, regulations and launch that could limit our ability to utilize these satellites, increase costs and adversely affect our business.
Satellite construction and launch are subject to significant risks, including manufacturing and delivery delays, anomalies, launch failure and incorrect orbital placement. The technologies in our satellite designs are very complex and difficulties in constructing our designs could result in delays in the deployment of our satellites or increased or unanticipated costs. For example, we have seen delays in the delivery calendar for EchoStar XXIV. There can be no assurance that the technologies in our existing satellites or in new satellites that we design, acquire and build will work as we expect, will not become obsolete, that we will realize any or all of the anticipated benefits of our satellite designs or our new satellites, and/or that we will obtain all regulatory approvals required to operate our new or acquired satellites. Launch anomalies and failures can result in significant delays in the deployment of satellites because of the need both to construct replacement satellites, which can take significant amounts of time, and to obtain other launch opportunities. Such significant delays have and could in the future materially affect our business, our ability to meet regulatory or contractual required milestones, the availability and our use of other or replacement satellite resources and our ability to provide services to customers. In addition, significant delays in a satellite program could give customers who have purchased or reserved capacity on that satellite a right to terminate their service contracts relating to the satellite. We may not be able to accommodate affected customers on other satellites until a replacement satellite is available. In addition, we may not be able to obtain launch or in-orbit insurance on reasonable economic terms or at all. If we do obtain launch or in-orbit insurance, it may not cover the full cost of constructing and launching or replacing a satellite nor fully cover our losses in the event of a launch failure or significant degradation.
Our use of certain satellites is often dependent on satellite coordination agreements, which may be difficult to obtain.
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.
We may face interference from other services sharing satellite spectrum.
The Federal Communications Commission (“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.
RISKS RELATED TO OUR PRODUCTS AND TECHNOLOGY
Our future growth depends on growing demand for our services.
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.
Our business depends on certain intellectual property rights and on not infringing the intellectual property rights of others.
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.
Litigation or governmental proceedings could result in material adverse consequences.
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.
If our products contain defects, we could be subject to significant costs to correct such defects and our product and network service contracts could be delayed or cancelled, which could adversely affect our revenue.
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, and failure to remedy, any defects, errors or failures in our products or network services could materially affect our business.
RISKS RELATED TO CYBERSECURITY
The confidentiality, integrity, and availability of our services and products depends on the continuing operation of our information technology and other enabling systems.
Our systems are vulnerable to damage, intrusion, or disruption from criminal and/or terrorist attacks, 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 businesses expose us to additional risks that could harm our business.
Our international operations continue to grow. In addition to risks described elsewhere in this segment, the different regions and countries in which we operate our businesses outside of the U.S. expose us to increased risks due to different privacy and cyber-related laws in each of these locations. The same cyber-related issue could have different consequences depending on the region or country of occurrence, the laws applicable in each case and the different levels of enforcement by regulatory and governmental authorities in each jurisdiction. These risks include but are not limited to the following:
a.Data privacy and security concerns relating to our technology and our practices could damage our reputation, cause us to incur significant liability, and deter current and potential users or customers from using our products and services.
b.Software bugs or defects, security breaches, and attacks on our systems could result in the improper disclosure of our user data which could harm our business reputation.
c.Concerns about our practices about the collection, use, disclosure, or security of personal information or other data-privacy-related matters, even if unsubstantiated, could harm our reputation and financial condition. Our policies and practices may change over time as expectations regarding privacy and data change.
We experience cyber-attacks and other attempts to gain unauthorized access to our systems on a consistent basis.
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.
Our ongoing investments in security will likely continue to identify new vulnerabilities within our services and products.
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/climate change such as sea level rise, drought, flooding, wildfires, increased storm severity, pandemics like COVID-19 and power loss, 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.
Compliance with data privacy laws may be costly, and non-compliance with such laws may result in significant liability.
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.
RISKS RELATED TO THE REGULATION OF OUR BUSINESS
The risk of non-compliance with laws and regulations, including the risk of changes to laws and regulations, could adversely affect our business.
Our business is regulated by numerous governmental agencies and other regulatory bodies, both domestically and internationally. Also, our international operations are subject to the laws and regulations of many different jurisdictions that may differ significantly from U.S. laws and regulations. Violations of these laws and regulations could result in fines or penalties or other sanctions which could have a material adverse impact on our business. Additionally, our ability to operate and grow our business depends on laws and regulations that govern the frequency bands and/or orbital locations we operate in or may operate in in the future.
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.
Our business depends on regulatory authorizations issued by the FCC and state and foreign regulators that can expire, be revoked or modified, and applications for licenses and other authorizations that may not be granted.
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.
RISKS RELATED TO THE BSS TRANSACTION
If the BSS Transaction does not qualify as a tax-free distribution and merger under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), then we and/or EchoStar stockholders may be required to pay substantial U.S. federal income taxes and under certain circumstances we may have indemnification obligations to DISH Network.
The parties to the BSS Transaction received a tax opinion from their respective counsels as to the tax-free nature of the transaction. They did not obtain a private letter ruling from the IRS in this respect and instead are relying solely on their respective tax opinions for comfort that the transaction qualifies 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.
RISKS RELATED TO OUR OWNERSHIP
Our parent, EchoStar, is controlled by one principal stockholder who is our Chairman.
Charles W. Ergen, our Chairman, beneficially owns approximately 60% of EchoStar’s total equity securities (assuming conversion of only the EchoStar Class B common stock beneficially owned by Mr. Ergen into EchoStar 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 6, 2023) and beneficially owns approximately 93% of the total voting power of all classes of shares of EchoStar (assuming no conversion of any EchoStar 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 6, 2023). Through his beneficial ownership of EchoStar’s equity securities, Mr. Ergen has the ability to elect a majority of EchoStar’s directors and to control all other matters requiring the approval of EchoStar’s stockholders. As a result of Mr. Ergen’s voting power, EchoStar is 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 or EchoStar’s 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 EchoStar board’s selection, either by a majority of the independent directors or a nominating committee composed solely of independent directors.
We have potential conflicts of interest with DISH Network due to EchoStar and DISH Network’s common ownership.
A substantial majority of the voting power of the shares of each of EchoStar and DISH is owned beneficially by Charles W. Ergen, our Chairman, and by certain entities established for the benefit of his family. 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:
•Cross directorships and stock ownership. Charles W. Ergen serves as the Chairman of our, EchoStar’s and DISH’s boards of directors, is employed by both EchoStar and DISH and has fiduciary duties to EchoStar’s and DISH’s shareholders. Mr. Ergen may have actual or apparent conflicts of interest with respect to matters involving or affecting each company. For example, there is potential for a conflict of interest when we or DISH Network look at acquisitions and other corporate opportunities that may be suitable for both companies. In addition, our Chairman and certain other EchoStar directors and certain of our officers own DISH stock and options to purchase DISH stock, certain of which they acquired or were granted prior to our spin-off from DISH in 2008 (the “Spin-off”). These ownership interests could create actual, apparent or potential conflicts of interest when these individuals are faced with decisions that could have different implications for our company and DISH Network.
•Intercompany agreements with DISH Network. We and EchoStar and its other subsidiaries have entered into various agreements with DISH Network. Pursuant to certain agreements, we and EchoStar and its other subsidiaries obtain certain products, services and rights from DISH Network; DISH Network obtains certain products, services and rights from us and EchoStar and its other subsidiaries; and we and EchoStar, its other subsidiaries and DISH Network, as applicable, indemnify each other against certain liabilities arising from our respective businesses. Generally, the amounts paid for products and services provided under the agreements are based on cost plus a fixed margin, which varies depending on the nature of the products and services provided. Certain other intercompany agreements cover matters such as tax sharing and our and EchoStar’s responsibility for certain liabilities previously undertaken by DISH Network for certain of our and EchoStar’s businesses. We and EchoStar and its other subsidiaries have also entered into certain commercial agreements with DISH Network. The terms of certain of these agreements were established while EchoStar was a wholly-owned subsidiary of DISH and were not the result of arm’s length
negotiations. The allocation of assets, liabilities, rights, indemnifications and other obligations between DISH Network, EchoStar and its other subsidiaries and/or us under certain agreements we and/or EchoStar and its other subsidiaries have with DISH Network may not necessarily reflect what two unaffiliated parties might have agreed to. Had these agreements been negotiated with unaffiliated third parties, their terms may have been more or less favorable to us or EchoStar and its other subsidiaries. In addition, DISH Network or its affiliates will likely continue to enter into transactions, including joint ventures, acquisitions, dispositions and other strategic initiatives and transactions, with EchoStar or its subsidiaries, us or other affiliates. Although the terms of any such transactions will be established based upon negotiations between us and DISH Network and, when appropriate, subject to approval by committees of our and EchoStar’s non-interlocking directors or in certain instances non-interlocking management, there can be no assurance that the terms of any such transactions will be as favorable to EchoStar or its subsidiaries, us or our subsidiaries or other affiliates as may otherwise be obtained in negotiations between unaffiliated third parties.
•Competition for business opportunities. DISH Network may have interests in various companies that have subsidiaries or controlled affiliates that own or operate domestic or foreign services that may compete with services offered by our businesses. From time to time we and EchoStar and its other subsidiaries may pursue the same business opportunities as DISH Network, such as when we participate in auctions for spectrum or orbital slots for our satellites or other business opportunities. In certain auctions, we and DISH Network may be prohibited from participating separately, and cooperating with DISH Network may result in a less favorable outcome for us.
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).
It may be difficult for a third party to acquire us, even if doing so may be beneficial to EchoStar’s shareholders, because of our and EchoStar’s capital structure.
Certain provisions of EchoStar and our respective articles of incorporation and bylaws, such as a provision that authorizes the issuance of “blank check” preferred stock, which could be issued by our or EchoStar’s board of directors to increase the number of outstanding shares and thwart a takeover attempt and EchoStar’s capital structure with multiple classes of common stock some of which entitle the holders to multiple votes per share, may discourage delay or prevent a change in control of our company that may be considered favorable. Both we and EchoStar also have a significant amount of authorized and unissued stock under our respective articles of incorporation that would allow our respective boards 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. In addition, Charles W. Ergen, our Chairman, has the power to elect all of EchoStar’s directors and control shareholder decisions of EchoStar on matters on which all classes of EchoStar’s common stock vote together, and as our parent, EchoStar in turn holds all of our issued and outstanding equity and has the power to elect all of our directors and control shareholder decision on all matters, all of which may make it impractical for any third party to obtain control of us.
RISKS RELATED TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Our operations, and those of our customers, suppliers, vendors, and other third parties with whom we conduct business, including regulatory agencies, have been, and may continue to be, adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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. Additionally, some regulatory bodies may still have reduced activities 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 continue to work remotely or engage in distance learning. These activities have increased the usage on our HughesNet satellite internet service (“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.
We may face other risks described from time to time in periodic and current reports we file with the SEC.

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ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
None.

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ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
Our principal executive offices are located at 100 Inverness Terrace East, Englewood, Colorado 80112-5308 and our telephone number is (303) 706-4000. 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. The following table sets forth certain information concerning our principal properties related to our Hughes segment, our ESS segment, and our Corporate and Other segment as of December 31, 2022.
Location
Segment(s)
Function
Owned:
Englewood, Colorado ESS/Corporate and Other Corporate headquarters and ESS operations
Germantown, Maryland Hughes Hughes corporate headquarters, engineering offices, network operations and shared hubs
Griesheim, Germany Hughes/Corporate and Other Shared hub, operations, administrative offices and warehouse
Leased:
Gilbert, Arizona Hughes Gateways
San Diego, California Hughes Engineering and sales offices
Englewood, Colorado Hughes Gateways and equipment
Gaithersburg, Maryland Hughes Manufacturing and testing facilities and logistics offices
Gaithersburg, Maryland Hughes Engineering and administrative offices
Southfield, Michigan Hughes Shared hub and regional network management center
Las Vegas, Nevada Hughes Shared hub, antennae yards, gateway, backup network operation and control center for Hughes corporate headquarters
Cheyenne, Wyoming Hughes/ESS Gateways, equipment and ESS operations
Barueri, Brazil Hughes Shared hub
Sao Paulo, Brazil Hughes Hughes Brazil corporate headquarters, sales offices and warehouse
Bangalore, India Hughes Engineering office and office space
Gurgaon, India Hughes Administrative offices, shared hub, operations, warehouse, and development center
New Delhi, India Hughes Hughes India corporate headquarters
Milton Keynes, United Kingdom Hughes Hughes Europe corporate headquarters and operations

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ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
For a discussion of legal proceedings, see Note 19 in our Consolidated Financial Statements.

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ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURE
ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES
Not applicable.
PART II

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ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY
ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
Market Information. As of February 6, 2023, all of our 1,078 issued and outstanding shares of common stock were held by EchoStar. There is currently no established trading market for our common stock. Our Articles of Incorporation authorize the issuance of 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock and as of February 6, 2023, no shares of our preferred stock were issued and outstanding.
Dividends. On March 17, 2022, our Board of Directors declared and approved payment of a cash dividend on our outstanding common stock to our shareholder and parent, EchoStar, in the amount of $100.0 million. Payment of this dividend was made in the first quarter of 2022.
While we currently do not intend to declare additional dividends on our common stock, we may elect to do so from time to time. Payment of any future dividends will depend upon our earnings, capital requirements, contractual restrictions and other factors the Board of Directors considers appropriate. We currently intend to retain our earnings, if any, to support operations, future growth and expansion. Our ability to declare dividends is affected by the covenants in our indentures.

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ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
ITEM 6. [RESERVED]

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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
Item 7. MANAGEMENT’S NARRATIVE ANALYSIS OF RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following Management’s Narrative Analysis of Results of Operations (“Management’s Narrative Analysis”) should be read in conjunction with our Consolidated Financial Statements. This Management’s Narrative 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 Narrative 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 of 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.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Overview
We currently operate in two business segments: our Hughes segment and our ESS segment. Our operations include various corporate functions 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.
All amounts presented in this Management’s Narrative Analysis are expressed in thousands of U.S. dollars, except share and per share amounts and unless otherwise noted.
Hughes Segment
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 offer broadband satellite technologies and broadband internet products and services to consumer customers. We offer broadband network technologies, managed services, equipment, hardware, satellite services and communications solutions to government and enterprise customers.
Our Hughes segment continues to focus its efforts on optimizing financial returns of our existing satellites while planning for new satellite capacity to be launched, leased or acquired. 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 our enterprise and consumer businesses relies heavily on global economic conditions and the competitive landscape for pricing relative to competitors and alternative technologies. In most areas of the U.S. we are nearing or have reached capacity, which has resulted in our consumer subscriber base becoming increasingly limited. Our Latin America consumer subscriber base in certain areas has also become capacity constrained. These constraints are expected to be addressed by the launch of the EchoStar XXIV satellite.
To date, we have not experienced a material adverse impact from the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the associated sanctions.
In May 2019, we entered into an agreement with Bharti Airtel Limited (“BAL”) and its subsidiary, Bharti Airtel Services Limited (together with BAL, “Bharti”), pursuant to which Bharti agreed to contribute its very small aperture terminal (“VSAT”) telecommunications services and hardware business in India to Hughes Communications India Private Limited (“HCIPL”) and its subsidiaries, our less than wholly owned Indian subsidiaries, that conduct our VSAT services and hardware business in India. On January 4, 2022, this joint venture was formed (the “India JV”) and subsequent to the formation of the India JV, we hold a 67% ownership interest and Bharti holds a 33% ownership interest in HCIPL. The India JV 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 India.
In August 2017, a subsidiary of EchoStar entered into a long-term contract for the design and construction of the EchoStar XXIV satellite, a next-generation, high throughput geostationary satellite. In December 2020, we entered into an agreement with a launch provider for the launch of EchoStar XXIV. 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. Following delays of over two years, in November 2022 we negotiated an amendment to our contract with the manufacturer to provide for additional compensation for past delays and a realignment of remedies. The contract now provides relief to us on certain payments, including approximately $14.0 million in payments through orbit-raising, and $44.5 million, plus 6% interest on such amounts, in deferred in-orbit incentive payments. Additionally, the contract now requires the payment of additional liquidated damages to us in the event of further delay, and provides for our right to terminate beginning January 1, 2024 if the satellite has not yet been delivered. In addition, the Company and the manufacturer will enter into an agreement under which the Company will provide certain products and/or services during 2023. The EchoStar XXIV satellite is expected to be launched in the second quarter of 2023. Delay in the availability of the EchoStar XXIV satellite could have a material adverse impact on our business operations, future revenues, financial position and prospects, and our planned expansion of satellite broadband services throughout North, South and Central America. 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:
As of December 31,
2022 2021 2020
United States 931,000 1,090,000 1,189,000
Latin America 297,000 372,000 375,000
Total broadband subscribers 1,228,000 1,462,000 1,564,000
The following table presents the approximate number of net subscriber additions for each quarter in 2022:
For the three months ended
December 31 September 30 June 30 March 31
United States (43,000) (46,000) (35,000) (35,000)
Latin America (14,000) (15,000) (25,000) (21,000)
Total net subscriber additions (57,000) (61,000) (60,000) (56,000)
Our ability to gain new customers and retain existing customers in the U.S. is being impacted by our capacity limitations as well as competitive pressure from satellite-based competitors and other technologies. For the three months ended December 31, 2022, these factors resulted in lower total subscribers as compared to the three months ended September 30, 2022.
Our ability to gain new customers and retain existing customers in Latin America is also being impacted by adverse economic conditions. In addition, capacity constraints in certain areas limit our ability to add new subscribers. For the three months ended December 31, 2022, the decline in net subscribers was primarily due to more selective customer screening and improved churn as compared to the three months ended September 30, 2022.
We continued to execute our strategy of maximizing financial returns by utilizing capacity for higher economic value enterprise and government applications in Latin America. Continued success of this strategy will further reduce the available capacity for consumer subscribers.
As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, our Hughes segment had $1.5 billion and $1.4 billion of contracted revenue backlog, respectively, an increase of 7.1% during that period, primarily due to an increase in contracts from our domestic and international customers. Of the total Hughes segment contracted revenue backlog as of December
31, 2022, we expect to recognize $461.0 million of revenue in 2023. We define Hughes segment contracted revenue backlog as our expected future revenue under enterprise customer contracts that are non-cancelable, including lease revenue.
Goodwill Impairment Assessment
We test goodwill for impairment annually in our second fiscal quarter, or more frequently if indicators of impairment exist. Goodwill is assessed for impairment at the reporting unit level. Reporting units are identified based on how segment management evaluates the results of segment operations and makes resource allocation decisions to such reporting units. All of our goodwill is assigned to our Hughes segment. We conducted our annual impairment test of goodwill during our second fiscal quarter on a qualitative basis and determined that no adjustment to the carrying value of goodwill was then necessary because the fair value exceeded carrying value for our Hughes reporting unit.
During the quarter ended December 31, 2022, we conducted a quantitative interim test of goodwill for all of our reporting units due to the decline of our stock price since our interim test in the third quarter of 2022. As a result of this interim test, no goodwill impairment was identified. The fair value of the Hughes reporting unit exceeded the carrying value by more than 20%. We concluded that there were no other indicators of impairment for the quarter ended December 31, 2022. Given the decline in our stock price during the year ended December 31, 2022, we believe it is reasonably possible that a further sustained decline in our stock price and market capitalization would result in all or a significant portion of our goodwill becoming impaired. The impairment of goodwill has no effect on liquidity or capital resources. However, it would result in a material non-cash charge and would materially adversely affect our financial results in the period recognized.
When estimating the fair value of our Hughes reporting unit, we used a combination of the discounted cash flow and market multiple methodologies. We weighted 50% of the fair value using a discounted cash flow methodology and 50% using a market multiple approach. Although we concluded that recent transactions further supported our estimate of fair value, we gave them no such weight as the discounted cash flow and market multiple methodologies were considered more relevant and more reliable to be used in our fair value estimate.
In our discounted cash flow methodology, we developed and utilized a range of inputs that we believe to be reasonable and appropriately conservative. These inputs included, but were not limited to, revenue growth, EBITDA margins, capital expenditures, a terminal growth rate and a discount rate. In our market multiple approach, we also utilized what we believe to be a reasonable and appropriately conservative range of revenue and EBITDA multiples.
ESS Segment
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.
As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, our ESS segment had contracted revenue backlog of $22.3 million and $10.4 million, respectively, an increase of 114.4% during that period, primarily 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, 2022, we expect to recognize $16.5 million of revenue in 2023. We define contracted revenue backlog for our ESS segment as contracted future satellite lease revenue.
Corporate and Other Segment
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, 2022. There can be no assurance, however, that anomalies will not have a significant adverse effect 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.
Cybersecurity
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, 2022 and through February 22, 2023. 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.
EXPLANATION OF KEY METRICS AND OTHER ITEMS
Services and other revenue. Services and other revenue primarily includes the sales of consumer and enterprise broadband services, maintenance and other contracted services, revenue associated with satellite and transponder leases and services, satellite uplinking/downlinking, subscriber wholesale service fees for the HughesNet service, professional services and facilities rental revenue.
Equipment revenue. Equipment revenue primarily includes broadband equipment and networks sold to customers in our consumer and enterprise markets.
Cost of sales - services and other. Cost of sales - services and other primarily includes the cost of broadband services provided to our consumer and enterprise customers, maintenance and other contracted services, costs associated with satellite and transponder leases and services, professional services and facilities rental.
Cost of sales - equipment. Cost of sales - equipment consists primarily of the cost of broadband equipment and networks provided to customers in our consumer and enterprise markets. It also includes certain other costs associated with the deployment of equipment to our customers.
Selling, general and administrative expenses. Selling, general and administrative expenses primarily include selling and marketing costs and employee-related costs associated with administrative services (e.g., information systems, human resources and other services), including bad debt expense and stock-based compensation expense. It also includes professional fees (e.g. legal, information systems and accounting services) and other expenses associated with facilities and administrative services.
Research and development expenses. Research and development expenses primarily include costs associated with the design and development of products to support future growth and provide new technology and innovation to our customers.
Impairment of long-lived assets. Impairment of long-lived assets includes our impairment losses related to our property and equipment, goodwill, regulatory authorizations and other intangible assets.
Interest income, net. Interest income, net primarily includes interest earned on our cash, cash equivalents and marketable investment securities, and other investments including premium amortization and discount accretion on debt securities.
Interest expense, net of amounts capitalized. Interest expense, net of amounts capitalized primarily includes interest expense associated with our debt and finance lease obligations (net of capitalized interest), amortization of debt issuance costs and interest expense related to certain legal proceedings.
Gains (losses) on investments, net. Gains (losses) on investments, net primarily includes changes in fair value of our marketable equity securities and other investments for which we have elected the fair value option. It may also include realized gains and losses on the sale or exchange of our available-for-sale debt securities, other-than-temporary impairment losses on our available-for-sale securities, realized gains and losses on the sale or exchange of equity securities and debt securities without readily determinable fair value and adjustments to the carrying
amount of investments in unconsolidated affiliates and marketable equity securities resulting from impairments and observable price changes.
Equity in earnings (losses) of unconsolidated affiliates, net. Equity in earnings (losses) of unconsolidated affiliates, net includes earnings or losses from our investments accounted for using the equity method.
Foreign currency transaction gains (losses), net. Foreign currency transaction gains (losses), net include gains and losses resulting from the re-measurement of transactions denominated in foreign currencies.
Other, net. Other, net primarily includes dividends received from our marketable investment securities and other non-operating income and expense items that are not appropriately classified elsewhere in the Consolidated Statements of Operations in our Consolidated Financial Statements.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”). EBITDA is defined as Net income (loss) excluding Interest income and expense, net, Income tax benefit (provision), net, Depreciation and amortization, and Net income (loss) attributable to non-controlling interests. EBITDA is not a measure determined in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). This non-GAAP measure is reconciled to Net income (loss) in our discussion of Results of Operations section below. EBITDA should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for operating income, net income or any other measure determined in accordance with GAAP. EBITDA is used by our management as a measure of operating efficiency and overall financial performance for benchmarking against our peers and competitors. Management believes EBITDA provides meaningful supplemental information regarding the underlying operating performance of our business and is appropriate to enhance an overall understanding of our financial performance. Management also believes that EBITDA is useful to investors because it is frequently used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties to evaluate the performance of companies in our industry.
Subscribers. Subscribers include customers that subscribe to our HughesNet service, through retail, wholesale and small/medium enterprise service channels.
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Year Ended December 31, 2022 Compared to the Year Ended December 31, 2021
The following table presents our consolidated results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to the year ended December 31, 2021:
For the year ended December 31, Variance
Statements of Operations Data (1)
2022 2021 Amount %
Revenue:
Services and other revenue $ 1,629,194 $ 1,724,299 $ (95,105) (5.5)
Equipment revenue 374,149 270,427 103,722 38.4
Total revenue 2,003,343 1,994,726 8,617 0.4
Costs and expenses:
Cost of sales - services and other 562,849 544,915 17,934 3.3
% of total services and other revenue 34.5 % 31.6 %
Cost of sales - equipment 292,290 231,960 60,330 26.0
% of total equipment revenue 78.1 % 85.8 %
Selling, general and administrative expenses 429,877 422,235 7,642 1.8
% of total revenue 21.5 % 21.2 %
Research and development expenses 32,810 31,777 1,033 3.3
% of total revenue 1.6 % 1.6 %
Depreciation and amortization 431,065 464,146 (33,081) (7.1)
Impairment of long-lived assets - 210 (210) (100.0)
Total costs and expenses 1,748,891 1,695,243 53,648 3.2
Operating income (loss) 254,452 299,483 (45,031) (15.0)
Other income (expense):
Interest income, net 30,812 8,146 22,666 *
Interest expense, net of amounts capitalized (92,386) (126,499) 34,113 (27.0)
Gains (losses) on investments, net 245 2,103 (1,858) (88.3)
Equity in earnings (losses) of unconsolidated affiliates, net (5,703) (5,347) (356) 6.7
Foreign currency transaction gains (losses), net 6,016 (11,494) 17,510 (152.3)
Other, net (85) 1,336 (1,421) (106.4)
Total other income (expense), net (61,101) (131,755) 70,654 (53.6)
Income (loss) before income taxes 193,351 167,728 25,623 15.3
Income tax benefit (provision), net
(54,441) (57,111) 2,670 (4.7)
Net income (loss) 138,910 110,617 28,293 25.6
Less: Net loss (income) attributable to non-controlling interests 10,503 10,154 349 3.4
Net income (loss) attributable to HSSC $ 149,413 $ 120,771 $ 28,642 23.7
Other data:
EBITDA (2)
$ 696,493 $ 760,381 $ (63,888) (8.4)
Subscribers, end of period 1,228,000 1,462,000 (234,000) (16.0)
* Percentage is not meaningful.
(1) An explanation of our key metrics is included in Explanation of Key Metrics and Other Items.
(2) A reconciliation of EBITDA to Net income (loss), the most directly comparable GAAP measure in our Consolidated Financial Statements, is included in Results of Operations. For further information on our use of EBITDA, see Explanation of Key Metrics and Other Items.
The following discussion relates to our results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to the year ended December 31, 2021:
Services and other revenue. Services and other revenue totaled $1.6 billion for the year ended December 31, 2022, a decrease of $95.1 million, or 5.5%, as compared to 2021. The decrease was primarily attributable to our Hughes segment related to lower sales of broadband services to our consumer customers of $103.1 million, partially offset by higher sales of broadband services to our enterprise customers of $5.3 million and to our mobile satellite system and other customers of $4.5 million. Our ESS segment increased by $2.9 million. These variances reflect an estimated negative impact of exchange rate fluctuations of $5.9 million, primarily attributable to our enterprise customers.
Equipment revenue. Equipment revenue totaled $374.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, an increase of $103.7 million, or 38.4%, as compared to 2021. The increase was primarily attributable to: i) increases in hardware sales to our enterprise customers of $102.6 million mainly associated with a certain customer in North America and to international customers, and ii) increases on our hardware sales to our mobile satellite system customers of $6.6 million, partially offset by decreases in hardware sales of $5.5 million to our consumer customers.
Cost of sales - services and other. Cost of sales - services and other totaled $562.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, an increase of $17.9 million, or 3.3%, as compared to 2021. The increase was attributable to a non-recurring decrease in a certain international regulatory fee of $4.5 million in 2021 and increases in cost of services provided to our consumer and enterprise customers, mainly related to service delivery expenses, such as field services and customer care.
Cost of sales - equipment. Cost of sales - equipment totaled $292.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, an increase of $60.3 million, or 26.0%, as compared to 2021. The increase was primarily attributable to the corresponding increase in equipment revenue and change in product mix.
Selling, general and administrative expenses. Selling, general and administrative expenses totaled $429.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, an increase of $7.6 million, or 1.8%, as compared to 2021. The increase was primarily attributable to increases in: i) other general and administrative expenses of $18.3 million, ii) bad debt expense of $7.2 million primarily due to the recovery of bad debt reserves in 2021 and iii) legal expenses of $0.8 million, offset by increases in sales and marketing expenses of $18.7 million.
Depreciation and amortization. Depreciation and amortization expenses totaled $431.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, a decrease of $33.1 million, or 7.1%, as compared to 2021. The decrease was primarily attributable to: i) decreases in other property and equipment depreciation expense of $27.7 million, ii) decreases in our satellite depreciation of $8.9 million, mainly related to our SPACEWAY 3 satellite which was fully depreciated at the end of the first quarter of 2021, and iii) decreases in amortization of intangibles of $2.1 million. These decreases were partially offset by increases in amortization of our capitalized software of $5.7 million.
Interest income, net. Interest income, net totaled $30.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, an increase of $22.7 million, as compared to 2021, primarily attributable to increases in the yield on our marketable investment securities and an increase in our marketable investment securities average balance.
Interest expense, net of amounts capitalized. Interest expense, net of amounts capitalized, totaled $92.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, a decrease of $34.1 million, or 27.0%, as compared to 2021. The decrease was primarily attributable to a decrease of $30.8 million in interest expense and the amortization of deferred financing cost as a result of the repurchases and maturity of our 7 5/8% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2021 and an increase of $2.7 million in capitalized interest relating to the EchoStar XXIV satellite program.
Foreign currency transaction gains (losses), net. Foreign currency transaction gains (losses), net totaled $6.0 million in gains for the year ended December 31, 2022, as compared to $11.5 million in losses for the year ended December 31, 2021, a positive change of $17.5 million. The change was due to the net impact of foreign exchange rate fluctuations of certain foreign currencies during the period, primarily related to the Brazilian Real, Indian Rupee, and the European Euro.
Income tax benefit (provision), net. Income tax benefit (provision), net was $(54.4) million for the year ended December 31, 2022, as compared to $(57.1) million for the year ended December 31, 2021. Our effective income tax rate was 28.2% and 34.0% for the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. The variations in our effective tax rate from the U.S. federal statutory rate for the year ended December 31, 2022 were primarily due to excluded foreign losses where the Company carries a full valuation allowance, and the impact of state and local taxes. The variations in our current year effective tax rate from the U.S. federal statutory rate for the year ended December 31, 2021 were primarily due to excluded foreign losses where the Company carries a full valuation allowance and the impact of state and local taxes.
Net income (loss) attributable to HSSC. The following table reconciles the change in Net income (loss) attributable to HSSC:
Amounts
Net income (loss) attributable to HSSC for the year ended December 31, 2021 $ 120,771
Decrease (increase) in interest expense, net of amounts capitalized 34,113
Increase (decrease) in interest income, net 22,666
Increase (decrease) in foreign currency transaction gains (losses), net 17,510
Decrease (increase) in income tax benefit (provision), net 2,670
Decrease (increase) in net income (loss) attributable to non-controlling interests 349
Decrease (increase) in equity in earnings (losses) of unconsolidated affiliates, net (356)
Increase (decrease) in other, net (1,421)
Increase (decrease) in gains (losses) on investments, net (1,858)
Increase (decrease) in operating income (loss), including depreciation and amortization (45,031)
Net income (loss) attributable to HSSC for the year ended December 31, 2022 $ 149,413
EBITDA. EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure and is described under Explanation of Key Metrics and Other Items section. The following table reconciles EBITDA to Net income (loss), the most directly comparable GAAP measure in our Consolidated Financial Statements:
For the year ended December 31, Variance
2022 2021 Amount %
Net income (loss) $ 138,910 $ 110,617 $ 28,293 25.6
Interest income, net (30,812) (8,146) (22,666) *
Interest expense, net of amounts capitalized 92,386 126,499 (34,113) (27.0)
Income tax provision (benefit), net 54,441 57,111 (2,670) (4.7)
Depreciation and amortization 431,065 464,146 (33,081) (7.1)
Net loss (income) attributable to non-controlling interests 10,503 10,154 349 3.4
EBITDA $ 696,493 $ 760,381 $ (63,888) (8.4)
* Percentage is not meaningful.
The following table reconciles the change in EBITDA:
Amounts
EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2021 $ 760,381
Increase (decrease) in foreign currency transaction gains (losses), net 17,510
Decrease (increase) in net loss (income) attributable to non-controlling interests 349
Decrease (increase) in equity in earnings (losses) of unconsolidated affiliates, net (356)
Increase (decrease) in other, net (1,421)
Increase (decrease) in gains (losses) on investments, net (1,858)
Increase (decrease) in operating income (loss), excluding depreciation and amortization (78,112)
EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2022 $ 696,493
Segment Operating Results and Capital Expenditures
The following tables present our total revenue, capital expenditures and EBITDA by segment for the year ended December 31, 2022, as compared to the year ended December 31, 2021:
Hughes ESS Corporate and Other Consolidated Total
For the year ended December 31, 2022
Total revenue $ 1,966,587 $ 20,533 $ 16,223 $ 2,003,343
Capital expenditures 239,403 - - 239,403
EBITDA 732,929 14,416 (50,852) 696,493
For the year ended December 31, 2021
Total revenue $ 1,956,226 $ 17,679 $ 20,821 $ 1,994,726
Capital expenditures 296,303 - - 296,303
EBITDA 781,824 9,185 (30,628) 760,381
Hughes Segment
For the years ended
December 31, Variance
2022 2021 Amount %
Total revenue $ 1,966,587 $ 1,956,226 $ 10,361 0.5
Capital expenditures 239,403 296,303 (56,900) (19.2)
EBITDA 732,929 781,824 (48,895) (6.3)
Total revenue was $2.0 billion for the year ended December 31, 2022, an increase of $10.4 million, or 0.5%, as compared to 2021. Services and other revenue decreased primarily due to lower sales of broadband services to our consumer customers of $103.1 million, partially offset by higher sales of broadband services to our enterprise customers of $5.3 million and to our mobile satellite system and other customers of $4.5 million. Equipment revenue increased primarily due to: i) increases in hardware sales to our enterprise customers of $102.6 million mainly associated with a certain customer in North America and to international customers, and ii) increases on our hardware sales to our mobile satellite system customers of $6.6 million, partially offset by decreases in hardware sales of $5.5 million to our consumer customers. These variances reflect an estimated negative impact of exchange rate fluctuations of $6.7 million, primarily attributable to our enterprise customers.
Capital expenditures were $239.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, a decrease of $56.9 million, or 19.2%, as compared to 2021, primarily due to decreases in expenditures associated with our consumer business, and decreases in expenditures related to the construction of our satellite-related ground infrastructure.
The following table reconciles the change in the Hughes Segment EBITDA:
Amounts
EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2021 $ 781,824
Increase (decrease) in foreign currency transaction gains (losses), net 17,437
Decrease (increase) in net loss (income) attributable to non-controlling interests 349
Decrease (increase) in equity in earnings (losses) of unconsolidated affiliates, net 39
Increase (decrease) in gains (losses) on investments, net (1,883)
Increase (decrease) in other, net (3,341)
Increase (decrease) in operating income (loss), excluding depreciation and amortization (61,496)
EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2022 $ 732,929
ESS Segment
For the years ended
December 31, Variance
2022 2021 Amount %
Total revenue $ 20,533 $ 17,679 $ 2,854 16.1
EBITDA 14,416 9,185 5,231 57.0
Total revenue was $20.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, an increase of $2.9 million, or 16.1%, compared to 2021, primarily due to an increase in transponder services provided to third parties.
EBITDA was $14.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, an increase of $5.2 million, or 57.0%, as compared to 2021, primarily due to the increase in overall ESS segment revenue and lower expenses.
Corporate and Other Segment
For the years ended
December 31, Variance
2022 2021 Amount %
Total revenue $ 16,223 $ 20,821 $ (4,598) (22.1)
EBITDA (50,852) (30,628) (20,224) 66.0
The following table reconciles the change in the Corporate and Other Segment EBITDA:
Amounts
EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2021 $ (30,628)
Increase (decrease) in other, net 1,937
Increase (decrease) in foreign currency transaction gains (losses), net 74
Increase (decrease) in gains (losses) on investments, net 26
Decrease (increase) in equity in earnings (losses) of unconsolidated affiliates, net (394)
Increase (decrease) in operating income (loss), excluding depreciation and amortization (21,867)
EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2022 $ (50,852)

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ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
Market Risks Associated with Financial Instruments and Foreign Currency
Our investments and debt are exposed to market risks, discussed below.
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Marketable Investment Securities
As of December 31, 2022, our cash, cash equivalents and marketable investment securities had a fair value of $1.5 billion. Of this amount, a total of $1.5 billion was invested in: (a) cash; (b) commercial paper and corporate notes with an overall average maturity of less than one year and rated in one of the four highest rating categories by at least two nationally recognized statistical rating organizations; (c) debt instruments of the U.S. government and its agencies; and/or (d) instruments with similar risk, duration and credit quality characteristics to the commercial paper and corporate obligations described above. The primary purpose of these investing activities has been to preserve principal until the cash is required to, among other things, fund operations, make strategic investments and expand the business. Consequently, the size of this portfolio fluctuates significantly as cash is received and used in our business. The value of this portfolio may be negatively impacted by credit losses; however, this risk is mitigated through diversification that limits our exposure to any one issuer.
Interest Rate Risk
A change in interest rates would not affect the fair value of our cash, or materially affect the fair value of our cash equivalents due to their maturities of less than 90 days. A change in interest rates would affect the fair value of our current marketable debt securities portfolio; however, we normally hold these investments to maturity. Based on our cash, cash equivalents and current marketable debt securities investment portfolio of $1.5 billion as of December 31, 2022, a hypothetical 10% change in average interest rates during 2022 would not have had a material impact on the fair value of our cash, cash equivalents and debt securities portfolio due to the limited duration of our investments.
Our cash, cash equivalents and current marketable debt securities had an average annual rate of return for the year ended December 31, 2022 of 2.15%. A change in interest rates would affect our future annual interest income from this portfolio, since funds would be re-invested at different rates as the instruments mature. A hypothetical 10% decrease in average interest rates during 2022 would have resulted in a decrease of $2.6 million in annual interest income.
Other Investments
Our ability to realize value from our strategic investments in companies that are privately held depends on the success of those companies’ businesses and their ability to obtain sufficient capital to execute their business plans. Because private markets are not as liquid as public markets, there is also increased risk that we will not be able to sell these investments, or that when we sell them, we will not be able to recover our investment.
Foreign Currency Exchange Risk
Our international business is conducted in a variety of foreign currencies with our largest exposures being to the Brazilian real, the Indian rupee, European euro and the British pound. Transactions in foreign currencies are converted into U.S. dollars using exchange rates in effect on the dates of the transactions. This exposes us to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates.
Our objective in managing our exposure to foreign currency changes is to reduce earnings and cash flow volatility associated with foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations, primarily resulting from loans to foreign subsidiaries in U.S. dollars. Accordingly, we may enter into foreign currency forward contracts, or take other measures, to mitigate risks associated with foreign currency denominated assets, liabilities, commitments and anticipated foreign currency transactions.. As of December 31, 2022, we had foreign currency forward contracts with a notional amount of $8.3 million in place to partially mitigate foreign currency exchange risk. The estimated fair values of the foreign currency contracts were not material as of December 31, 2022. The impact of a hypothetical 10% adverse change
in exchange rates on the carrying amount of the net assets and liabilities of our foreign subsidiaries during 2022 would have resulted in an estimated loss to the cumulative translation adjustment of $50.0 million as of December 31, 2022.
Derivative Financial Instruments
We generally do not use derivative financial instruments for speculative purposes and we generally do not apply hedge accounting treatment to our derivative financial instruments. We evaluate our derivative financial instruments from time to time but there can be no assurance that we will not enter into additional foreign currency forward contracts, or take other measures, in the future to mitigate our foreign currency exchange risk.

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ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
Our Consolidated Financial Statements are included in Item 15 of this Form 10-K.

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ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS
ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE
Not applicable.

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ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, we evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) as of the end of the period covered by this Form 10-K. Based upon that evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of the end of the period covered by this Form 10-K such that the information required to be disclosed in our SEC reports is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC rules and forms, and is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
There has been no change in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 15d-15(f) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) that occurred during the three months ended December 31, 2022 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting. We continue to review our internal control over financial reporting and may from time to time make changes aimed at enhancing its effectiveness and to ensure that our systems evolve with our business.
Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting. Our internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with GAAP.
Our internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that:
(i) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect our transactions and dispositions of our assets;
(ii) provide reasonable assurance that our transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of our financial statements in accordance with GAAP, and that our receipts and expenditures are being made only in accordance with authorizations of our management and our directors; and
(iii) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of our assets that could have a material effect on our financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with policies or procedures may deteriorate.
Our management conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting based on the framework in Internal Control-Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on this evaluation, our management has concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2022.

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ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION
ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION
Financial Results
On February 22, 2023, EchoStar issued a press release (the “Press Release”) announcing its financial results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2022. A copy of the Press Release is furnished herewith as Exhibit 99.1. The foregoing information, including the exhibit related thereto, is furnished in response to Item 2.02 of Form 8-K and shall not be deemed “filed” for the purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or otherwise, and shall not be incorporated by reference into any registration statement or other document pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or into any filing or other document pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, except as otherwise expressly stated in any such filing.

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ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

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ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

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ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS

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ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS

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ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES
ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES
Appointment of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
KPMG LLP served as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022. EchoStar’s board of directors, in its discretion, may direct the appointment of a different independent registered public accounting firm at any time during the year if it determines that such a change would be in our best interests.
Fees Paid to KPMG LLP
The following table presents fees for professional services rendered by KPMG LLP on behalf of the Company for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, in full dollar amounts:
For the Years Ended December 31,
2022 2021
Audit fees (1) $ 2,133,489 $ 2,050,883
Audit-related fees (2) 38,523 1,907
Total audit and audited related fees 2,172,012 2,052,790
Tax fees (3) 39,010 8,625
Total fees $ 2,211,022 $ 2,061,415
(1) Consists of fees for the audit of our Consolidated Financial Statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, review of our unaudited financial statements included in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and fees in connection with statutory and other audits of our foreign subsidiaries.
(2) Consists of fees for assurance and other services that are provided in connection with the issuance of consents, comfort letters, certifications, compliance with XBRL tagging, and professional consultations with respect to accounting issues or matters that are non-recurring in nature.
(3) Consists of fees for tax consultation and tax compliance services.
Policy on Audit Committee Pre-Approval of Audit and Permissible Non-Audit Services of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
EchoStar’s Audit Committee is responsible for appointing, setting compensation, retaining, and overseeing the work of our independent registered public accounting firm. EchoStar’s Audit Committee has established a process regarding pre-approval of all audit and permissible non-audit services provided by the independent registered public accounting firm.
Requests are submitted to EchoStar’s Audit Committee in one of the following ways:
•Request for approval of services at a meeting of EchoStar’s Audit Committee; or
•Request for approval of services by members of EchoStar’s Audit Committee acting by written consent.
The request may be made with respect to either specific services or a type of service for predictable or recurring services. All of the fees paid by us to KPMG LLP for services for 2022 and 2021 were pre-approved by EchoStar’s Audit Committee.
PART IV

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ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
(a) The following documents are filed as part of this report:
Page
(1) Consolidated Financial Statements
Index to Consolidated Financial Statements
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2022 and 2021
Consolidated Statements of Operations for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss) for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020
Consolidated Statements of Changes in Shareholder's Equity for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
(2) Exhibits
Exhibit No. Description
2.1*
Agreement and Plan of Merger between EchoStar Corporation, EchoStar Satellite Services L.L.C., Broadband Acquisition Corporation and Hughes Communications, Inc. dated as of February 13, 2011 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2.1 to Hughes Communications Inc.’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed February 15, 2011, Commission File No. 1-33040).****
2.2*
Master Transaction Agreement by and among DISH Network Corporation, BSS Merger Sub Inc., EchoStar Corporation, and EchoStar BSS Corporation, dated as of May 19, 2019 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2.1 to Hughes Satellite Systems Corporation’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2019, filed August 8, 2019, Commission File No. 333-179121).****
3.1(a)*
Articles of Incorporation of EH Holding Corporation (currently known as Hughes Satellite Systems Corporation), dated as of March 16, 2011 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1(a) to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-4, Registration No. 333-179121).
3.1(b)*
Articles of Amendment of EH Holding Corporation (currently known as Hughes Satellite Systems Corporation), dated as of October 26, 2011 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1(b) to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-4, Registration No. 333-179121).
3.1(c)*
Articles of Amendment of Hughes Satellite Systems Corporation, dated as of December 30, 2013 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1(c) to Hughes Satellite Systems Corporation’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013, filed February 21, 2014, Commission File No. 333-179121.
3.1(d)*
Articles of Amendment of Hughes Satellite Systems Corporation, dated as of January 21, 2014 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1(d) to Hughes Satellite Systems Corporation’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013, filed February 21, 2014, Commission File No. 333-179121).
Exhibit No. Description
3.1(e)*
Articles of Amendment of Hughes Satellite Systems Corporation, dated as of February 28, 2014 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1(a) to Hughes Satellite Systems Corporation’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2014, filed May 9, 2014, Commission File No. 333-179121).
3.1(f)*
Articles of Amendment to Articles of Incorporation of Hughes Satellite Systems Corporation, dated as of March 1, 2017 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 32 to EchoStar Corporation’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed March 6, 2017, Commission File No. 001-33807).
3.2*
Bylaws of EH Holding Corporation (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2 to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-4, Registration No. 333-179121).
4.1*
Security Agreement, dated as of June 8, 2011, among EH Holding Corporation (currently known as Hughes Satellite Systems Corporation), the guarantors listed on the signature pages thereto, and U.S. Bank National Association, as successor collateral agent (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to EchoStar Corporation’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed June 9, 2011, Commission File No. 001-33807).
4.2*
Indenture, relating to the 5.250% Senior Secured Notes, dated as of July 27, 2016, among Hughes Satellite Systems Corporation, the guarantors party thereto, U.S. Bank National Association, as trustee and successor collateral agent (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to EchoStar Corporation’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on July 27, 2016, Commission File No. 001-33807).
4.3*
Indenture, relating to the 6.625% Senior Unsecured Notes, dated as of July 27, 2016, among Hughes Satellite Systems Corporation, the guarantors party thereto and U.S. Bank National Association, as trustee (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 to EchoStar Corporation’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on July 27, 2016, Commission File No. 001-33807).
4.4*
Registration Rights Agreement, dated as of July 27, 2016, among Hughes Satellite Systems Corporation, the guarantors party thereto and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.3 to EchoStar Corporation’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on July 27, 2016, Commission File No. 001-33807).
4.5*
Additional Secured Party Joinder, dated as of July 27, 2016, among U.S. Bank National Association, as trustee and successor collateral agent, and Hughes Satellite Systems Corporation (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.4 to EchoStar Corporation’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on July 27, 2016, Commission File No. 001-33807).
4.6*
Form of 5.250% Senior Secured Note due 2026 (included as part of Exhibit 4.2).
4.7*
Form of 6.625% Senior Unsecured Note due 2026 (included as part of Exhibit 4.3).
4.8*
Supplemental Indenture relating to Hughes Satellite Systems Corporation’s 5.250% Senior Secured Notes due 2026, dated March 23, 2017, by and among Hughes Satellite Systems Corporation, the guarantors and the supplemental guarantor listed on the signature pages thereto, U.S. Bank National Association, as trustee and successor collateral agent (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.19 to Hughes Satellite Systems Corporation’s Registration Statement on Form S-4, filed April 6, 2017, Commission File No. 333-179121).
4.9*
Supplemental Indenture relating to Hughes Satellite Systems Corporation’s 6.625% Senior Notes due 2026, dated as of March 23, 2017, by and among Hughes Satellite Systems Corporation, the guarantors and the supplemental guarantor listed on the signature pages thereto and U.S. Bank National Association, as trustee (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.20 to Hughes Satellite Systems Corporation’s Registration Statement on Form S-4, filed April 6, 2017, Commission File No. 333-179121).
Exhibit No. Description
4.10*
Joinder Agreement, dated as of August 10, 2017, to the Security Agreement dated as of June 8, 2011, by and between HNS Americas, L.L.C., HNS Americas II, L.L.C. and U.S. Bank National Association, as successor collateral agent (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.23 to Hughes Satellite Systems Corporation’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017, filed February 22, 2018, Commission File No. 333-179121).
4.11*
Second Supplemental Indenture relating to Hughes Satellite Systems Corporation’s 5.250% Senior Secured Notes due 2026, dated August 10, 2017, by and among Hughes Satellite Systems Corporation, the guarantors and the supplemental guarantor listed on the signature pages thereto, U.S. Bank National Association, as trustee and successor collateral agent (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.24 to Hughes Satellite Systems Corporation’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017, filed February 22, 2018, Commission File No. 333-179121).
4.12*
Second Supplemental Indenture relating to Hughes Satellite Systems Corporation’s 6.625% Senior Notes due 2026, dated as of August 10, 2017, by and among Hughes Satellite Systems Corporation, the guarantors and the supplemental guarantor listed on the signature pages thereto and U.S. Bank National Association, as trustee (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.25 to Hughes Satellite Systems Corporation’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017, filed February 22, 2018, Commission File No. 333-179121).
4.13*
Joinder Agreement, dated as of June 12, 2019, to the Security Agreement dated as of June 8, 2011, by and between EchoStar BSS Corporation, EchoStar FSS L.L.C. and U.S. Bank National Association, as successor collateral agent (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to Hughes Satellite System Corporation’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2019, filed August 8, 2019, Commission File No. 333-179121).
4.14*
Third Supplemental Indenture relating to Hughes Satellite Systems Corporation’s 5.250% Senior Secured Notes due 2026, dated June 12, 2019, by and among Hughes Satellite Systems Corporation, the guarantors and the supplemental guarantors listed on the signature pages thereto, U.S. Bank National Association, as trustee and successor collateral agent (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 to Hughes Satellite System Corporation’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2019, filed August 8, 2019, Commission File No. 333-179121).
4.15*
Third Supplemental Indenture relating to Hughes Satellite Systems Corporation’s 6.625% Senior Notes due 2026, dated as of June 12, 2019, by and among Hughes Satellite Systems Corporation, the guarantors and the supplemental guarantors listed on the signature pages thereto and U.S. Bank National Association, as trustee (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.3 to Hughes Satellite System Corporation’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2019, filed August 8, 2019, Commission File No. 333-179121).
10.1*
Form of Tax Sharing Agreement between EchoStar Corporation and DISH Network Corporation (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to Amendment No. 1 of EchoStar Corporation’s Form 10, filed December 12, 2007, Commission File No. 001-33807).
10.2*
Amended and Restated EchoStar Corporation 2008 Stock Incentive Plan (the “2008 Stock Incentive Plan”) (incorporated by reference to EchoStar Corporation’s Definitive Proxy Statement on Form 14, filed September 18, 2014, Commission File No. 001-33807).**
10.3*
Form of Indemnification Agreement (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K of Hughes Communications, Inc., filed June 22, 2006, (Commission File No. 000-51784)). **
10.4*
Form of Restricted Stock Unit Agreement for 2008 Stock Incentive Plan - Executive or Director (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to EchoStar Corporation’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2015, filed November 6, 2015, Commission File No. 001-33807).**
10.5*
Form of Stock Option Agreement for 2008 Stock Incentive Plan (1999) (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.31 to Hughes Satellite System Corporation’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015, filed February 24, 2016, Commission File No. 333-179121). **
Exhibit No. Description
10.6*
Form of Stock Option Agreement for 2008 Stock Incentive Plan - Employee (2008) (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.32 to Hughes Satellite System Corporation’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015, filed February 24, 2016, Commission File No. 333-179121). **
10.7*
Form of Stock Option Agreement for 2008 Stock Incentive Plan - Executive (2008) (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.33 to Hughes Satellite System Corporation’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015, filed February 24, 2016, Commission File No. 333-179121). **
10.8*
Form of Stock Option Agreement for 2008 Stock Incentive Plan - Employee (2014) (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.34 to Hughes Satellite System Corporation’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015, filed February 24, 2016, Commission File No. 333-179121). **
10.9*
Form of Stock Option Agreement for 2008 Stock Incentive Plan - Executive (2014) (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.35 to Hughes Satellite System Corporation’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015, filed February 24, 2016, Commission File No. 333-179121). **
10.10*
Form of Restricted Stock Unit Agreement for 2008 Stock Incentive Plan - Executive or Director (2011) (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.36 to Hughes Satellite System Corporation’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015, filed February 24, 2016, Commission File No. 333-179121).**
10.11*
EchoStar Corporation 2017 Stock Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to EchoStar Corporation’s Definitive Proxy Statement on Form 14, filed March 23, 2017, Commission File No. 001-33807).**
10.12*
Amended and Restated EchoStar Corporation 2017 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (incorporated by reference to EchoStar Corporation’s Definitive Proxy Statement on Form 14, filed March 23, 2017, Commission File No. 001-33807).**
10.13*
Amendment No. 1 to EchoStar Corporation 2017 Amended and Restated Employee Stock Purchase Plan dated October 20, 2022 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.5 to EchoStar Corporation’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2022, filed November 3, 2022, Commission File No. 001-33807)**
10.14*
EchoStar Non-Qualified Plan -- Executive Plan and Adoption Agreement, as amended (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to EchoStar Corporation’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2017, filed August 9, 2017, Commission File No. 001-33807).**
10.15*
Form of Stock Option Agreement for the EchoStar Corporation 2017 Stock Incentive Plan - Employee (2017) (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to EchoStar Corporation’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2017, filed August 9, 2017, Commission File No. 001-33807).**
10.15*
Form of Stock Option Agreement for the EchoStar Corporation 2017 Stock Incentive Plan - Executive (2017) (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to EchoStar Corporation’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2017, filed August 9, 2017, Commission File No. 001-33807). **
10.17*
Form of Restricted Stock Unit Agreement for the EchoStar Corporation 2017 Stock Incentive Plan - Executive (2017) (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.5 to EchoStar Corporation’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2017, filed August 9, 2017, Commission File No. 001-33807).**
10.18*
Form of Stock Option Agreement for the EchoStar Corporation 2017 Stock Incentive Plan - Employee (2022) (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to EchoStar Corporation’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2022, filed November 3, 2022, Commission File No. 001-33807)**
10.19*
Form of Stock Option Agreement for the EchoStar Corporation 2017 Stock Incentive Plan - Executive (2022) (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to EchoStar Corporation’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2022, filed November 3, 2022, Commission File No. 001-33807) **
Exhibit No. Description
10.20*
Form of Non-Employee Director Stock Option Agreement for the EchoStar Corporation 2017 Non-Employee Director Stock Incentive Plan (2022) (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to EchoStar Corporation’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2022, filed November 3, 2022, Commission File No. 001-33807)**
10.21*
Form of Restricted Stock Unit Agreement for the EchoStar Corporation 2017 Stock Incentive Plan - Executive (2022) (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to EchoStar Corporation’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2022, filed November 3, 2022, Commission File No. 001-33807) **
10.22*
Offer Letter to Hamid Akhavan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to EchoStar Corporation’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed February 22, 2022, Commission File No. 001-33807)**
10.23*
Form of Stock Option Agreement for Hamid Akhavan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to EchoStar Corporation’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2022, filed May 5, 2022, Commission File No. 001-33807)**
10.24*
Form of Restricted Stock Unit Agreement for Hamid Akhavan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to EchoStar Corporation’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2022, filed May 5, 2022, Commission File No. 001-33807)**
10.25*
Letter Agreement between EchoStar Corporation and DISH Network Corporation, dated August 3, 2018, amending that certain Form of Tax Sharing Agreement between EchoStar Corporation and DISH Network (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to Hughes Satellite System Corporation’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 2018, filed November 8, 2018, Commission File No. 333-179121).
10.26*
Amendment to EchoStar Non-Qualified Plan-Executive Plan and Adoption Agreement, dated November 1, 2018 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.30 to Hughes Satellite Systems Corporation’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the Year ended December 31, 2018, filed February 21, 2019, Commission File No. 333-179121).**
10.27*
Amended and Restated EchoStar Corporation Executive Officer Bonus Incentive Plan, dated as of April 30, 2019 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to Hughes Satellite Systems Corporation’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2019, filed August 8, 2019, Commission File No. 333-179121).**
10.28*
Amendment to EchoStar Non-Qualified Plan - Executive Plan and Adoption Agreement, dated October 21, 2019 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to EchoStar Corporation’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2020, filed November 5, 2020, Commission File No. 333-179121). **
10.29*
Amendment No. 1 to EchoStar Corporation 2017 Non-Employee Director Stock Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to EchoStar Corporation’s Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A, filed March 17, 2021, Commission File No. 001-33807). **
10.30*
Second Amended and Restated EchoStar Corporation Executive Officer Bonus Incentive Plan, dated as of November 2, 2021. **
31.1 (H)
Section 302 Certification of Chief Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer
32.1 (H)
Section 906 Certification of Chief Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer.
99.1 (I)
Press release dated February 22, 2023 issued by EchoStar Corporation regarding financial results for the quarter and full year ended December 31, 2022.
101.INS XBRL Instance Document. The instance document does not appear in the Interactive Data File because its XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document.
101.SCH XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema.
Exhibit No. Description
101.CAL XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase.
101.DEF XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase.
101.LAB XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase.
101.PRE XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase.
(H) Filed herewith.
(I) Furnished herewith.
* Incorporated by reference.
** Constitutes a management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement.
*** Certain portions of the exhibit have been omitted in accordance with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s rules and regulations regarding confidential treatment.
**** Schedules and exhibits have been omitted pursuant to Item 601(a)(5) of Regulation S-K. We agree to furnish supplementally to the Securities and Exchange Commission a copy of any omitted schedule or exhibit upon request, subject to our right to request confidential treatment of any requested schedule or exhibit.