Commitments and Contingencies |
12 Months Ended | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Dec. 31, 2015 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Commitments and Contingencies |
Commitments and Contingencies
Operating Leases as Lessee
We lease business offices, have entered into site lease agreements and use satellite transponder and fiber capacity and certain equipment pursuant to operating lease arrangements. Many of our leases are for multiple years and contain renewal options. Rental costs under such arrangements amounted to $51.5 million, $43.8 million and $46.5 million for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively.
Capital Leases as Lessee
We entered into a long-term capital lease agreement in 1991 with the wife of GCI’s President and CEO for property occupied by us as further described in Note 11 of this Form 10-K.
We have a capital lease agreement for transponder capacity on Intelsat, Ltd.’s (“Intelsat”) Galaxy 18 spacecraft. The Intelsat Galaxy 18 C-band and Ku-Band transponders are being leased over an expected term of 14 years. At lease inception the present value of the lease payments, excluding telemetry, tracking and command services and back-up protection, was $98.6 million.
A summary of future minimum lease payments follows (amounts in thousands):
The leases generally provide that we pay the taxes, insurance and maintenance expenses related to the leased assets. Several of our leases include renewal options, escalation clauses and immaterial amounts of contingent rent expense. We expect that in the normal course of business leases that expire will be renewed or replaced by leases on other properties.
Guaranteed Service Levels
Certain customers have guaranteed levels of service with varying terms. In the event we are unable to provide the minimum service levels we may incur penalties or issue credits to customers.
Self-Insurance
Through December 31, 2015, we were self-insured for losses and liabilities related to health and welfare claims up to $600,000 per incident per year above which third party insurance applied. A reserve of $4.1 million and $4.0 million was recorded at December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively, to cover estimated reported losses, estimated unreported losses based on past experience modified for current trends, and estimated expenses for settling claims. We are self-insured for all losses and liabilities related to workers’ compensation claims in Alaska and have a workers compensation excess insurance policy to make claims for any losses in excess of $500,000 per incident. A reserve of $3.6 million and $3.8 million was recorded at December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively, to cover estimated reported losses and estimated expenses for open and active claims. Actual losses will vary from the recorded reserves. While we use what we believe are pertinent information and factors in determining the amount of reserves, future additions or reductions to the reserves may be necessary due to changes in the information and factors used.
We are self-insured for damage or loss to certain of our transmission facilities, including our buried, undersea, and above-ground transmission lines. If we become subject to substantial uninsured liabilities due to damage or loss to such facilities, our financial position, results of operations or liquidity may be adversely affected.
Litigation, Disputes, and Regulatory Matters
We are involved in various lawsuits, billing disputes, legal proceedings, and regulatory matters that have arisen from time to time in the normal course of business. Management believes there are no proceedings from asserted and unasserted claims which if determined adversely would have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations or liquidity.
Universal Service
As an ETC, we receive support from the USF for the provision of wireline local access and wireless service in Remote and Urban high cost areas as further described in Note 1(w) of this Form 10-K. Remote and Urban high cost support may change once a new funding mechanism is in place. A further rulemaking to consider successor funding mechanisms is underway and could result in a substantial reduction of USF support.
For both Remote and Urban high cost support revenue, our ability to collect our accrued USF support is contingent upon continuation of the USF program and upon our eligibility to participate in that program, which are subject to change by future regulatory, legislative or judicial actions. We adjust revenue and the account receivable in the period the FCC makes a program change or we assess the likelihood that such a change has increased or decreased revenue. Our revenue for providing local and wireless services in these areas would be materially adversely affected by a substantial reduction of USF support.
Tribal Mobility Fund I Grant
In February 2014, the FCC announced our winning bids in the Tribal Mobility Fund I auction for a $41.4 million grant to partially fund expansion of our 3G wireless network, or better, to locations in Alaska where we would not otherwise be able to construct within our return-on-investment requirements. We received $13.8 million in 2015 and expect to receive $27.6 million in additional grant fund disbursements in the future depending on the timing of upgrades completed and test results submitted to and approved by the FCC.
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