Commitments and Contingencies (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2023

Commitments and Contingencies

Schedule of future maturities of long-term debt, finance lease and contractual obligations

For the Years Ending December 31,	Other Long-Term Obligations (1)
		(In thousands)
2023 (remaining three months)	$	1,485,859
2024		2,668,442
2025		2,096,744
2026		1,840,438
2027		1,087,858
Thereafter		4,955,117
Total	$	14,134,458

(1) Represents minimum contractual commitments related to communication tower obligations, certain 5G Network Deployment commitments, obligations under the NSA with AT&T and the MNSA with T-Mobile, certain wireless device purchases and marketing obligations, radios, software and integration services and satellite related and other obligations.

Summary of Wireless Spectrum Licenses

	Carrying		Build-Out Deadlines		Expiration
	Amount		Interim	Final	Date
	(In thousands)
Owned:
DBS Licenses (1)	$	677,409
700 MHz Licenses (2)		711,871		June 14, 2025 (3)	June 2023 (4)
AWS-4 Licenses (2)		1,940,000		June 14, 2025 (3)	June 2023 (4)
H Block Licenses (2)		1,671,506		June 14, 2025 (5)	June 2023 (4)
600 MHz Licenses		6,213,335		June 14, 2025 (6)	June 2029
MVDDS Licenses (1)		24,000			August 2024
LMDS Licenses (1)		—			September 2028
28 GHz Licenses		2,883		October 2, 2029 (7)	October 2029
24 GHz Licenses		11,772		December 11, 2029 (7)	December 2029
37 GHz, 39 GHz and 47 GHz Licenses		202,533		June 4, 2030 (7)	June 2030
3550-3650 MHz Licenses		912,939		March 12, 2031 (7)	March 2031
3.7-3.98 GHz Licenses		2,762	July 23, 2029 (7)	July 23, 2033 (7)	July 2036
3.45–3.55 GHz Licenses		7,327,989	May 4, 2026 (7)	May 4, 2030 (7)	May 2037
1695-1710 MHz, 1755-1780 MHz, and 2155-2180 MHz		972		March 30, 2024 (8)	March 2026
Subtotal		19,699,971
Noncontrolling Investments:
Northstar (10)		5,618,930		October 2025 (9)	October 2025 (9)
SNR		4,271,459		October 2025 (9)	October 2025 (9)
Total AWS-3 Licenses		9,890,389
Capitalized Interest (11)		8,227,581
Total as of September 30, 2023	$	37,817,941

(1) The build-out deadlines for these licenses have been met.

(2) The interim build-out deadlines for these licenses have been met.

(3) In a July 14, 2023 filing to the FCC, we certified that we were offering 5G broadband service to at least 70% of the United States population as of June 14, 2023, and certified to meeting other FCC related commitments. As a result of us providing 5G broadband service to over 50% of the U.S. population by June 14, 2023, the final build-out deadlines have been extended automatically to June 14, 2025. For these licenses, we must offer 5G broadband service to at least 70% of the population in each Economic Area (which is a service area established by the FCC). On September 29, 2023, the FCC confirmed we have met all of our June 14, 2023 band-specific 5G deployment commitments, and two of our three nationwide 5G commitments. The single remaining 5G commitment, that at least 70% of the U.S. population has access to average download speeds equal to 35 Mbps, will be confirmed using the drive test methodology agreed to and approved by the FCC.  We have six months from September 29, 2023 to complete this drive test.  

(4) We have timely filed a renewal application, and the FCC confirmed in a letter dated September 29, 2023 that it will update its licensing records to reflect these automatic extensions to June 2025.

(5) In a July 14, 2023 filing to the FCC, we certified that we were offering 5G broadband service to at least 70% of the United States population as of June 14, 2023, and certified to meeting other FCC related commitments. As a result of us providing 5G broadband service to over 50% of the U.S. population by June 14, 2023, the final build-out deadlines have been extended automatically to June 14, 2025. For these licenses, we must offer 5G broadband service to at least 75% of the population in each Economic Area (which is a service area established by the FCC). On September 29, 2023, the FCC confirmed we have met all of our June 14, 2023 band-specific 5G deployment commitments, and two of our three nationwide 5G commitments. The single remaining 5G commitment, that at least 70% of the U.S. population has access to average download speeds equal to 35 Mbps, will be confirmed using the drive test methodology agreed to and approved by the FCC.  We have six months from September 29, 2023 to complete this drive test.  

(6) For these licenses, we must offer 5G broadband service to at least 75% of the population in each Partial Economic Area (which is a service area established by the FCC) by this date. We have also acquired certain additional 600 MHz licenses through private transactions. These licenses are currently subject to their original FCC buildout deadlines.

(7) There are a variety of build-out options and associated build-out metrics associated with these licenses.

(8) For these licenses, we must provide reliable signal coverage and offer service to at least 75% of the population of each license area by this date.

(9) For these licenses, Northstar Wireless and SNR Wireless must provide reliable signal coverage and offer service to at least 75% of the population of each license area by this date. The AWS-3 interim build-out requirement was not met and as a result, the AWS-3 expiration date and the AWS-3 final build-out requirement have been accelerated by two years (from October 2027 to October 2025) for each AWS-3 License area in which Northstar Wireless and SNR Wireless did not meet the requirement.

(10) Subsequent to September 30, 2023, the FCC consented to the sale of Northstar Manager’s ownership interests in Northstar Spectrum, which we purchased for a total of approximately $109 million on October 12, 2023. This purchase resulted in the elimination of all of our noncontrolling investment as it related to Northstar Spectrum as of the purchase date and we continue to consolidate the Northstar Entities as wholly-owned subsidiaries.

(11) See Note 2 for further information.