Leases

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Leases

Leases

10.Leases

We enter into operating and finance leases for, among other things, wireless towers, satellites, office space, warehouses and distribution centers, vehicles and other equipment. Our leases have remaining lease terms from one to 16 years, some of which include renewal options, and some of which include options to terminate the leases within one year.

Our Anik F3, Nimiq 5 and QuetzSat-1 satellites are accounted for as financing leases. Substantially all of our remaining leases are accounted for as operating leases.

The components of lease expense were as follows:

	For the Years Ended December 31,
	2020		2019
	(In thousands)
Operating lease cost (1)	$	71,863	$	223,825
Short-term lease cost (2)		11,870		12,077
Finance lease cost:
Amortization of right-of-use assets		71,318		35,004
Interest on lease liabilities		21,007		10,800
Total finance lease cost		92,325		45,804
Total lease costs	$	176,058	$	281,706

(1) Pursuant to the Master Transaction Agreement, effective September 10, 2019, approximately $495 million of previously reported operating lease assets and the related liabilities for satellites and real estate assets were transferred to us. See Note 20 for further information. These satellite and real estate assets are no longer included in “Operating lease assets,” “Other current liabilities” and “Operating lease liabilities,” but rather in “Property and equipment, net” on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. Lease expense related to these satellites and real estate assets for the year ended December 31, 2019 were $159 million.

(2) Leases that have terms of 12 months or less.

Supplemental cash flow information related to leases was as follows:
​

	For the Years Ended December 31,
	2020		2019
	(In thousands)
Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities:
Operating cash flows from operating leases	$	72,352	$	227,451
Operating cash flows from finance leases	$	21,007	$	10,800
Financing cash flows from finance leases	$	65,979	$	34,358
Right-of-use assets obtained in exchange for lease obligations:
Operating leases	$	47,225	$	118,381
Finance leases	$	—	$	187,339
Right-of-use assets and liabilities recognized at January 1, 2019 upon adoption of ASC 842			$	733,584

Supplemental balance sheet information related to leases was as follows:

	As of December 31,
	2020		2019
	(In thousands)
Operating Leases:
Operating lease assets (1)	$	104,271	$	144,330
Other current liabilities	$	56,856	$	57,910
Operating lease liabilities		63,526		84,795
Total operating lease liabilities	$	120,382	$	142,705
Finance Leases:
Property and equipment, gross	$	889,708	$	890,598
Accumulated depreciation		(754,292)		(683,271)
Property and equipment, net	$	135,416	$	207,327
Other current liabilities	$	58,379	$	61,493
Other long-term liabilities		103,795		171,706
Total finance lease liabilities	$	162,174	$	233,199
Weighted Average Remaining Lease Term:
Operating leases		2.8 years		3.1 years
Finance leases		3.1 years		3.8 years
Weighted Average Discount Rate:
Operating leases		4.2%		5.0%
Finance leases		10.4%		10.2%

(1) During the year ended December 31, 2020, we impaired the operating lease assets related to the narrowband IoT deployment that would not be utilized in our 5G Network Deployment, resulting in a $27 million non-cash impairment charge in “Impairment of long-lived assets” on our Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss). See Note 2 for further information.

Maturities of lease liabilities as of December 31, 2020 were as follows:

	Maturities of Lease Liabilities
	Operating		Finance
For the Years Ending December 31,	Leases		Leases		Total
	(In thousands)
2021	$	71,614	$	70,302	$	141,916
2022		35,074		48,307		83,381
2023		16,908		40,942		57,850
2024		9,850		30,707		40,557
2025		3,205		—		3,205
Thereafter		1,490		—		1,490
Total lease payments		138,141		190,258		328,399
Less: Imputed interest		(17,759)		(28,084)		(45,843)
Total		120,382		162,174		282,556
Less: Current portion		(56,856)		(58,379)		(115,235)
Long-term portion of lease obligations	$	63,526	$	103,795	$	167,321