Dish Network 2010 Annual Report Download - page 15

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GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS
DBS operators are subject to significant government regulation, primarily by the FCC and, to a certain extent, by
Congress, other federal agencies and foreign, state and local authorities. Depending upon the circumstances,
noncompliance with legislation or regulations promulgated by these entities could result in the suspension or
revocation of our licenses or registrations, the termination or loss of contracts or the imposition of contractual
damages, civil fines or criminal penalties, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business,
financial condition and results of operations. Furthermore, the adoption or modification of laws or regulations
relating to the Internet or other areas of our business could limit or otherwise adversely affect the manner in which
we currently conduct our business. If we become subject to new regulations or legislation or new interpretations of
existing regulations or legislation that govern Internet network neutrality, we may be required to incur additional
expenses or alter our business model. The manner in which legislation governing Internet network neutrality may
be interpreted and enforced cannot be precisely determined, which in turn could have an adverse effect on our
business, financial condition and results of operations.
The following summary of regulatory developments and legislation in the United States is not intended to describe
all present and proposed government regulation and legislation affecting the satellite and video programming
distribution industries. Government regulations that are currently the subject of judicial or administrative
proceedings, legislative hearings or administrative proposals could change our industry to varying degrees. We
cannot predict either the outcome of these proceedings or any potential impact they might have on the industry or on
our operations.
FCC Regulation under the Communications Act
FCC Jurisdiction over our Operations. The Communications Act gives the FCC broad authority to regulate the
operations of satellite companies. Specifically, the Communications Act gives the FCC regulatory jurisdiction over
the following areas relating to communications satellite operations:
• the assignment of satellite radio frequencies and orbital locations, the licensing of satellites and
earth stations, the granting of related authorizations, and evaluation of the fitness of a company to
be a licensee;
• approval for the relocation of satellites to different orbital locations or the replacement of an
existing satellite with a new satellite;
• ensuring compliance with the terms and conditions of such assignments, licenses, authorizations
and approvals; including required timetables for construction and operation of satellites;
• avoiding interference with other radio frequency emitters; and
• ensuring compliance with other applicable provisions of the Communications Act and FCC rules
and regulations.
To obtain FCC satellite licenses and authorizations, satellite operators must satisfy strict legal, technical and
financial qualification requirements. Once issued, these licenses and authorizations are subject to a number of
conditions including, among other things, satisfaction of ongoing due diligence obligations, construction milestones,
and various reporting requirements. Necessary federal approval of these applications may not be granted, may not
be granted in a timely manner, or may be granted subject to conditions which may be cumbersome.
Overview of our Satellites, Authorizations and Contractual Rights for Satellite Capacity. Our satellites are located
in orbital positions, or slots, that are designated by their western longitude. An orbital position describes both a
physical location and an assignment of spectrum in the applicable frequency band. Each DBS orbital position has
500 MHz of available Ku-band spectrum that is divided into 32 frequency channels. Through digital compression
technology, we can currently transmit between nine and 13 standard definition digital video channels per DBS
frequency channel. Several of our satellites also include spot-beam technology which enables us to increase the
number of markets where we provide local channels, but reduces the number of video channels that could otherwise
be offered across the entire United States.