Profile: EchoStar Corporation (SATS.O)

EchoStar Corporation (EchoStar) operates two primary business units: Digital Set-Top Box business and Satellite Services business. EchoStar had a spin-off from DISH Network on January 1, 2008. Digital Set-Top Box business designs, develops and distributes digital set-top boxes and related products and technology, including its Slingbox placeshifting technology, primarily for satellite television service providers, telecommunication and cable companies and directly to consumers’ through retail outlets. Most of its digital set-top boxes are sold to DISH Network, but it also sells a significant number of digital set-top boxes to Bell TV in Canada and other international customers. The Company’s Digital Set-Top Box business also provides digital broadcast operations, including satellite uplinking/downlinking, transmission services, signal processing, conditional access management and other services provided primarily to DISH Network. Satellite Services Business uses the Company’s eight owned and leased in-orbit satellites and related Federal Communications Commission (FCC) licenses to lease capacity on a full time and occasional-use basis to enterprise, broadcast news and government organizations. As of December 31, 2008, the Company leased capacity primarily to DISH Network, and secondarily to government entities, Internet service providers, broadcast news organizations and private enterprise customers. On November 24, 2008, the Company entered into a joint venture to provide a direct-to-home (DTH), service in Mexico through several arrangements that provide the Company with an approximate 24% indirect interest in DISH Mexico, S. de R.L. de C.V. (DISH Mexico).

Digital Set-Top Business

EchoStar’s set-top boxes permit consumers to watch, control and record television programming through digital video recorder (DVR), technology integrated with satellite receivers. Certain of its set-top boxes are also capable of incorporating Internet protocol television (IPTV), functionality, which allows consumers to download movies, music and other content from the Internet through an Ethernet connection. As part of the Spin-off from DISH Network, the Company acquired Sling Media, Inc., which operates in the digital-lifestyle space. Slingbox contains a placeshifting technology that allows consumers to watch and control their home digital video and audio content anywhere in the world through a broadband Internet connection. The Company’s digital set-top box offerings, as of December 31, 2008, included Slingboxes, SlingLoaded High-Definition (HD)-DVR digital set-top boxes, Standard-definition (SD) basic digital set-top boxes, SD-DVR digital set-top boxes, HD digital set-top boxes and HD-DVR digital set-top boxes.

From the Company’s wholly owned subsidiary, Sling Media, it produces and sells at retail channels a variety of Slingbox products, including the Slingbox, Slingbox PRO HD, SlingCatcher and Slingbox Solo. SlingLoaded HD-DVR digital set-top boxes combine HD-DVR digital set-top boxes with Sling Media’s Slingbox technology, creating high definition digital video recorder that incorporates placeshifting technology into a single device. This placeshifting set-top box has up to 1,000 hours of recording time, incorporates a touch-pad remote control and new user interface, and allows users to increase their DVR storage capacity through the use of external hard drives.

SD basic digital set-top boxes allow consumers, who subscribe to television service from multi-channel video distributors to access encrypted digital video and audio content and make use of a variety of applications. These applications include an on-screen interactive program guide, pay-per-view offerings, the ability to support V-chip type technology, games and shopping and parental control. SD-DVR digital set-top boxes enable subscribers to pause, stop, reverse, fast forward, record and replay live or recorded digital television content using a built-in hard drive capable of storing up to 200 hours of content. They also include the ability to support video-on-demand (VOD) services.

HD digital set-top boxes enable subscribers to access the picture quality and sound of content, in addition to the functionality of a SD digital set-top box. HD-DVR digital set-top boxes combine the functionality of the HD set-top box and the DVR digital set-top box into a single device. The Company’s HD-DVR set-top boxes are capable of storing up to 350 hours of SD, or 55 hours of HD, content and contain IPTV functionality. In addition to set-top boxes EchoStar also designs and develops related products, such as satellite dishes, remote controls, Sling modems, digital-to-analog converter boxes, which will allow consumers to view, record and play back local over-the-air analog and digital broadcasts on analog television sets, and other devices and accessories.

The Company operates a number of digital broadcast centers in the United States. Its principal digital broadcast centers are located in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Gilbert, Arizona. The Company also has six regional digital broadcast centers that allow the Company to maximize the use of the spot beam capabilities of its satellites and its customers’ satellites. Programming and other data is received at these centers by fiber or satellite, it is then processed, compressed, and encrypted and then it is uplinked to its satellites and its customers’ satellites for transmission to consumers. In addition, the Company has the capacity to aggregate content at its digital broadcast centers and offer transport services for over 300 channels of moving picture experts group (MPEG)-4 Internet protocol (IP) encapsulated standard-definition and high-definition programming from its satellite located at the 85 degree orbital location.

The Company competes Motorola, Inc. and Cisco Systems, Inc.

Satellite Services Business

The Company operates six owned and two leased in-orbit satellites. It also has one owned and one leased satellite under construction. Its transponder capacity is used by its customers for a variety of applications, such as broadcasting services, government services and network services. The Company leases satellite transponder capacity to satellite television providers, broadcasters and programmers who use the Company’s satellites to deliver programming to United States households. Its satellites are also used for the transmission of live sporting events, Internet and disaster recovery, and satellite news gathering services.

The Company leases satellite capacity and provides technical services to United States government agencies and contractors. It leases satellite transponder capacity and provide terrestrial network services to corporations. These networks are dedicated private networks that allow delivery of video and data services for corporate communications. Its satellites can be used for point-to-point or point to multi-point communications.

The Company competes with Intelsat Corporation, SES Americom and Telesat Holdings, Inc.