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1
1
PART I
Item 1. BUSINESS
OVERVIEW
DISH Network Corporation was organized in 1995 as a corporation under the laws of the State of Nevada. We
started offering the DISH® branded pay-TV service in March 1996 and are the nation’s third largest pay-TV
provider. Our common stock is publicly traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “DISH.” Our
principal executive offices are located at 9601 South Meridian Boulevard, Englewood, Colorado 80112 and our
telephone number is (303) 723-1000.
DISH Network Corporation is a holding company. Its subsidiaries (which together with DISH Network Corporation
are referred to as “DISH Network,” the “Company,” “we,” “us” and/or “our,” unless otherwise required by the
context) operate two primary business segments.
DISH. The DISH branded pay-TV service (“DISH”) had 13.978 million subscribers in the United States as
of December 31, 2014. The DISH branded pay-TV service consists of, among other things, Federal
Communications Commission (“FCC”) licenses authorizing us to use direct broadcast satellite (“DBS”)
and Fixed Satellite Service (“FSS”) spectrum, our owned and leased satellites, receiver systems, third-party
broadcast operations, customer service facilities, a leased fiber optic network, in-home service and call
center operations, and certain other assets utilized in our operations. In addition, we market broadband
services under the dishNET™ brand, which had 0.577 million subscribers in the United States as of
December 31, 2014. This service utilizes advanced technology and high-powered satellites launched by
Hughes Communications, Inc. (“Hughes”) and ViaSat, Inc. (“ViaSat”) to provide broadband coverage
nationwide. This service primarily targets rural residents that are underserved, or unserved, by wireline
broadband. In addition to the dishNET branded satellite broadband service, we also offer wireline voice
and broadband services under the dishNET brand as a competitive local exchange carrier to consumers
living in a 14-state region in the western United States. We primarily bundle our dishNET branded
services with our DISH branded pay-TV service.
Wireless
o DISH Spectrum. We have invested over $5.0 billion since 2008 to acquire certain wireless
spectrum licenses and related assets. These wireless spectrum licenses are subject to certain
interim and final build-out requirements. As we review our options for the commercialization of
our wireless spectrum, we may incur significant additional expenses and may have to make
significant investments related to, among other things, research and development, wireless testing
and wireless network infrastructure, as well as the acquisition of additional wireless spectrum.
o AWS-3 Auction. On February 13, 2015, Northstar Wireless, LLC (“Northstar Wireless”) and SNR
Wireless LicenseCo, LLC (“SNR Wireless”) each filed applications with the Federal
Communications Commission (“FCC”) to acquire certain AWS-3 wireless spectrum licenses (the
“AWS-3 Licenses”) that were made available in the auction designated by the FCC as Auction 97
(the “AWS-3 Auction”) for which it was named as winning bidder and had made the required
down payments. Issuance of any AWS-3 licenses to Northstar Wireless or SNR Wireless
depends, among other things, upon the FCC’s review and approval of the applications filed by
Northstar Wireless and SNR Wireless. We cannot predict the timing or the outcome of the FCC’s
review of those applications. We own an 85% non-controlling interest in each of Northstar
Spectrum, LLC (“Northstar Spectrum”) and SNR Wireless Holdco, LLC (“SNR Holdco”), the
parent companies of Northstar Wireless and SNR Wireless, respectively. After Northstar Wireless
and SNR Wireless have made the final payments to the FCC for the AWS-3 Licenses, our total
non-controlling equity and debt investments in these entities and their parent companies,
respectively, will be approximately $9.778 billion. As of December 31, 2014, Northstar Wireless
and SNR Wireless had made aggregate refundable upfront payments to the FCC of approximately