Organization and Business Activities

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2014

Organization and Business Activities

Organization and Business Activities

Note 1. Organization and Business Activities

Principal Business

EchoStar Corporation (together with its subsidiaries is referred to as “EchoStar,” the “Company,” “we,” “us” and/or “our”) is a holding company that was organized in October 2007 as a corporation under the laws of the State of Nevada.  We are a global provider of satellite operations, video delivery solutions, digital set-top boxes, and broadband satellite technologies and services for home and office, delivering innovative network technologies, managed services, and solutions for enterprises and governments.

We currently operate in three business segments.

· EchoStar Technologies (“ETC”) — which designs, develops and distributes digital set-top boxes and related products and technology, primarily for satellite TV service providers, telecommunication companies and international cable companies.  Our EchoStar Technologies segment also provides digital broadcast operations, including satellite uplinking/downlinking, transmission services, signal processing, conditional access management, and other services, primarily to DISH Network Corporation and its subsidiaries (“DISH Network”).  In addition, we provide our Slingboxes directly to consumers via retail outlets and online.

· Hughes — which provides satellite broadband internet access to North American consumers and broadband network services and equipment to domestic and international enterprise markets.  The Hughes segment also provides managed services to large enterprises and solutions to customers for mobile satellite systems.

· EchoStar Satellite Services (“ESS”) — which uses certain of our owned and leased in-orbit satellites and related licenses to provide satellite services on a full-time and occasional-use basis primarily to DISH Network and also to Dish Mexico, S. de R.L. de C.V. (“Dish Mexico”), a joint venture that we entered into in 2008, as well as to United States (“U.S.”) government service providers, state agencies, internet service providers, broadcast news organizations, programmers, and private enterprise customers.

In 2008, DISH Network completed its distribution to us of its digital set-top box business and certain infrastructure and other assets, including certain of their satellites, uplink and satellite transmission assets, real estate, and other assets and related liabilities (the “Spin-off”).  Since the Spin-off, EchoStar and DISH Network have operated as separate publicly-traded companies.  However, as a result of the Satellite and Tracking Stock Transaction, described in Note 2 below, DISH Network owns preferred tracking stock representing an aggregate 80.0% economic interest in the residential retail satellite broadband business of our Hughes segment.  In addition, a substantial majority of the voting power of the shares of DISH Network and EchoStar is owned beneficially by Charles W. Ergen, our Chairman, and by certain trusts established by Mr. Ergen for the benefit of his family.  Our Class A common stock is publicly traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “SATS.”