General Communication Inc (GNCMA) SEC Annual Report (10-K) for 2017

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

☒ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 or 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017

or

☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 or 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from to

Commission File No. 001-38385

Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (907) 868-5600

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:  Class A-1 common stock

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: Class B-1 common stock

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.

Yes ☐   No ☒

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Securities Act.

Yes ☐   No ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.

Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Website, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (section 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).

Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (section 229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant's knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or emerging growth company. See the definitions of "large accelerated filer," "accelerated filer," "smaller reporting company," and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes ☐   No ☒

The aggregate market value of the voting stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant, computed by reference to the average high and low prices of such stock as of the close of trading as of the last business day of the registrant's most recently completed second fiscal quarter of June 30, 2017 was $533,981,114 . Shares of voting stock held by each officer and director and by each person who owns 5% or more of the outstanding voting stock (as publicly reported by such persons pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act) have been excluded in that such persons may be deemed to be affiliates. This determination of affiliate status is not necessarily a conclusive determination for other purposes.

The number of shares outstanding of the registrant's common stock as of February 23, 2018, was:

Class A-1 common stock – 32,848,000 shares; and

Class B-1 common stock – 3,047,000 shares.

GCI LIBERTY, INC.

2017 ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K

TABLE OF CONTENTS

You should carefully review the information contained in this Annual Report, but should particularly consider any risk factors that we set forth in this Annual Report and in other reports or documents that we file from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). In this Annual Report, in addition to historical information, we state our future strategies, plans, objectives or goals and our beliefs of future events and of our future operating results, financial position and cash flows.  In some cases, you can identify those so-called "forward-looking statements" by words such as "may," "will," "should," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential," "project," or "continue" or the negative of those words and other comparable words.  All forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance, achievements, plans and objectives to differ materially from any future results, performance, achievements, plans and objectives expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.  In evaluating those statements, you should specifically consider various factors, including those identified under "Risk Factors," and elsewhere in this Annual Report.  Those factors may cause our actual results to differ materially from any of our forward-looking statements.  For these forward-looking statements, we claim the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements provided by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

You should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements.  Further, any forward-looking statement, and the related risks, uncertainties and other factors speak only as of the date on which they were originally made and we expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect any change in our expectations with regard to these statements or any other change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.  New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict what factors will arise or when.  In addition, we cannot assess the impact of each factor on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements.

Item 1. Business

In this Annual Report, "we," "us," "our," "GCI," "GCI Liberty," and "the Company" refer to GCI Liberty, Inc. and its direct and indirect subsidiaries. Prior to February 20, 2018, we were known as General Communication, Inc. On February 20, 2018, the Comissioner of the Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development of the State of Alaska accepted for filing the amended and restated Articles of Incorporation that were approved by our shareholders at a special meeting held on February 2, 2018. The name change is a result of the Transactions described in "Part 1 - Item 1. Business - Narrative Description of our Business - Development of our Business During the Past Fiscal Year." Additionally, as of February 20, 2018, our Class A common stock and Class B common stock were reclassified into Class A-1 common stock and Class B-1 common stock, respectively.

GCI was incorporated in 1979 under the laws of the State of Alaska and has its principal executive offices at 2550 Denali Street, Suite 1000, Anchorage, AK 99503-2781 (telephone number 907-868-5600).

GCI is primarily a holding company and together with its direct and indirect subsidiaries, is a diversified communications provider with operations primarily in the State of Alaska.

Our Internet website address is www.gci.com. The information on our website is not incorporated by reference in this annual report on Form 10-K. We make available, free of charge, access to our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A and amendments to those materials filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically submit such material to the SEC.

We are the largest Alaska-based communications provider as measured by revenues. We provide a full range of wireless, data, video, voice, and managed services to residential customers, businesses, governmental entities, and educational and medical institutions primarily in Alaska under our GCI brand. Due to the unique nature of the markets we serve, including harsh winter weather and remote geographies, our customers rely extensively on our systems to meet their communication and entertainment needs.

Since our founding in 1979 as a competitive long distance provider, we have consistently expanded our product portfolio and facilities to become the leading integrated communication services provider in our markets. Our facilities include redundant and geographically diverse digital undersea fiber optic cable systems linking our Alaska terrestrial networks to the networks of other carriers in the lower 48 contiguous states.  We operate the only statewide wireless network. 

For the year ended December 31, 2017, we generated consolidated revenues of $919.2 million .  We ended the period with 219,400 wireless subscribers and 134,800 cable modem subscribers.

Transaction with Liberty Interactive Corporation . On April 4, 2017, General Communication, Inc., Liberty Interactive Corporation, a Delaware corporation ("Liberty") and Liberty Interactive LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of Liberty ("Liberty LLC"), entered into an Agreement and Plan of Reorganization (as may be amended from time to time, the "Reorganization Agreement" and the transactions contemplated thereby, the "Transactions"). Pursuant to the Reorganization Agreement, General Communication, Inc. amended and restated its articles of incorporation resulting in General Communication, Inc. being renamed GCI Liberty, Inc. and a reclassification and auto conversion of its common stock. Following these events, Liberty will acquire GCI through a reorganization in which certain interests, assets and liabilities of the Liberty Ventures Group ("Liberty Ventures") will be contributed to GCI Liberty in exchange for a controlling interest in GCI Liberty. The assets to be contributed to GCI Liberty are expected to include Liberty's equity interests in Liberty Broadband and Charter Communications, Inc. along with certain other equity interests, together with the operating business of Evite, Inc. and certain other assets and liabilities, in exchange for (a) the issuance to Liberty LLC of (i) a number of shares of GCI Liberty Class A Common Stock and a number of shares of GCI Liberty Class B Common Stock equal to the number of outstanding shares of Series A Liberty Ventures common stock and Series B Liberty Ventures common stock outstanding on the closing date of the contribution, respectively, and (ii) cash, and (b) the assumption by GCI Liberty of certain liabilities attributed to Liberty Ventures.

Following the contribution and acquisition of GCI Liberty, Liberty will then effect a tax-free separation of its controlling interest in GCI Liberty to the holders of Liberty Ventures common stock in full redemption of all outstanding shares of such stock. As a result of the Transactions, holders of GCI common stock (regardless of class) each will receive (i) 0.63 of a share of GCI Liberty Class A common stock and (ii) 0.20 of a share of new GCI Liberty Series A Cumulative Redeemable preferred stock in exchange for each share of their existing GCI common stock. The exchange ratios were determined based on total consideration of $32.50 per share in respect of each share of existing GCI common stock, comprised of $27.50 per share in GCI Liberty Class A common stock and $5.00 per share in newly issued GCI Liberty Series A Cumulative Redeemable preferred stock, based upon a Liberty Ventures reference price of $43.65 (with no premium paid for shares of GCI Class B common stock) and an initial liquidation price of $25.00 per share of GCI Liberty Series A Cumulative Redeemable preferred stock. The GCI Liberty Series A Cumulative Redeemable preferred stock will accrue dividends at an initial rate of 5% per annum (which would increase to 7% in connection with a future reincorporation of GCI Liberty in Delaware) and will be redeemable upon the 21 st anniversary of the closing. The closing of the Transactions are expected to be consummated on March 9, 2018, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

You should see "Part I - Item 1. Business - Regulation" for additional regulatory developments.

We intend to grow the company using the following strategies:

Expand Our Product Portfolio and Footprint in Alaska. Throughout our history, we have successfully added and expect to continue to add new products to our product portfolio.  We have a demonstrated history of new product evaluation, development and deployment for our customers, and we continue to assess revenue-enhancing

opportunities that create value for our customers.  Where feasible and where economic analysis supports geographic expansion of our network coverage, we are currently pursuing or expect to pursue opportunities to increase the scale of our facilities, enhance our ability to serve our existing customers' needs and attract new customers. Additionally, due to the unique market conditions in Alaska, we, and in some cases our customers, participate in several federal (and to a lesser extent locally) subsidized programs designed to financially support the implementation and purchase of telecommunications services like ours in high cost areas. With these programs we have been able to expand our network into previously undeveloped areas of Alaska and, for the first time, offer comprehensive communications services in many rural parts of the state where we would not otherwise be able to construct facilities within appropriate return-on-investment requirements.

Make Strategic Acquisitions.   We have a history of making and integrating acquisitions of telecommunications providers and other providers of complementary services.  Our management team will continue to actively pursue and make investments that we believe fit with our strategy and networks and that enhance earnings.

Maximize Sales Opportunities. We sell new and enhanced services and products to our existing customer base to achieve increased revenues and penetration of our services.  Through close coordination of our customer service and sales and marketing efforts, our customer service representatives suggest to our customers other services they can purchase or enhanced versions of services they already purchase.  Many calls into our customer service centers or visits into one of our retail stores result in sales of additional services and products.

Deliver Industry Leading Customer Service. We have positioned ourselves as a customer service leader in the Alaska communications market.  We operate our own customer service department and have empowered our customer service representatives to handle most service issues and questions on a single call.  We prioritize our customer services to expedite handling of our most valuable customers' issues, particularly for our largest commercial customers.  We believe our integrated approach to customer service, including service set-up, programming various network databases with the customer's information, installation, and ongoing service, allows us to provide a customer experience that fosters customer loyalty.

Leverage Communications Operations. We continue to expand and evolve our integrated network for the delivery of our services.  Our bundled strategy and integrated approach to serving our customers creates efficiencies of scale and maximizes network utilization.  By offering multiple services, we are better able to leverage our network assets and increase returns on our invested capital.  We periodically evaluate our network assets and continually monitor technological developments that we can potentially deploy to increase network efficiency and performance.

We operate our business under a single reportable segment. Effective in the first quarter of 2017, we reassessed and reorganized our management and internal reporting structures in order to make our operations more efficient, which triggered an analysis of our reportable segments. As a result of our assessment, we merged our former Wireless and Wireline segments into one operating segment. We realigned our external financial reporting to support this change. Our chief operating decision maker assesses our financial performance as follows:

Prior to 2017, we operated our business under two reportable segments - Wireline and Wireless. As a result of the reorganization of our reporting structure, assets, including goodwill, and liabilities were reassigned to a single reporting unit.

We offer services and products to two major customer groups as follows:

We offer our services directly to consumer and business customers through our call center, direct mail advertising, television advertising, Internet advertising, local media advertising, and through our retail stores. Our sales efforts are primarily directed toward increasing the number of subscribers we serve, selling bundled services, and generating incremental revenues through product and feature up-sell opportunities. We sell our managed services, wholesale data, voice, and wireless services, and data services to rural schools and health organizations through direct contact marketing.

Our sales and marketing strategy hinges on our ability to leverage (i) our unique position as an integrated provider of multiple communications, data and video services, (ii) our well-recognized and respected brand names in the Alaskan marketplace and (iii) our leading market positions in the services and products we offer.  By continuing to pursue a marketing strategy that takes advantage of these characteristics, we believe we can increase our customer market penetration and retention rates, increase our share of our customers' aggregate voice, video, data and wireless services expenditures and managed services expenditures, and achieve continued growth in revenues and operating cash flow.

We operate a modern, competitive communications network providing switched and dedicated voice and broadband services. Our fiber network employs digital transmission technology over our fiber optic facilities within Alaska and between Alaska and the lower 48 states.

We serve many rural and remote Alaska locations solely via satellite communications. Each of our satellite transponders is backed up on alternate spacecraft with multiple backup transponders. We operate a hybrid fiber

optic cable and digital microwave system ("TERRA") linking Anchorage with the Bristol Bay, Yukon-Kuskokwim, and northwest regions of the state. 

We own and operate a statewide network providing voice and data services to the urban and rural communities of Alaska. Our statewide wireless network provides 4G LTE data service, EVDO, 3G UMTS/HSPA+, 2G CDMA, and 2G GSM/EDGE service. We continue to expand and upgrade these services to provide a modern network for Alaska. We own and operate Wi-Fi access points that create a Wi-Fi network branded as TurboZone in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, Kenai-Soldotna, Matanuska-Susitna Valley, and other areas of the State ("TurboZone").

Our dedicated Internet access and Internet protocol data services are delivered to an Ethernet port located at the service end-point.  Our management platform continuously monitors the network and service end-points for performance. The availability and quality of service, as well as statistical information on traffic loading, are continuously monitored for quality assurance.  The management platform has the capability to remotely access network elements and service end-points, permitting changes in configuration without the need to physically be at the service end-point.  This management platform allows us to offer network monitoring and management services to businesses and governmental entities.

Our video businesses are located throughout Alaska and serve the majority of the population. Our facilities include hybrid-fiber-coax plant and head-end distribution equipment. The majority of our locations on the fiber routes are served from head-end distribution equipment in Anchorage.  All of our cable systems are completely digital.

We operate in intensely competitive industries and compete with a number of companies that provide a broad range of communication, entertainment, and information products and services. Technological changes are further intensifying and complicating the competitive landscape and consumer behavior.

Retail Wireless Services and Products Competition

We compete with AT&T, Verizon, and other community or regional-based wireless providers, and resellers of those services in Anchorage and other markets. Regulatory policies favor robust competition in wireless markets.  Wireless local number portability helps to maintain a high level of competition in the industry because it allows subscribers to switch carriers without having to change their telephone numbers.

The communications industry continues to experience significant technological changes, as evidenced by the increasing pace of improvements in the capacity and quality of digital technology, shorter cycles for new products and enhancements and changes in consumer preferences and expectations.  Accordingly, we expect competition in the wireless communications industry to continue to be dynamic and intense as a result of the development of new technologies, services and products.

The national wireless carriers with whom we compete, AT&T and Verizon, have resources that are greater than ours.  These companies have significantly greater capital, financial, marketing, human capital, distribution and other resources than we do.  Specifically, as a regional wireless carrier we may not have immediate access to some wireless handsets that are available to these national wireless carriers. 

We compete for customers based principally upon price, service bundles, the services and enhancements offered, network quality, customer service, billing services, statewide network coverage and capacity, TurboZone, the type of wireless handsets offered, and perceived quality, reliability and availability.  Our ability to compete successfully will depend, in part, on our marketing efforts and our ability to anticipate and respond to various competitive factors affecting the industry.

Data Services and Products Competition

The Internet industry is highly competitive, rapidly evolving and subject to constant technological change.  Competition is based upon price, service bundles, the services and enhancements offered, the technologies used, customer service, billing services, and perceived quality, reliability and availability.  We compete with other providers some of which are headquartered outside of Alaska and have substantially greater financial, technical and marketing resources than we do.

We expect to continue to provide, at reasonable prices and in competitive bundles, a greater variety of data services than are available through other alternative delivery sources.  Additionally, we believe we offer superior technical

performance and speed, and responsive community-based customer service.  Increased competition, however, may adversely affect our market share and results of operations from our data services product offerings.

Presently, there are a number of competing companies in Alaska that actively sell and maintain data and voice communications systems.  Our ability to integrate communications networks and data communications equipment has allowed us to maintain our market position based on customer support services rather than price competition alone.  These services are blended with other transport products into unique customer solutions, including managed services and outsourcing.

Video Services and Products Competition

Our video systems face competition from services and devices that offer distribution of movies, television shows and other video programming, using alternative methods such as Internet video streaming and direct broadcast satellite ("DBS").  Our video systems also face competition from potential overbuilds of our existing cable systems.  The extent to which our video systems are competitive depends, in part, upon our ability to provide quality programming and other services at competitive prices.

Internet video streaming is a major source of competition for our video services.  Additionally, some online video services produce or acquire their own original content. However, as a major Internet-provider ourselves, the competition may result in additional data service subscriber revenue to the extent we grow average Internet revenue per subscriber.

The DBS industry is another major source of competition for our video services.  Two major companies, AT&T-owned DIRECTV and DISH DBS Corporation, are currently offering high-power DBS services in Alaska.

Competitive forces may be counteracted by offering subscribers expanded programming.  We have retransmission agreements with various broadcasters and provide for the uplink/downlink of their signals into certain of our systems, and local programming for our customers.  Additionally, our ownership of television stations provides us the opportunity to create unique content for our subscribers.

Video systems generally operate pursuant to franchises granted on a non-exclusive basis.  The 1992 Cable Act gives local franchising authorities jurisdiction over basic video service rates and equipment in the absence of "effective competition."  The 1992 Cable Act also prohibits franchising authorities from unreasonably denying requests for additional franchises and permits franchising authorities to operate video systems.  Well-financed businesses from outside the video industry may become competitors for franchises or providers of competing services.

We expect to continue to provide, at reasonable prices and in competitive bundles, a greater variety of video services than are available off-air or through other alternative delivery sources.  Additionally, we believe we offer superior technical performance and responsive community-based customer service.  Increased competition, however, may adversely affect our market share and results of operations from our video services product offerings.

Voice Services and Products Competition

Our most significant competition for local access and long-distance comes from wireless substitution and voice over Internet protocol services. Wireless local number portability allows consumers to retain the same phone number as they change service providers allowing for interchangeable and portable fixed-line and wireless numbers.  A growing number of consumers now use wireless service as their primary voice phone service for local calling. We also compete against Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers ("ILECs"), long-distance resellers and certain smaller rural local telephone companies for local access and long-distance. We have competed by offering what we believe is excellent customer service and by providing desirable bundles of services.

See "Regulation - Wireline Voice Services and Products" below for more information.

Our services and products do not exhibit significant seasonality.  Our ability to implement construction projects is hampered during the winter months because of cold temperatures, snow and short daylight hours.

We had no major customer in 2017 and 2016. Verizon was a major customer in 2015.

We undertake activities that may, under certain circumstances, affect the environment. Accordingly, they may be subject to federal, state, and local laws designed to preserve or protect the environment, including the Clean Water Act and the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act.  The FCC, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and National Park Service are among the federal agencies required by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and National Historic Preservation Act to consider the environmental impact of actions they authorize, including facility construction.

The principal effect of our facilities on the environment would be in the form of construction of facilities and networks at various locations in Alaska and between Alaska, Washington, and Oregon.  Our facilities have been constructed in accordance with federal, state and local building codes and zoning regulations whenever and wherever applicable.  We obtain federal, state, and local permits, as required, for our projects and operations. We are unaware of any material violations of federal, state or local regulations or permits.

We do not hold franchises (with the exception of video services as described below) or concessions for communications services or local access services.  We hold a number of federally registered service marks used by our business.  We own two utility patents issued in 2017 pertaining to device diagnostics and network connectivity. The Communications Act of 1934, as amended, gives the FCC the authority to license and regulate the use of the electromagnetic spectrum for radio communications.  We hold licenses for our satellite and microwave transmission facilities for provision of long-distance services. We hold various licenses for spectrum and broadcast television use. These licenses may be revoked and license renewal applications may be denied for cause.  However, we expect these licenses to be renewed in due course when, at the end of the license period, a renewal application will be filed.

We hold licenses for earth stations that are generally licensed for fifteen years.  The FCC also issues a single blanket license for a large number of technically identical earth stations.  Our operations may require additional licenses in the future.

We are certified through the Regulatory Commission of Alaska ("RCA") to provide local, long distance, and video service by Certificates of Public Convenience and Necessity ("CPCN"). These CPCNs are nonexclusive certificates defining each authorized service area.  Although CPCNs have no stated expiration date, they may be revoked due to cause.

Our businesses are subject to substantial government regulation and oversight.  The following summary of regulatory issues does not purport to describe all existing and proposed federal, state, and local laws and regulations, or judicial and regulatory proceedings that affect our businesses.  Existing laws and regulations are reviewed frequently by legislative bodies, regulatory agencies, and the courts and are subject to change.  We cannot predict at this time the outcome of any present or future consideration of proposed changes to governing laws and regulations.

Wireless Services and Products

General . The FCC regulates the licensing, construction, interconnection, operation, acquisition, and transfer of wireless network systems in the United States pursuant to the Communications Act.  As wireless licensees, we are subject to regulation by the FCC, and must comply with certain build-out and other license conditions, as well as with the FCC's specific regulations governing wireless services.  The FCC does not currently regulate rates for services offered by commercial mobile radio service providers (the official legal description for wireless service providers).

Commercial mobile radio service wireless systems are subject to Federal Aviation Administration and FCC regulations governing the location, lighting, construction, modification, and registration of antenna structures on which our antennas and associated equipment are located and are also subject to regulation under federal

environmental laws and the FCC's environmental regulations, including limits on radio frequency radiation from wireless handsets and antennas.

Universal Service. The High Cost Program of the Universal Service Fund ("USF") pays Eligible Telecommunications Carriers ("ETCs") to support the provision of facilities-based wireless telephone service in high cost areas. A wireless carrier may seek ETC status so that it can receive support from the USF.  Under FCC regulations and RCA orders, we are an authorized ETC for purposes of providing wireless telephone service in Anchorage, Juneau, Fairbanks, the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, and other small areas throughout Alaska. Without ETC status, we would not qualify for USF support in these areas or other rural areas where we propose to offer facilities-based wireless telephone services, and our net cost of providing wireless telephone services in these areas would be materially adversely affected.

On August 31, 2016, the FCC published the Alaska High Cost Order.  Per the Alaska High Cost Order, as of January 1, 2017, Remote high cost support payments to Alaska High Cost participants are frozen on a per-company basis at adjusted December 2014 levels for a ten-year term in exchange for meeting individualized performance obligations to offer voice and broadband services meeting the service obligations at specified minimum speeds by five-year and ten-year service milestones to a specified number of locations. Remote high cost support is no longer dependent upon line counts and line count filings are no longer required. Prior to the Alaska High Cost Order, Urban high cost support payments were frozen and had phased down to 60% of the monthly average of the 2011 annual support. The Alaska High Cost Order mandated that as of January 1, 2017, Urban high cost support for 2017 and 2018 would be two-thirds and one-third of the December 2014 level of support received, respectively, with Urban high cost support ending effective December 31, 2018.

On April 27, 2016, the FCC released a Third Report and Order to reform and modernize the USF's Lifeline program ("Lifeline Order").  The Lifeline program is administered by the Universal Service Administrative Company ("USAC") and is designed to ensure that quality telecommunications services are available to low-income customers at just, reasonable, and affordable rates.  The Lifeline Order adopted several reforms, including incentivizing and sometimes requiring broadband providers to offer fixed and/or mobile broadband service to Lifeline subscribers. The Lifeline Order also limited the number of federal programs that confer Lifeline eligibility, and made small changes to the requirement for annual recertification of all Lifeline subscribers. Failure to correctly judge eligibility and recertify Lifeline subscribers could materially adversely affect our Lifeline revenues and/or increase our costs in the form of FCC fines for failure to comply with Lifeline rules.

Interconnection.   We have completed negotiations and the RCA has approved current direct wireless interconnection agreements with all of the major Alaska ILECs.  These are in addition to indirect interconnection arrangements utilized elsewhere.

See "Description of Our Business - Regulation - Wireline Voice Services and Products - Regulatory Regime Applicable to IP-based Networks" for more information.

Emergency 911 . The FCC has imposed rules requiring carriers to provide emergency 911 services, including enhanced 911 ("E911") services that provide to local public safety dispatch agencies the caller's phone number and approximate location. Providers are required to transmit the geographic coordinates of the customer's location, either by means of network-based or handset-based technologies, within accuracy parameters revised by the FCC, to be implemented over a phase-in period.  Due to Alaska's relatively low population and low cell-site densities, we have excluded certain areas from E911 coverage where cell triangulation is not feasible, pursuant to FCC rule.  We have also filed for a waiver, which remains pending, for remaining areas where triangulation may be technically feasible, but where the cell-site densities are insufficient to reach the FCC's standard. The FCC also imposed requirements to allow users to text-to-911 if the local public safety dispatch agency requests and is able to receive such texts. We have developed a text-to-911 technical solution and have certified to the FCC that we are now capable of meeting the FCC requirements. Providers may not demand cost recovery as a condition of providing E911, although they are permitted to negotiate cost recovery if it is not mandated by the state or local governments.

State and Local Regulation. While the Communications Act generally preempts state and local governments from regulating the entry of, and the rates charged by, wireless carriers, it also permits a state to petition the FCC to allow it to impose commercial mobile radio service rate regulation when market conditions fail to adequately protect customers and such service is a replacement for a substantial portion of the telephone wireline exchange service within a state. No state currently has such a petition on file, and all prior efforts have been rejected.

In addition, the Communications Act does not expressly preempt the states from regulating the "terms and conditions" of wireless service. Several states have invoked this "terms and conditions" authority to impose or propose various consumer protection regulations on the wireless industry. State attorneys general have also become more active in enforcing state consumer protection laws against sales practices and services of wireless carriers. States also may impose their own universal service support requirements on wireless and other communications carriers, similar to the contribution requirements that have been established by the FCC.

States have become more active in attempting to impose new taxes and fees on wireless carriers, such as gross receipts taxes. Where successful, these taxes and fees are generally passed through to customers and result in higher costs to customers.

At the local level, wireless facilities typically are subject to zoning and land use regulation. Neither local nor state governments may categorically prohibit the construction of wireless facilities in any community or take actions, such as indefinite moratoria, which have the effect of prohibiting construction. Pursuant to Section 6409(a) of the Middle Class Tax Relief Act of 2012, state and local governments are further constrained in their regulation of changes to existing wireless infrastructure. Nonetheless, securing state and local government approvals for new antenna structures has been and is likely to continue to be difficult, lengthy and costly.

Data Services and Products

General . There is no one entity or organization that governs the global operation of the Internet. Each facilities-based network provider that is interconnected with the global Internet controls operational aspects of their own network. Certain functions, such as IP addressing, domain name routing, and the definition of the TCP/IP protocol, are coordinated by an array of quasi-governmental, intergovernmental, and non-governmental bodies. The legal authority of these bodies is not precisely defined.

The vast majority of users connect to the Internet over facilities of existing communications carriers. Those communications carriers are subject to varying levels of regulation at both the federal and state level. Thus, non-Internet-specific regulatory decisions exercise a significant influence over the economics of the Internet market.

Many aspects of the coordination and regulation of Internet activities and the underlying networks over which those activities are conducted are evolving. Internet-specific and non-Internet-specific changes in the regulatory environment, including changes that affect communications costs or increase competition from ILECs or other communications services providers, could adversely affect our costs and the prices at which we sell Internet-based services.

On February 26, 2015, the FCC adopted an order reclassifying Internet service as a telecommunications service under Title II of the Communications Act. This order prohibited broadband providers from blocking or throttling most lawful public Internet traffic, from engaging in paid prioritization of that traffic, and from unreasonably interfering with or disadvantaging end users' and edge providers' ability to send traffic to, from, and among each other. The order also strengthened the FCC's transparency rules, which require accurate and truthful service disclosures, sufficient for consumers to make informed choices, for example, about speed, price and fees, latency, and network management practices. The order allowed broadband providers to engage in reasonable network management, including using techniques to address traffic congestion. These rules applied equally to wired and wireless broadband services. The order refrained from applying rate regulation and tariff requirements on broadband services.  On January 4, 2018, the FCC released an order that returned to a Title I classification of Internet service and eliminated many of the requirements described above. There are various efforts in Congress, through the federal courts of appeal, and through state legislation to re-impose the rules adopted in 2015. While we do not believe that the 2015 FCC order conflicts with our existing practices or offerings, the re-imposition of that regulatory framework would impose regulatory burdens, likely would increase our costs, and could adversely affect the manner and price of providing service.

Rural Health Care Program . The USF Rural Health Care ("RHC") Program subsidizes the rates for services provided to rural health care providers. For the funding year that ran from July 1, 2016 through June 30, 2017, USAC received requests for funds that exceeded the funding available for the RHC Program. USAC allocated the funding on a pro-rata basis to rural health care providers who submitted their funding requests during a certain period. We provide services to rural health care providers who were impacted by the pro-rata allocation and as a result certain of our customers did not receive the full subsidy that was expected under the program. Under the program rules, we are forbidden from lowering our rates for services previously provided, however, the FCC

published an order on June 30, 2017 to assist eligible remote Alaska rural health care providers by allowing Alaska service providers, such as us, to retroactively lower their rates, or effectively giving a credit against amounts owed, for services provided. Based on these specific circumstances, we decided to retroactively lower our rates to these customers pursuant to the FCC waiver, and as a result we reduced revenue by $5.5 million during the year ended December 31, 2017, to aid our rural health care provider customers who were impacted by the pro-rata allocation.

The FCC issued an Order and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking ("NPRM") on December 18, 2017 and announced that requests for funds has exceeded the amount available for the funding year that runs from July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2018 ("FY2017"). The Order specifically addresses relief if a FY2017 proration is needed and directs USAC to use unused RHC program funding available at the time of proration to lower or eliminate the proration factor first for all qualifying funding requests from non-consortia health care providers. All of our customers in the FY2017 and included in our December 31, 2017 accounts receivable are non-consortia health care providers. The FCC and USAC have given no guidance as to the amount of unused funding available, thus we cannot predict the amount of any such shortfall.

The NPRM seeks comment about potential reforms to the RHC program to address future program shortfalls. We cannot predict at this time what changes, if any, that the FCC will adopt or the impact of any such changes.

Schools and Libraries Program . In 2014, the FCC adopted orders modernizing the USF Schools and Libraries Program ("E-Rate"). These orders, among other things, increased the annual E-Rate cap by approximately $1.5 billion, designated funds for internal connections within schools and libraries, and eliminated funding for certain legacy services, such as voice, to increase the availability of 21st century connectivity to support digital learning in schools nationwide. These orders did not have a material effect on the overall E-Rate support available to our schools and libraries customers, and therefore did not materially affect our revenue from such customers.

Video Services and Products

General. Because video communications systems use local streets and rights-of-way, they generally are operated pursuant to franchises (which can take the form of certificates, permits or licenses) granted by a municipality or other state or local government entity. The RCA is the franchising authority for all of Alaska. We believe that we have generally met the terms of our franchises, which do not require periodic renewal, and have provided quality levels of service. Military franchise requirements also affect our ability to provide video services to military bases.

Must Carry/Retransmission Consent. The 1992 Cable Act contains broadcast signal carriage requirements that allow local commercial television broadcast stations to elect once every three years to require a cable system to carry the station, subject to certain exceptions, or to negotiate for "retransmission consent" to carry the station.

The FCC has adopted rules to require cable operators to carry the digital programming streams of broadcast television stations. Further, the FCC has declined to require any cable operator to carry multiple digital programming streams from a single broadcast television station, but should the FCC change this policy, we would be required to devote additional cable capacity to carrying broadcast television programming streams, a step that could require the removal of other programming services.

Pole Attachments. The Communications Act requires the FCC to regulate the rates, terms and conditions imposed by public utilities for cable systems' use of utility pole and conduit space unless state authorities can demonstrate that they adequately regulate pole attachment rates. In the absence of state regulation, the FCC administers pole attachment rates on a formula basis. This formula governs the maximum rate certain utilities may charge for attachments to their poles and conduit by companies providing communications services, including cable operators. The RCA, however, does not use the federal formula and instead has adopted its own formula that has been in place since 1987. This formula could be subject to further revisions upon petition to the RCA.  In addition, in 2011, the FCC adopted an order to rationalize different pole attachment rates among types of services, and on November 17, 2015, took further steps to bring telecommunications and cable pole attachment rates into parity. Though the general purpose of the rule changes was to ensure pole attachment rates as low and as uniform as possible, we do not expect the rules to have an immediate impact on the terms under which we access poles.  We cannot predict the likelihood of the RCA changing its formula, adopting the federal formula, or relinquishing its oversight of pole attachments to the FCC, any of which could increase the cost of our operations.

Copyright. Cable television systems are subject to federal copyright licensing covering carriage of television and radio broadcast signals. In exchange for filing certain reports and contributing a percentage of their revenues to a

federal copyright royalty pool that varies depending on the size of the system, the number of distant broadcast television signals carried, and the location of the cable system, cable operators can obtain blanket permission to retransmit copyrighted material included in broadcast signals. The possible modification or elimination of this compulsory copyright license is the subject of continuing legislative review.  We cannot predict the outcome of this legislative review, which could adversely affect our ability to obtain desired broadcast programming. Copyright clearances for non-broadcast programming services are arranged through private negotiations.

Wireline Voice Services and Products

General. As an interexchange carrier, we are subject to regulation by the FCC and the RCA as a non-dominant provider of interstate, international, and intrastate long-distance services.  As a state-certificated competitive local exchange carrier, we are subject to regulation by the FCC and the RCA as a non-dominant provider of local communications services.  Military franchise requirements also affect our ability to provide communications services to military bases.

Universal Service. The USF pays ETCs to support the provision of facilities-based wireline telephone service in high cost areas. Under FCC regulations and RCA orders, we are an authorized ETC for purposes of providing wireline local exchange service in Anchorage, Juneau, Fairbanks, the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, and other small areas throughout Alaska. Without ETC status, we would not qualify for USF support in these areas or other rural areas where we propose to offer facilities-based wireline telephone services, and our net cost of providing local telephone services in these areas would be materially adversely affected. See "Description of Our Business - Regulation - Wireless Services and Products - Universal Service" for information on USF reform.

Rural Exemption and Interconnection. A Rural Telephone Company is exempt from compliance with certain material interconnection requirements under Section 251(c) of the 1996 Telecom Act, including the obligation to negotiate Section 251(b) and (c) interconnection requirements in good faith, unless and until a state regulatory commission lifts such "rural exemption" or otherwise finds it not to apply.  All ILECs in Alaska are Rural Telephone Companies except Alaska Communications Systems Group, Inc.'s ("ACS") in its Anchorage study area.  We participated in numerous proceedings regarding the rural exemptions of various ILECs in order to achieve the necessary interconnection agreements with the remaining ILECs. In other cases the interconnection agreements were reached by negotiation without regard to the implications of the ILEC's rural exemption.

We have completed negotiation and/or arbitration of the necessary interconnection provisions and the RCA has approved current wireline Interconnection Agreements between GCI and all of the major ILECs.  We have entered all of the major Alaskan markets with local access services.

See "Description of Our Business - Competition - Voice Services and Products Competition" for more information.

Access Charges and Other Regulated Fees. The FCC regulates the fees that local telephone companies charge long-distance companies for access to their local networks.  In 2011, the FCC released rules to restructure and reduce over time originating interstate access charges, along with a proposal to adopt similar reforms applicable to terminating interstate access charges.  The details of implementation in general and between different classes of technology continue to be addressed, and could affect the economics of some aspects of our business.  We cannot predict at this time the impact of this implementation or future implementation of adopted reforms, but we do not expect it to have a material adverse impact on our operations.

Unbundled Network Elements. The ability to obtain unbundled network elements ("UNEs") is an important element of our local access services business. We cannot predict the extent to which existing FCC rules governing access to and pricing for UNEs will be changed in the face of additional legal action and the impact of any further rule modifications that are yet to be determined by the FCC. Moreover, the future regulatory classification of services that are transmitted over facilities may impact the extent to which we will be permitted access to such facilities.  Changes to the applicable regulations could result in a change in our cost of serving new and existing markets. On July 7, 2017, ACS filed a petition in which it asked the FCC to regulate us as an ILEC pursuant to section 251(h)(2) of the Communications Act, including the requirement to provide competitors with access to unbundled network elements. We cannot predict at this time the outcome of this proceeding. However, grant of the petition in its entirety may subject us to regulatory burdens that could materially impact our costs.

Local Regulation. We may be required to obtain local permits for street opening and construction permits to install and expand our networks. Local zoning authorities often regulate our use of towers for microwave and other communications sites. We also are subject to general regulations concerning building codes and local licensing. The Communications Act requires that fees charged to communications carriers be applied in a competitively neutral manner, but there can be no assurance that ILECs and others with whom we will be competing will bear costs similar to those we will bear in this regard.

Regulatory Regime Applicable to IP-based Networks. In 2014, the FCC adopted an order calling for experiments to examine how best to accelerate the technological and regulatory transitions from traditional TDM-based networks to IP-based technologies.  Although no entity has proposed conducting a technology transition experiment in our service territory in response to the FCC's 2014 order, additional proposals for experiments are possible. We cannot predict whether additional proposals for experiments might be submitted to the FCC nor any resulting proceedings or their effect on us. The FCC also has other open dockets through which it might make changes to the regulatory regime applicable to IP-based networks. A change in regulatory obligation or classification that interferes with our ability to exchange traffic with other providers, that raises the cost of doing so, or that adversely affects eligibility for USF support could materially affect our net cost of and revenue from providing local services.

We do not have significant foreign operations or export sales.  We conduct our operations throughout the contiguous United States and Alaska and believe that any subdivision of our operations into distinct geographic areas would not be meaningful.

We have not expended material amounts during the last three fiscal years on company-sponsored research activities.

We employed 2,208 persons as of December 31, 2017, and we are not subject to any collective bargaining agreements with our employees. We believe our future success will depend upon our continued ability to attract and retain highly skilled and qualified employees. We believe that relations with our employees are satisfactory.

No material portion of our business is subject to renegotiation of profits or termination of contracts at the election of the federal government.

Item 1A. Risk Factors.

Factors That May Affect Our Business and Future Results

Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem to be immaterial may also materially and adversely affect our business operations.  Any of the following risks could materially and adversely affect our business, financial position, results of operations or liquidity.

We face competition that may reduce our market share and harm our financial performance.

There is substantial competition in the telecommunications and entertainment industries.  Through mergers, various service integration strategies, and business alliances, major providers are striving to strengthen their competitive positions. We face increased wireless services competition from national carriers in the Alaska market and increasing video services competition from DBS providers and over-the-top content providers who are often able to offer more flexible subscription packages and exclusive content.

We expect competition to increase as a result of the rapid development of new technologies, services and products.  We cannot predict which of many possible future technologies, products or services will be important to maintain our competitive position or what expenditures will be required to develop and provide these technologies, products or services.  Our ability to compete successfully will depend on marketing and on our ability to anticipate and respond to various competitive factors affecting the industry, including new services that may be introduced, changes in consumer preferences, economic conditions and pricing strategies by competitors.  To the extent we do

not keep pace with technological advances or fail to timely respond to changes in competitive factors in our industry and in our markets, we could lose market share or experience a decline in our revenue and net income. Competitive conditions create a risk of market share loss and the risk that customers shift to less profitable lower margin services.  Competitive pressures also create challenges for our ability to grow new businesses or introduce new services successfully and execute our business plan.  We also face the risk of potential price cuts by our competitors that could materially adversely affect our market share and gross margins.

Our wholesale customers including our major roaming customers may construct facilities in locations where they contract with us to use our network to provide service on their behalf. We would experience a decline in revenue and net income if any of our wholesale customers constructed or expanded their existing networks in places where service is provided on our network. Some of our wholesale customers have greater access to financial, technical, and other resources than we do. We expect to continue to offer competitive alternatives to such customers in order to retain significant traffic on our network. We cannot predict whether such negotiations will be successful. Our inability to negotiate such contracts could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

For more information about competition, see the section titled "Competition" included in "Part 1 - Item 1 - Business - Description of our Business."

If we experience low or negative rates of subscriber acquisition or high rates of turnover, our financial performance will be impaired.

We are in the business of selling communications and entertainment services to subscribers, and our economic success is based on our ability to retain current subscribers and attract new subscribers. If we are unable to retain and attract subscribers, our financial performance will be impaired.  Our rates of subscriber acquisition and turnover are affected by a number of competitive factors including the size of our service areas, network performance and reliability issues, our device and service offerings, subscribers' perceptions of our services, and customer care quality. Managing these factors and subscribers' expectations is essential in attracting and retaining subscribers. Although we have implemented programs to attract new subscribers and address subscriber turnover, we cannot assure you that these programs or our strategies to address subscriber acquisition and turnover will be successful. A high rate of turnover or low or negative rate of new subscriber acquisition would reduce revenues and increase the total marketing expenditures required to attract the minimum number of subscribers required to sustain our business plan which, in turn, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may be unable to obtain or maintain the roaming services we need from other carriers to remain competitive.

Some of our competitors have national networks that enable them to offer nationwide coverage to their subscribers at a lower cost than we can offer. The networks we operate do not, by themselves, provide national coverage and we must pay fees to other carriers who provide roaming services to us. We currently rely on roaming agreements with several carriers for the majority of our roaming services.

The FCC requires commercial mobile radio service providers to provide roaming, upon request, for voice and SMS text messaging services on just, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms.  The FCC also requires carriers to offer data roaming services. The rules do not provide or mandate any specific mechanism for determining the reasonableness of roaming rates for voice, SMS text messaging or data services and require that roaming complaints be resolved on a case-by-case basis, based on a non-exclusive list of factors that can be taken into account in determining the reasonableness of particular conduct or rates.  If we were to lose the benefit of one or more key roaming or wholesale agreements unexpectedly, we may be unable to obtain similar replacement agreements and as a result may be unable to continue providing nationwide voice and data roaming services for our customers or may be unable to provide such services on a cost-effective basis.  Our inability to obtain new or replacement roaming services on a cost-effective basis may limit our ability to compete effectively for wireless customers, which may increase our turnover and decrease our revenues, which in turn could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our business is subject to extensive governmental legislation and regulation.  Applicable legislation and regulations and changes to them could adversely affect our business, financial position, results of operations or liquidity.

Wireless Services. The licensing, construction, operation, sale and interconnection arrangements of wireless communications systems are regulated by the FCC and, depending on the jurisdiction, state and local regulatory agencies.  In particular, the FCC imposes significant regulation on licensees of wireless spectrum with respect to:

Although the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, preempts state and local regulation of market entry and the rates charged by commercial mobile radio service providers, states may exercise authority over such things as certain billing practices and consumer-related issues.  These regulations could increase the costs of our wireless operations.  The FCC grants wireless licenses for terms of generally ten years that are subject to renewal and revocation. FCC rules require all wireless licensees to meet certain build-out requirements and substantially comply with applicable FCC rules and policies and the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, in order to retain their licenses.  Failure to comply with FCC requirements in a given license area could result in revocation of the license for that license area.  There is no guarantee that our licenses will be renewed.

Commercial mobile radio service providers must implement E911 capabilities in accordance with FCC rules.  While we believe that we are currently in compliance with such FCC rules, the failure to deploy E911 service consistent with FCC requirements could subject us to significant fines.

We use tower facilities for the provision of our wireless services. The FCC, together with the Federal Aviation Administration, also regulates tower marking and lighting. In addition, tower construction is affected by federal, state and local statutes addressing zoning, environmental protection and historic preservation.  The FCC requires local notice in any community in which an applicant is seeking FCC Antenna Structure Registration to build a tower.  Local notice provides members of the community with an opportunity to comment on or challenge the tower construction for environmental reasons.  This rule could cause delay for certain tower construction projects.

Internet Services. In 2015, the FCC adopted an order reclassifying Internet service as a telecommunications service under Title II of the Communications Act. The order prohibited broadband providers from blocking or throttling most lawful public Internet traffic, from engaging in paid prioritization of that traffic, and from unreasonably interfering with or disadvantaging end users' and edge providers' ability to send traffic to, from, and among each other.  The order also strengthened the FCC's transparency rules, which require accurate and truthful service disclosures, sufficient for consumers to make informed choices, for example, about speed, price and fees, latency, and network management practices.  The order allowed broadband providers to engage in reasonable network management, including using techniques to address traffic congestion. The new rules applied equally to wired and wireless broadband services. The order refrained from imposing rate regulation or tariff requirements on broadband services.

On January 4, 2018, the FCC released an order that returned to a Title I classification of Internet service and eliminated many of the requirements described above. There are various efforts in Congress, through the federal courts of appeal, and through state legislation to re-impose the rules adopted in 2015. We cannot predict whether the FCC will re-impose the 2015 rules, but if it did, it is possible that the FCC could interpret or apply those rules in a way that has a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations, or liquidity.

Video Services . The cable television industry is subject to extensive regulation at various levels, and many aspects of such regulation are currently the subject of judicial proceedings and administrative or legislative proposals. It is possible that rate reductions or refunds of previously collected fees may be required of us in the future.

Other existing federal regulations, currently the subject of judicial, legislative, and administrative review, could change, in varying degrees, the manner in which video systems operate. Neither the outcome of these proceedings nor their impact on the cable television industry in general, or on our activities and prospects in the cable television business in particular, can be predicted at this time. There can be no assurance that future regulatory actions taken

by Congress, the FCC or other federal, state or local government authorities will not have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations or liquidity.

Local Access Services. Our success in the local telephone market depends on our continued ability to obtain interconnection, access and related services from local exchange carriers on terms that are reasonable and that are based on the cost of providing these services. Our local telephone services business faces the risk of unfavorable changes in regulation or legislation or the introduction of new regulations. Our ability to provide service in the local telephone market depends on our negotiation or arbitration with local exchange carriers to allow interconnection to the carrier's existing local telephone network (in some Alaska markets at cost-based rates), to establish dialing parity, to obtain access to rights-of-way, to resell services offered by the local exchange carrier, and in some cases, to allow the purchase, at cost-based rates, of access to unbundled network elements. Future negotiations or arbitration proceedings with respect to new or existing markets could result in a change in our cost of serving these markets via the facilities of the ILEC or via wholesale offerings.

For more information about Regulations affecting our operations, see "Part 1 -Item 1 - Business - Regulation."

Loss of our ETC status would disqualify us for USF support.

The USF pays support to ETCs to support the provision of facilities-based wireline and wireless telephone service in high cost areas.  If we were to lose our ETC status in any of the study areas where we are currently an authorized ETC whether due to legislative or regulatory reform or our failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations, we would be ineligible to receive USF support for providing service in that area.  Loss of our ETC status could have an adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations or liquidity.

Revenues and accounts receivable from USF support may be reduced or lost.

We receive support from each of the various USF programs: high cost, low income, rural health care, and schools and libraries.  This support was 26% , 24% , and 19% of our revenue for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively.  We had USF net receivables of $131.8 million and $100.5 million at December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively.  The programs are subject to change by regulatory actions taken by the FCC or legislative actions.  Changes to any of the USF programs that we participate in could result in a material decrease in revenue and accounts receivable, which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations or liquidity.

Additionally, the USF RHC Program subsidizes the rates for services provided to rural health care providers. USAC received requests for support that exceeded the available RHC Program funding for the first time in the funding year that ran from July 1, 2016 through June 30, 2017. We expect that the support requests will continue to exceed the program's annual cap for the funding year ending June 30, 2018 and possibly subsequent funding years. We provide services to rural health care providers who may be impacted by funding caps and as a result may not receive the full subsidy that was expected under the program. We cannot predict the impact of future RHC Program funding caps but they may negatively affect our financial position, results of operations, or liquidity.

See "Description of Our Business - Regulation - Wireless Services and Products - Universal Service" and "Description of Our Business - Regulation - Wireline Voice Services and Products - Universal Service" for more information.

We may not meet our performance plan milestones under the Alaska High Cost Order.

As an ETC, we receive support from the USF to support the provision of wireline local access and wireless service in high cost areas. On August 31, 2016, the FCC published the Alaska High Cost Order which requires us to submit to the FCC a performance plan with five-year and ten-year commitments.  If we are unable to meet the final performance plan milestones approved by the FCC we will be required to repay 1.89 times the average amount of support per location received over the ten-year term for the relevant number of locations that we failed to deploy to, plus ten percent of our total Alaska High Cost Order support received over the ten-year term. Inability to meet our performance plan milestones could have an adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations or liquidity.

We may lose USF high cost support if another carrier adds 4G LTE service in an area where we currently provide 4G LTE service.

Under the Alaska High Cost Order, the FCC adopted a process for revisiting after five years whether and to what extent there is duplicative support for 4G LTE service in rural Alaska and to take steps to eliminate such duplicative support levels in the second half of the ten-year term. As a result, if another carrier builds 4G LTE service in an area where we are the sole provider and the FCC decides to redistribute the support then our high cost support may be reduced which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations or liquidity.

Programming expenses for our video services are increasing, which could adversely affect our business.

We expect programming expenses for our video services to continue to increase in the foreseeable future.  The multichannel video provider industry has continued to experience an increase in the cost of programming, especially sports programming and costs to retransmit local broadcast stations. As our contracts with content providers expire, there can be no assurance that they will be renewed on acceptable terms or that they will be renewed at all, in which case we may be unable to provide such content as part of our video services and our business could be adversely affected. If we add programming to our video services or if we choose to distribute existing programming to our customers through additional delivery platforms, we may incur increased programming expenses.  If we are unable to raise our customers' rates or offset such programming cost increases through the sale of additional services, the increasing cost of programming could have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition, or results of operations.  

The decline in our voice services' results of operations, which include long-distance and local access services, may accelerate.

We expect our voice services' results of operations, which include long-distance and local access services, will continue to decline.  As competition from wireless carriers, such as ourselves, increases we expect our long-distance and local access services' subscribers and revenues will continue to decline and the rate of decline may accelerate.

We may not be able to satisfy the requirements of our participation in a New Markets Tax Credit ("NMTC") program for funding our TERRA project.

We have entered into five separate arrangements under the NMTC program with US Bancorp to help fund various phases of our TERRA project. In connection with the NMTC transactions we received proceeds which were restricted for use on TERRA. The NMTCs are subject to 100% recapture of the tax credit for a period of seven years as provided in the Internal Revenue Code. We are required to be in compliance with various regulations and contractual provisions that apply to the NMTC arrangements.  We have agreed to indemnify US Bancorp for any loss or recapture of its $65.8 million in NMTCs plus interest and penalties until such time as our obligation to deliver tax benefits is relieved. Our obligation to deliver tax benefits is relieved in various stages from August 2018 through December 2024. Non-compliance with applicable requirements could result in projected tax benefits not being realized by US Bancorp and could have an adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations or liquidity.

Failure to stay abreast of new technology could affect our ability to compete in the industry.

We test and deploy various new technologies and support systems intended to enhance our competitiveness and increase the utility of our services. As our operations grow in size and scope, we must continuously improve and upgrade our systems and infrastructure while maintaining or improving the reliability and integrity of our systems and infrastructure. The emergence of alternative platforms such as mobile or tablet computing devices and the emergence of niche competitors who may be able to optimize products, services or strategies for such platforms will require new investment in technology. We may not successfully complete the rollout of new technology and related features or services in a timely manner, and they may not be widely accepted by our customers or may not be profitable, in which case we could not recover our investment in the technology.  There can be no assurance that we will be able to compete with advancing technology or introduce new technologies and systems as quickly as we would like or in a cost effective manner. Deployment of technology supporting new service offerings may also adversely affect the performance or reliability of our networks with respect to both the new and existing services.  Any resulting customer dissatisfaction could affect our ability to retain customers and may have an adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations, or liquidity. In addition to introducing new technologies

and offerings, we must phase out outdated and unprofitable technologies and services.  If we are unable to do so on a cost-effective basis, we could experience reduced profits.

Our business is geographically concentrated in Alaska and is impacted by the economic conditions in Alaska.

We offer products and services to customers primarily throughout Alaska. Because of this geographic concentration, growth of our business and operations depends upon economic conditions in Alaska.  The economy of Alaska is dependent upon the oil industry, state government spending, United States military spending, investment earnings and tourism. Prolonged periods of low oil prices will adversely impact the Alaska economy, which in turn could have an adverse impact on the demand for our products and services and on our results of operations and financial condition.  Oil prices have continued to remain low which has put significant pressure on the Alaska state government budget since the majority of its revenues come from the oil industry. While the Alaska state government has significant reserves that we believe will help fund the state government for the next couple of years, major structural budgetary reforms will need to be implemented in order to offset the impact of lower oil prices.

The Alaska economy is in a recession that started in late 2015. While it is difficult for us to predict the future impact of the continuing recession on our business, these conditions have had an adverse impact on our business and could continue to adversely affect the affordability of and demand for some of our products and services and cause customers to shift to lower priced products and services or to delay or forgo purchases of our products and services.  Additionally, our customers may not be able to obtain adequate access to credit, which could affect their ability to make timely payments to us.  If that were to occur, we could be required to increase our allowance for doubtful accounts, and the number of days outstanding for our accounts receivable could increase. If the recession continues, it could continue to negatively affect our business including our financial position, results of operations, or liquidity, as well as our ability to service debt, pay other obligations and enhance shareholder returns.

The customer base in Alaska is limited and we have already achieved significant market penetration with respect to our service offerings in Anchorage and other locations in Alaska. We may not be able to continue to increase our share of the existing markets for our services, and no assurance can be given that the Alaskan economy will grow and increase the size of the markets we serve or increase the demand for the services we offer.  The markets in Alaska for wireless and wireline telecommunications and video services are unique and distinct within the United States due to Alaska's large geographical size, its sparse population located in a limited number of clusters, and its distance from the rest of the United States.  The expertise we have developed in operating our businesses in Alaska may not provide us with the necessary expertise to successfully enter other geographic markets.

Natural or man-made disasters or terrorist attacks could have an adverse effect on our business.

Our technical infrastructure (including our communications network infrastructure and ancillary functions supporting our network such as service activation, billing and customer care) is vulnerable to damage or interruption from technology failures, power surges or outages, natural disasters, fires, human error, terrorism, intentional wrongdoing or similar events. As a communications provider, there is an increased risk that our technological infrastructure may be targeted in connection with terrorism or cyberattacks, either as a primary target, or as a means of facilitating additional attacks on other targets.  

In addition, earthquakes, floods, fires and other unforeseen natural disasters or events could materially disrupt our business operations or our provision of service in one or more markets.  Costs we incur to restore, repair or replace our network or technical infrastructure, as well as costs associated with detecting, monitoring or reducing the incidence of unauthorized use, may be substantial and increase our cost of providing service.  Any failure in or interruption of systems that we or third parties maintain to support ancillary functions, such as billing, point of sale, inventory management, customer care and financial reporting, could materially impact our ability to timely and accurately record, process and report information important to our business.  If any of the above events were to occur, we could experience higher churn, reduced revenues and increased costs, any of which could harm our reputation and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Additionally, our insurance may not be adequate to cover the costs associated with a natural disaster or terrorist attack.

Cyberattacks or other network disruptions could have an adverse effect on our business.

Cyberattacks against our technological infrastructure or breaches of network information technology may cause equipment failures, disruption of our operations, and potentially unauthorized access to confidential customer data. Cyberattacks, which include the use of malware, computer viruses, and other means for service disruption or unauthorized access to confidential customer data, have increased in frequency, scope, and potential harm for businesses in recent years. It is possible for such cyberattacks to go undetected for an extended period of time, increasing the potential harm to our customers, our assets, and our reputation.

To date, we have not been subject to cyberattacks or network disruptions that individually or in the aggregate, have been material to our operations or financial condition. Nevertheless, we engage in a variety of preventive measures at an increased cost to us, in order to reduce the risk of cyberattacks and safeguard our infrastructure and confidential customer information. Such measures include, but are not limited to the following industry best practices: application whitelisting, anti-malware, message and spam filtering, encryption, advanced firewalls, threat detection, and URL filtering. Despite these preventive and detective actions, our efforts may be insufficient to repel a major cyberattack or network disruption in the future.

Some of the most significant risks to our information technology systems, networks, and infrastructure include:

If hackers or cyberthieves gain improper access to our technology systems, networks, or infrastructure, they may be able to access, steal, publish, delete, misappropriate, modify or otherwise disrupt access to confidential customer data. Moreover, additional harm to customers could be perpetrated by third parties who are given access to the confidential customer data. A network disruption (including one resulting from a cyberattack) could cause an interruption or degradation of service as well as permit access, theft, publishing, deletion, misappropriation, or modification to or of confidential customer data. Due to the evolving techniques used in cyberattacks to disrupt or gain unauthorized access to technology networks, we may not be able to anticipate or prevent such disruption or unauthorized access.

The costs imposed on us as a result of a cyberattack or network disruption could be significant. Among others, such costs could include increased expenditures on cyber security measures, litigation, fines, and sanctions, lost revenues from business interruption, and damage to the public's perception regarding our ability to provide a secure service. As a result, a cyberattack or network disruption could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and operating results.

Increases in data usage on our wired and wireless networks may cause network capacity limitations, resulting in service disruptions, reduced capacity or slower transmission speeds for our customers.

Video streaming services and peer-to-peer file sharing applications use significantly more bandwidth than traditional Internet activity such as web browsing and email. As use of these services continues to grow, our customers will likely use more bandwidth than in the past. Additionally, new wireless handsets and devices may place a higher demand for data on our wireless network. If this occurs, we could be required to make significant capital expenditures to increase network capacity in order to avoid service disruptions, service degradation or slower transmission speeds for our customers. Alternatively, we could choose to implement network management practices to reduce the network capacity available to bandwidth-intensive activities during certain times in market areas experiencing congestion, which could negatively affect our ability to retain and attract customers in affected areas. While we believe demand for these services may drive customers to pay for faster speeds, competitive or regulatory constraints may preclude us from recovering the costs of the necessary network investments which could result in an adverse impact to our business, financial condition, and operating results.

Prolonged service interruptions or system failures could affect our business.

We rely heavily on our network equipment, communications providers, data and software to support all of our functions.  We rely on our networks and the networks of others for substantially all of our revenues. We are able to deliver services and serve our customers only to the extent that we can protect our network systems against damage from power or communication failures, computer viruses, natural disasters, unauthorized access and other disruptions.  While we endeavor to provide for failures in the network by providing back-up systems and procedures, we cannot guarantee that these back-up systems and procedures will operate satisfactorily in an emergency.  Disruption to our billing systems due to a failure of existing hardware and backup protocols could have an adverse effect on our revenue and cash flow. Should we experience a prolonged failure, it could seriously jeopardize our ability to continue operations.  In particular, should a significant service interruption occur, our ongoing customers may choose a different provider, and our reputation may be damaged, reducing our attractiveness to new customers.

If failures occur in our undersea fiber optic cable systems or our TERRA facilities and its extensions, our ability to immediately restore the entirety of our service may be limited and we could incur significant costs.

Our communications facilities include undersea fiber optic cable systems that carry a large portion of our traffic to and from the contiguous lower 48 states, one of which provides an alternative geographically diverse backup communication facility to the other.  Our facilities also include TERRA and its extensions some of which are unringed, operating in a remote environment and are at times difficult to access for repairs.  Damage to an undersea fiber optic cable system or TERRA and its extensions could result in significant unplanned expense. If a failure of both sides of the ring of our undersea fiber optic facilities or our ringed TERRA facility and its unringed extensions occurs and we are not able to secure alternative facilities, some of the communications services we offer to our customers could be interrupted, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations or liquidity.  

If a failure occurs in our satellite communications systems, our ability to immediately restore the entirety of our service may be limited.

Our communications facilities include satellite transponders that we use to serve many rural and remote Alaska locations.  Each of our C-band and Ku-band satellite transponders is backed up using on-board transponder redundancy.  In the event of a complete spacecraft failure the services are restored using capacity on other spacecraft that are held in reserve.  If a failure of our satellite transponders occurs and we are not able to secure alternative facilities, some of the communications services we offer to our customers could be interrupted which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations or liquidity.

We depend on a limited number of third-party vendors to supply communications equipment.  If we do not obtain the necessary communications equipment, we will not be able to meet the needs of our customers.

We depend on a limited number of third-party vendors to supply wireless, Internet, video and other telephony-related equipment.  If our providers of this equipment are unable to timely supply the equipment necessary to meet our needs or provide them at an acceptable cost, we may not be able to satisfy demand for our services and competitors may fulfill this demand.  Due to the unique characteristics of the Alaska communications markets (i.e., remote locations, rural, satellite-served, low density populations, and our leading edge services and products), in many situations we deploy and utilize specialized, advanced technology and equipment that may not have a large market or demand.  Our vendors may not succeed in developing sufficient market penetration to sustain continuing production and may fail.  Vendor bankruptcy, or acquisition without continuing product support by the acquiring company, may require us to replace technology before its otherwise useful end of life due to lack of on-going vendor support and product development.

The suppliers and vendors on which we rely may also be subject to litigation with respect to technology on which we depend, including litigation involving claims of patent infringement.  Such claims have been growing rapidly in the communications industry.  We are unable to predict whether our business will be affected by any such litigation.  We expect our dependence on key suppliers to continue as they develop and introduce more advanced generations of technology. The failure of our key suppliers to provide products or product support could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, and results of operations.

We do not have insurance to cover certain risks to which we are subject, which could lead to the occurrence of uninsured liabilities.

As is typical in the communications industry, we are self-insured for damage or loss to certain of our transmission facilities, including our buried, undersea and above-ground fiber optic cable systems.  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.

We are in the process of transferring our customer billing systems to a new third-party vendor. Any unanticipated difficulties, disruption or significant delays could have adverse operational, financial and reputational effects on our business.

We are currently implementing a new customer billing system, which involves moving to a new third-party billing services vendor and platform in 2018. The implementation may cause major system or business disruptions or we may fail to implement the new billing system in a timely or effective manner. In addition, the third-party billing services vendor may experience errors, cyber-attacks or other operational disruptions that could negatively impact us and over which we may have limited control. Interruptions and/or failure of this new billing services system could disrupt our operations and impact our ability to provide or bill for our services, retain customers, or attract new customers, and negatively impact overall customer experience. Any occurrence of the foregoing could cause material adverse effects on our operations and financial condition, material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting and reputational damage.

Our significant debt and lease obligations could adversely affect our business.

We have and will continue to have a significant amount of debt and lease obligations including capital, operating, and the tower obligation (see Note 2 included in "Part II - Item 8 - Consolidated Financial Statements and Supplementary Data" for additional information). Our high level of debt and lease obligations could have important consequences, including the following:

We will require a significant amount of cash to service our debt and to meet other obligations.  Our ability to generate cash depends on many factors beyond our control.  If we are unable to meet our future capital needs it may be necessary for us to curtail, delay or abandon our business growth plans. If we incur significant additional indebtedness to fund our plans, it could cause a decline in our credit rating and could increase our borrowing costs or limit our ability to raise additional capital.

We will continue to require a significant amount of cash to satisfy our debt service requirements and to meet other obligations.  Our ability to make payments on and to refinance our debt and to fund planned capital expenditures and acquisitions will depend on our ability to generate cash and to arrange additional financing in the future.  These abilities are subject to, among other factors, our credit rating, our financial performance, general economic conditions, prevailing market conditions, the state of competition in our market, the outcome of certain legislative and regulatory issues and other factors that may be beyond our control.  Our business may not generate sufficient

cash flow from operations and future borrowings may not be available to us in an amount sufficient to enable us to pay our debt or to fund our other liquidity needs.  We may need to refinance all or a portion of our debt on or before maturity.  We may not be able to refinance any of our debt on commercially reasonable terms or at all.

The terms of our debt obligations impose restrictions on us that may affect our ability to successfully operate our business and our ability to make payments on the debt obligations.

The indentures governing our Senior Notes and/or the credit agreements governing our Senior Credit Facility and other loans contain various covenants that could materially and adversely affect our ability to finance our future operations or capital needs and to engage in other business activities that may be in our best interest.

All of these covenants may restrict our ability to expand or to pursue our business strategies.  Our ability to comply with these covenants may be affected by events beyond our control, such as prevailing economic conditions and changes in regulations, and if such events occur, we cannot be sure that we will be able to comply.  A breach of these covenants could result in a default under the indentures and/or the credit agreements.  If there were an event of default under the indentures and/or the credit agreements, holders of such defaulted debt could cause all amounts borrowed under these instruments to be due and payable immediately.  Additionally, if we fail to repay the debt under the Senior Credit Facility when it becomes due, the lenders under the Senior Credit Facility could proceed against certain of our assets and capital stock of our subsidiaries that we have pledged to them as security.  Our assets or cash flow may not be sufficient to repay borrowings under our outstanding debt instruments in the event of a default thereunder.

When our Senior Credit Facility and Senior Notes mature, we may not be able to refinance or replace one or both.

When our Senior Credit Facility and Senior Notes mature, we will likely need to refinance them and may not be able to do so on favorable terms or at all. If we are able to refinance maturing indebtedness, the terms of any refinancing or alternate credit arrangements may contain terms and covenants that restrict our financial and operating flexibility.

Variable rate indebtedness subjects us to interest rate risk, which could cause our debt service obligations to increase significantly.

Our borrowings under our Senior Credit Facility are at variable rates of interest and expose us to interest rate risk. If interest rates increase, our debt service obligations on the variable rate indebtedness could increase even though the amount borrowed remained the same, and our net income and cash flow could decrease.

In order to manage our exposure to interest rate risk, in the future, we may enter into derivative financial instruments, typically interest rate swaps and caps, involving the exchange of floating for fixed rate interest payments. If we are unable to enter into interest rate swaps, it may adversely affect our cash flow and may impact our ability to make required principal and interest payments on our indebtedness.

Any significant impairment of our indefinite-lived intangible assets would lead to a decrease in our assets and a reduction in our net operating performance.

We had $530.8 million of indefinite-lived intangible assets at December 31, 2017, consisting of goodwill of $242.3 million , cable certificates of $191.6 million , wireless licenses of $93.8 million and broadcast licenses of $3.1 million.  Goodwill represents the excess of cost over fair value of net assets acquired in connection with business acquisitions. Our cable certificates represent agreements with government entities to construct and operate a video business.  Our wireless licenses are from the FCC and give us the right to provide wireless service within a certain geographical area.  Our broadcast licenses represent permission to use a portion of the radio frequency spectrum in a given geographical area for broadcasting purposes.

If we make changes in our business strategy or if market or other conditions adversely affect our operations, we may be forced to record an impairment charge, which would lead to a decrease in our assets and a reduction in our net operating performance.  Our indefinite-lived intangible assets are tested annually for impairment during the fourth quarter and at any time upon the occurrence of certain events or substantive changes in circumstances that indicate the assets might be impaired.  If the testing performed indicates that impairment has occurred, we are required to record an impairment charge for the difference between the carrying value and the fair value of the

goodwill and/or the indefinite-lived intangible assets, as appropriate, in the period in which the determination is made.  The testing of goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment requires us to make significant estimates about our future performance and cash flows, as well as other assumptions.  These estimates can be affected by numerous factors, including changes in economic, industry or market conditions, changes in underlying business operations, future operating performance, changes in competition, or changes in technologies.  Any changes to key assumptions, or actual performance compared with those assumptions, about our business and its future prospects or other assumptions could affect the fair value, resulting in an impairment charge.

Our ability to use net operating loss carryforwards to reduce future tax payments could be negatively impacted if there is an "ownership change" as defined under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code.

At December 31, 2017, we have tax net operating loss carryforwards of $371.2 million for U.S. federal income tax purposes and, under the Internal Revenue Code, we may carry forward these net operating losses in certain circumstances to offset any current and future taxable income and thus reduce our federal income tax liability, subject to certain requirements and restrictions. If we experience an "ownership change," as defined in Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code and related Treasury regulations at a time when our market capitalization is below a certain level, our ability to use the net operating loss carryforwards could be substantially limited. This limit could impact the timing of the usage of the net operating loss carryforwards, thus accelerating cash tax payments or causing net operating loss carryforwards to expire prior to their use, which could affect the ultimate realization of that deferred tax asset.

Concerns about health/safety risks associated with wireless equipment may reduce the demand for our wireless services.

We do not manufacture devices or other equipment sold by us, and we depend on our suppliers to provide defect-free and safe equipment. Suppliers are required by applicable law to manufacture their devices to meet certain governmentally imposed safety criteria. However, even if the devices we sell meet the regulatory safety criteria, we could be held liable with the equipment manufacturers and suppliers for any harm caused by products we sell if such products are later found to have design or manufacturing defects. We cannot guarantee that we will be fully protected against all losses associated with a product that is found to be defective.

Portable communications devices have been alleged to pose health risks, including cancer, due to radio frequency emissions from these devices.  Purported class actions and other lawsuits have been filed from time to time against other wireless companies seeking not only damages but also remedies that could increase the cost of doing business.  We cannot be sure of the outcome of any such cases or that the industry will not be adversely affected by litigation of this nature or public perception about health risks.  The actual or perceived risk of mobile communications devices could adversely affect us through a reduction in subscribers.  Further research and studies are ongoing, with no linkage between health risks and mobile phone use established to date by a credible public source.  However, we cannot be sure that additional studies will not demonstrate a link between radio frequency emissions and health concerns.

Additionally, there are safety risks associated with the use of wireless devices while operating vehicles or equipment. Concerns over any of these risks and the effect of any legislation, rules or regulations that have been and may be adopted in response to these risks could limit our ability to sell our wireless services.

A significant percentage of our voting securities are owned by a small number of shareholders and these shareholders can control shareholder decisions on very important matters.

As of December 31, 2017, our executive officers and directors and their affiliates owned 15% of our combined outstanding common stock, representing 25% of the combined voting power of that stock.  These shareholders can significantly influence, if not control, our management policy and all fundamental corporate actions, including mergers, substantial acquisitions and dispositions, and election of directors to the Board.

We expect to incur significant costs and expenses in connection with the Transactions.

We expect to incur certain nonrecurring costs in connection with the consummation of the Transactions contemplated by the Reorganization Agreement, including advisory, legal and other transaction costs. A majority of these costs have already been incurred or will be incurred regardless of whether the Transactions are completed. While many of the expenses that will be incurred, by their nature, are difficult to estimate accurately at the present time, we continue to assess the magnitude of these costs, and additional unanticipated costs may be incurred in connection with the Transactions. Although we expect that the realization of benefits related to the Transactions will offset such costs and expenses over time, no assurances can be made that this net benefit will be achieved in the near term, or at all.

Additionally, the inputs that impact the estimate of value of our derivative stock appreciation rights have been impacted and may continue to be impacted by the Transactions with Liberty which could adversely affect our financial position or results of operations.

The announcement and pendency of the Transactions could divert the attention of management and cause disruptions in our business, which could have an adverse effect on our business and financial results.

Liberty and GCI are unaffiliated companies that are currently operated independently of each other. Our management may be required to divert a disproportionate amount of attention away from their respective day-to-day activities and operations, and devote time and effort to consummating the Transactions. The risks, and adverse effects, of such disruptions and diversions could be exacerbated by a delay in the completion of the Transactions. These factors could adversely affect our financial position or results of operations, regardless of whether the Transactions are completed.

We are subject to contractual restrictions while the Transactions are pending, which could adversely affect our business.

The Reorganization Agreement imposes certain restrictive interim covenants on us. For instance, the consent of Liberty is required in respect of, among other things, amendments to our organizational documents, share repurchases, certain actions relating to material contracts, certain employee benefit changes, limitations on capital expenditures and limitations on dispositions, payments of dividends, and certain issuances of shares of our common stock. These restrictions may prevent us from taking certain actions before the closing of the Transactions or the termination of the Reorganization Agreement, including making certain acquisitions or otherwise pursuing certain business opportunities, or making certain changes to our capital stock, that our board of directors may deem beneficial.

Failure to complete the Transactions could negatively impact our stock price, future business, and financial results.

If the Transactions are not completed for any reason, we may be subject to numerous risks, including the following:

In addition, we could be subject to the cost of litigation related to any dispute regarding an alleged failure of a closing condition or any related enforcement proceeding commenced against us to perform our obligations under the Reorganization Agreement or any of the other transaction documents, as well as any judgment potentially

sustained against us in any such action. All of these risks, expenses and contingencies could adversely affect our financial position and results of operation.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments.

Not applicable.

Item 2. Properties

Our properties do not lend themselves to description by location of principal units.  The majority of our properties are located in Alaska.  

We lease most of our executive, corporate and administrative facilities and business offices.  Our operating, executive, corporate and administrative properties are in good condition.  We consider our properties suitable and adequate for our present needs and they are being fully utilized.

Our properties consist primarily of undersea and terrestrial fiber optic cable networks, switching equipment, satellite transponders and earth stations, microwave radio, cable and wire facilities, cable head-end equipment, wireless towers and equipment, coaxial distribution networks, connecting lines (aerial, underground and buried cable), routers, servers, transportation equipment, computer equipment, general office equipment, land, land improvements, landing stations and other buildings.  See Note 5 included in "Part II - Item 8 - Consolidated Financial Statements and Supplementary Data" for more information on our properties. Substantial amounts of our properties are located on or in leased real property or facilities.  Substantially all of our properties secure our Senior Credit Facility.  See Note 7 included in "Part II - Item 8 - Consolidated Financial Statements and Supplementary Data" for more information on our Senior Credit Facility.

Item 3. Legal Proceedings

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.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

Not Applicable.

Item 5. Market for the Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Shares of GCI's Class A-1 common stock are traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market SM under the symbol GNCMA.

Shares of GCI's Class B-1 common stock are traded on the OTCQX market under the symbol GNCMB.  Each share of Class B-1 common stock is convertible, at the option of the holder, into one share of Class A-1 common stock.

The following table sets forth the high and low sales price for our common stock for the periods indicated.  Market price data for Class A-1 shares was obtained from the Nasdaq Stock Market System quotation system.  Market price data for Class B-1 shares was obtained from reported Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board service market transactions.  The prices represent prices between dealers, do not include retail markups, markdowns, or commissions, and do not necessarily represent actual transactions.

As of December 31, 2017, there were 1,988 holders of record of our Class A-1 common stock and 261 holders of record of our Class B-1 common stock (amounts do not include the number of shareholders whose shares are held of record by brokers, but do include the brokerage house as one shareholder).

We have never paid cash dividends on our common stock, and we have no present intention of doing so. Payment of cash dividends in the future, if any, will be determined by our Board of Directors in light of our earnings, financial condition and other relevant considerations.  Our existing debt agreements contain provisions that limit payment of dividends on common stock, other than stock dividends (see Note 7 included in "Part II - Item 8 - Consolidated Financial Statements and Supplementary Data" for more information).

Computershare is our stock transfer agent and registrar.

Performance Graph

The following graph includes a line graph comparing the yearly percentage change in our cumulative total shareholder return on our Class A-1 common stock during the five-year period 2013 through 2017.  This return is measured by dividing (1) the sum of (a) the cumulative amount of dividends for the measurement period (assuming dividend reinvestment, if any) and (b) the difference between our share price at the end and the beginning of the measurement period, by (2) the share price at the beginning of that measurement period.  This line graph is compared in the following graph with two other line graphs during that five-year period, i.e., a market index and a peer index.

The market index is the Center for Research in Securities Price Index for the Nasdaq Stock Market for United States companies.  It presents cumulative total returns for a broad based equity market assuming reinvestment of dividends and is based upon companies whose equity securities are traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market.  The peer index is the Center for Research in Securities Price Index for Nasdaq Telecommunications Stock.  It presents cumulative total returns for the equity market in the telecommunications industry segment assuming reinvestment of dividends and is based upon companies whose equity securities are traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market.  The line graphs represent annual index levels derived from compounding daily returns.

In constructing each of the line graphs in the following graph, the closing price at the beginning point of the five-year measurement period has been converted into a fixed investment, stated in dollars, in our Class A-1 common stock (or in the stock represented by a given index, in the cases of the two comparison indexes), with cumulative returns

for each subsequent fiscal year measured as a change from that investment.  Data for each succeeding fiscal year during the five-year measurement period are plotted with points showing the cumulative total return as of that point.  The value of a shareholder's investment as of each point plotted on a given line graph is the number of shares held at that point multiplied by the then prevailing share price.

Our Class B-1 common stock is traded on the OTCQX Market on a more limited basis.  Therefore, comparisons similar to those previously described for the Class A-1 common stock are not directly available.  However, the performance of Class B-1 common stock may be analogized to that of the Class A-1 common stock in that the Class B-1 common stock is readily convertible into Class A-1 common stock upon request to us.

Prepared by Zacks Investment Research, Inc.  All indexes used with permission.  All rights reserved.

Item 6. Selected Financial Data

The following table presents selected historical information relating to financial condition and results of operations over the past five years.

The Selected Financial Data should be read in conjunction with "Part II - Item 7 - Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations."

Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations discusses our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP"). The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. On an on-going basis, we evaluate our estimates and judgments, including those described in Note 1 in the "Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements" included in Part IV of of this annual report on Form 10-K. We base our estimates and judgments on historical experience and on various other factors that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions. See also our "Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements."

The following discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and supplementary data as presented in Part IV of this Form 10-K.

Update on Economic Conditions

We offer wireless and wireline telecommunication services, data services, video services, and managed services to customers primarily throughout Alaska. Because of this geographic concentration, growth of our business and operations depends upon economic conditions in Alaska.  The economy of Alaska is dependent upon the oil

industry, state government spending, United States military spending, investment earnings and tourism.  Prolonged periods of low oil prices adversely impacts the Alaska economy, which in turn can have an adverse impact on the demand for our products and services and on our results of operations and financial condition.

Oil prices have continued to remain low which has put significant pressure on the Alaska state government budget since the majority of its revenues have historically come from the oil industry. While the Alaska state government has significant reserves that we believe will help fund the state government for the next couple of years, major structural budgetary reforms will need to be implemented in order to offset the impact of lower oil prices.

The Alaska economy is in a recession that started in late 2015. While it is difficult for us to predict the future impact of the continuing recession on our business, these conditions have had an adverse impact on our business and could continue to adversely affect the affordability of and demand for some of our products and services and cause customers to shift to lower priced products and services or to delay or forgo purchases of our products and services.  Additionally, our customers may not be able to obtain adequate access to credit, which could affect their ability to make timely payments to us.  If that were to occur, we could be required to increase our allowance for doubtful accounts, and the number of days outstanding for our accounts receivable could increase. If the recession continues, it could continue to negatively affect our business including our financial position, results of operations, or liquidity, as well as our ability to service debt, pay other obligations and enhance shareholder returns.  

General Overview

Through our focus on long-term results, acquisitions, and strategic capital investments, we strive to consistently grow our earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. We have historically met our cash needs for operations and regular and maintenance capital expenditures through our cash flows from operating activities.  Historically, cash requirements for significant acquisitions and major capital expenditures have been provided largely through our financing activities.

Major Developments

On April 4, 2017, General Communication, Inc., Liberty and Liberty LLC, entered into an Agreement and Plan of Reorganization (as may be amended from time to time, the "Reorganization Agreement" and the transactions contemplated thereby, the "Transactions"). Pursuant to the Reorganization Agreement, General Communication, Inc. amended and restated its articles of incorporation resulting in General Communication, Inc. being renamed GCI Liberty, Inc. and a reclassification and auto conversion of its common stock. Following these events, Liberty will acquire GCI through a reorganization in which certain interests, assets and liabilities of the Liberty Ventures will be contributed to GCI Liberty in exchange for a controlling interest in GCI Liberty. The assets to be contributed to GCI Liberty are expected to include Liberty's equity interests in Liberty Broadband and Charter Communications, Inc. along with certain other equity interests, together with the operating business of Evite, Inc. and certain other assets and liabilities, in exchange for (a) the issuance to Liberty LLC of (i) a number of shares of GCI Liberty Class A Common Stock and a number of shares of GCI Liberty Class B Common Stock equal to the number of outstanding shares of Series A Liberty Ventures common stock and Series B Liberty Ventures common stock outstanding on the closing date of the contribution, respectively, and (ii) cash, and (b) the assumption by GCI Liberty of certain liabilities attributed to Liberty Ventures.

Following the contribution and acquisition of GCI Liberty, Liberty will then effect a tax-free separation of its controlling interest in GCI Liberty to the holders of Liberty Ventures common stock in full redemption of all outstanding shares of such stock. As a result of the Transactions, holders of GCI common stock (regardless of class) each will receive (i) 0.63 of a share of GCI Liberty Class A common stock and (ii) 0.20 of a share of new GCI Liberty Series A Cumulative Redeemable preferred stock in exchange for each share of their existing GCI common stock. The exchange ratios were determined based on total consideration of $32.50 per share in respect of each share of existing GCI common stock, comprised of $27.50 per share in GCI Liberty Class A common stock and $5.00 per share in newly issued GCI Liberty Series A Cumulative Redeemable preferred stock, based upon a Liberty Ventures reference price of $43.65 (with no premium paid for shares of GCI Class B common stock) and an initial liquidation price of $25.00 per share of GCI Liberty Series A Cumulative Redeemable preferred stock. The GCI Liberty Series A Cumulative Redeemable preferred stock will accrue dividends at an initial rate of 5% per annum (which would increase to 7% in connection with a future reincorporation of GCI Liberty in Delaware) and will

be redeemable upon the 21 st anniversary of the closing. The closing of the Transactions are expected to be consummated on March 9, 2018, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

In the third quarter of 2016, we received $90.8 million for the initial closing to sell to Vertical Bridge Towers II, LLC ("Vertical Bridge") the majority of our urban wireless rooftop and tower sites ("Tower Transaction"). Additionally, we entered into a Master Lease Agreement with Vertical Bridge to lease collocation space on communications towers and facilities that were sold to Vertical Bridge. We sold additional tower sites to Vertical Bridge in 2017 for total consideration of $6.8 million.

The USF RHC Program subsidizes the rates for services provided to rural health care providers. USAC received requests for support that exceeded the available RHC Program funding for the first time in the funding year that ran from July 1, 2016 through June 30, 2017. We expect that the support requests will continue to exceed the program's annual cap for the funding year ending June 30, 2018 and possibly subsequent funding years. We provide services to rural health care providers who may be impacted by funding caps and as a result may not receive the full subsidy that was expected under the program. We cannot predict the impact of future RHC Program funding caps but they may negatively affect our financial position, results of operations, or liquidity.

In August 2016, the FCC published the Alaska High Cost Order which mandates that Urban high cost support will end at the beginning of 2019. We recognized $9.9 million for Urban high cost support in 2017 and expect to recognize $9.9 million in 2018 and $0 in 2019.

In February 2015, we purchased ACS' interest in The Alaska Wireless Network, LLC ("AWN") and substantially all the assets of ACS and its affiliates related to ACS's wireless operations ("Acquired ACS Assets") (collectively the "Wireless Acquisition"). Under the terms of the agreement, we transfered to ACS a cash payment of $293.2 million excluding working capital adjustments and agreed to terminate or amend certain agreements related to the use of ACS network assets that were included as part of the original transaction that closed in July 2013. The Acquired ACS Assets included substantially all of ACS's wireless subscriber assets, including subscriber contracts, and certain of ACS's CDMA network assets, including fiber strands and associated cell site electronics and microwave facilities and associated electronics. We assumed from ACS post-closing liabilities of ACS and its affiliates under contracts assumed by us and liabilities with respect to the ownership by ACS of its equity interest in AWN to the extent accruing and related to the period after closing. All other liabilities were retained by ACS and its affiliates. Following the close of the Wireless Acquisition, AWN is a wholly owned subsidiary and we are entitled to 100% of the future cash flows from AWN. We funded the purchase with a $275.0 million Term Loan B under our Senior Credit Facility and a $75.0 million unsecured promissory note from Searchlight Capital, L.P. ("Searchlight").

Revenues

The components of revenue are as follows (amounts in thousands):

Selected key performance indicators follow:

Consumer

The recession in Alaska has impacted our ability to increase our number of subscribers and customers cutting back on the services the receive from us, which have impacted our revenues.

The items contributing to the decrease in wireless revenue for 2017 and 2016 include:

able to resell the used handsets for prices higher than originally estimated. Based on this new information, we determined that it was appropriate to reduce the guarantee liability recorded for financed devices in our Upgrade Now program. The decreases in 2017 and 2016 were also partially due to a decrease in the number of wireless devices sold.

The increase in data revenue in 2017 is primarily due to subscribers' selection of plans that offer higher speeds and higher usage limits and revenue from small business subscribers transferred from our Business customer group. The increase was partially offset by a decrease in the overall number of subscribers. The increase in data revenue in 2016 is primarily due to a $12.8 million or 11% increase in cable modem revenue for 2016 due to an increase in the average number of subscribers and our subscribers' selection of plans that offer higher speeds and higher usage limits.

Consumer video revenue faces challenges as more customers choose to have their video content delivered via the Internet. However, as a major Internet-provider ourselves, this selection may result in additional data service revenue to the extent we grow average Internet revenue per subscriber.

We expect Consumer voice revenue to continue to decrease due to a growing number of customers using wireless service as their primary voice phone service for local and long distance calling.

Business

The recession in Alaska has had an impact on both the number of businesses in Alaska as well as the services that business customers have chosen. The decrease in the number of businesses and services have impacted our revenues and we expect it to continue impacting us until the recession in Alaska ends.

Business data revenue is comprised of monthly recurring charges for data services and charges billed on a time and materials basis largely for personnel providing on-site customer support.  This latter category can vary significantly based on project activity. This revenue faces challenges due to the decline in oil prices which negatively impacts certain of our customers.

The increase in data revenue in 2017 and 2016 is primarily due to a $5.8 million or 2% and $32.4 million or 15% increase, respectively, in data transport and storage revenue due to new customers and increased purchases by our existing customers. The increase in data revenue in 2017 was also partially due to a $6.8 million or 17% increase in time and materials revenue primarily due to an acquisition that was completed during the first quarter of 2017.

The increases in data revenue for 2017 were partially offset by decreases due to rate compression and a $5.5 million reduction of revenue recorded during 2017 as a result of a credit we provided to certain of our rural health care provider customers. For the funding year that ran from July 1, 2016 through June 30, 2017, USAC received requests for funds that exceeded the funding available for the RHC Program. USAC allocated the funding on a pro-rata basis to rural health care providers who submitted their funding requests during a certain period. We provide services to rural health care providers who were impacted by the pro-rata allocation and as a result certain of our customers did not receive the full subsidy that was expected under the program. Under the program rules, we are forbidden from lowering our rates for services previously provided, however, the FCC published an order on June 30, 2017 to assist eligible remote Alaska rural health care providers by allowing Alaska service providers, such as us, to retroactively lower their rates, or effectively giving a credit against amounts owed, for services provided. Based on these specific circumstances, we decided to retroactively lower our rates to these customers pursuant to the FCC waiver, and as a result we reduced revenue by $5.5 million during 2017, to aid our rural health care provider customers who were impacted by the pro-rata allocation.

The increases in data revenue for 2016 were partially offset by a $5.3 million or 11% decrease in time and materials revenue due to a decrease in special project work for 2016.

The decrease in wireless revenue in 2016 is primarily due to the following:

Business voice revenue continues to face competition and rate compression and to a lesser extent the substitution of wireless devices.

Cost of Goods Sold

The individually significant items contributing to the 2017 and 2016 decreases in Cost of Goods Sold include:

We expect to face continued increases in programming costs that may require us to drop certain channels or increase the rates paid by our customers that may result in a loss of additional video customers.

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses

Selling, general and administrative expenses are as follows (amounts in thousands):

Individually significant items contributing to the increases in selling, general and administrative expenses include:

The increases discussed above are partially offset by the following items:

As a percentage of total revenues, selling, general and administrative expenses were 40% , 38% , and 35% of revenue for 2017, 2016, and 2015, respectively. The 2017 increase in selling, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of total revenues is primarily due to the costs related to the Transactions with Liberty. The 2016

increase in selling, general and administrative expenses as percentage of total revenues is primarily due to increases in labor and contract labor costs without corresponding increases in revenue due to spending on our billing system conversion.

Depreciation and Amortization Expense

Depreciation and amortization expense follows (amounts in thousands):

The increases in 2017 and 2016 are primarily due to new assets placed in service in those years partially offset by assets which became fully depreciated during those years.

Software Impairment Charge

Software impairment charge decreased $29.8 million or 100% in 2016 primarily due to the absence of an impairment charge recorded in 2015 as discussed below.

During the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2014, we internally developed computer software to replace our wireless, Internet, video, local service, and long distance customer billing systems. In early 2015, we completed a detailed assessment of our progress to date and determined it was no longer probable that the computer software being developed would be completed and placed in service. Our assessment concluded that the cost of continuing the development would be much higher than originally estimated, and the timing and scope risks were substantial. We identified development work, hardware, and software recorded as Construction in Progress in early 2015, that may be applicable to our replacement customer billing solution, future internally developed software, and other system needs and therefore should remain capital assets. We considered the remaining capital expenditures for this billing system to have a fair value of $0 and recorded an impairment charge of $20.7 million during 2015 by recording an expense which is included in Software Impairment Charge in our Consolidated Statements of Operations. Subsequently we signed a contract with an established billing solution provider and a multi-year implementation is in process.

In early 2015, we reassessed our plans for our internally developed machine-to-machine billing system and decided to no longer market this system to third parties. Accordingly we recognized an impairment of $7.1 million during 2015 by recording an expense which is included in Software Impairment Charge in our Consolidated Statements of Operations.

In late 2015, we evaluated user management software we purchased in 2014 and determined that we would not be able to use the software. Accordingly we recognized an impairment of $1.0 million during 2015 by recording an expense which is included in Software Impairment Charge in our Consolidated Statement of Operations.

Other Expense, Net

Other expense, net of other income, follows (amounts in thousands):

Items contributing to the increase in 2017 include:

Items contributing to the decrease in 2016 include:

Income Tax (Expense) Benefit

The income tax benefit for 2017 was primarily a result of the enactment of the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act ("Tax Reform") in December 2017. The primary provisions of Tax Reform impacting us are the reduction to the U.S. corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21% and temporary 100% bonus depreciation for certain assets. The change in the tax law required us to remeasure existing net deferred tax liabilities using the lower rate in the year of enactment resulting in an income tax benefit of $41.6 million for 2017 to reflect these changes.

Partially off-setting the impact of Tax Reform on our effective income tax rate in 2017 and primarily impacting our effective income tax rates for 2016 and 2015 was the volatility of our income (loss) before income taxes and permanent differences. The primary driver of our permanent difference volatility in 2017, 2016 and 2015 was the unrealized gain (loss) recorded for adjusting to fair value a derivative instrument where we issued 3.0 million stock appreciation rights to an affiliate of Searchlight.

At December 31, 2017, we have income tax net operating loss carryforwards of $371.2 million that will begin expiring in 2020 if not utilized. We have recorded deferred tax assets of $104.6 million associated with income tax net operating losses that were generated from 2000 to 2017 and that expire from 2020 to 2037.

Tax benefits associated with recorded deferred tax assets are considered to be more likely than not realizable through future reversals of existing temporary differences and future taxable income exclusive of reversing temporary differences and carryforwards. The amount of deferred tax assets considered realizable, however, could be reduced if estimates of future taxable income during the carryforward period are reduced which would result in additional income tax expense.  We estimate that our effective annual income tax rate for financial statement purposes will be (15%) to (20%) in the year ending December 31, 2018. The effective income tax rate is expected to be much higher due to an increase in the pretax book income amount and the relative impact that the expected tax adjustments have on that pretax income amount.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Our principal sources of current liquidity are cash and cash equivalents.  We believe, but can provide no assurances, that we will be able to meet our current and long-term liquidity, capital requirements and fixed charges through our cash flows from operating activities, existing cash, cash equivalents, credit facilities, and other external financing and equity sources.  Should operating cash flows be insufficient to support additional borrowings and principal payments scheduled under our existing credit facilities, capital expenditures will likely be reduced, which would likely reduce future revenues.

In the first and fourth quarters of 2017, we entered into additional financing arrangements under the NMTC program, which provided $6.6 million in net cash to help fund the continued expansion of our TERRA network (see Note 14 included in "Part II - Item 8 - Consolidated Financial Statements and Supplementary Data" for additional information).

In the fourth quarter of 2016, we amended our Senior Credit Facility. The amended Senior Credit Facility provided a $215.0 million Term Loan A, a $245.9 million Term Loan B, and a $200.0 million revolving credit facility, with a $50.0 million sub-limit for standby letters of credit. The borrowings under the Term Loan A and revolving credit facility are scheduled to mature on November 17, 2021, and the Term Loan B is scheduled to mature on February 2, 2022; provided that, if the 2021 Senior Notes are not refinanced by December 3, 2020, then all of the loans under the Senior Credit Facility become due on such date. We paid $4.1 million in fees associated with the amendment.

As discussed above in the General Overview section, in the third quarter of 2016 we received $90.8 million for the Tower Transaction.

In the first quarter of 2016, we entered into new long-term roaming and backhaul agreements with our largest roaming partners. The revenue recognized for these contracts was determined by calculating the cumulative minimum cash payments and recognizing the amount evenly over the life of the contracts. In the early years of the contracts, the cash received is in excess of the revenue recognized resulting in a significant increase in long-term deferred revenue; in the later years the cash received will be less than the revenue recognized and will lower long-term deferred revenue.

In the first quarter of 2015, we completed the Wireless Acquisition to purchase ACS' wireless subscriber base and its one-third ownership interest in AWN for $293.2 million excluding working capital adjustments and the termination or amendment of certain agreements related to the use of ACS network assets that were included as part of the original transaction that closed in July 2013. Following the close of the transaction, AWN is our wholly owned subsidiary and we are entitled to 100% of the future cash flows from AWN.

To fund the purchase from ACS, we used proceeds from our Senior Credit Facility. We also sold an unsecured promissory note to Searchlight in the principal amount of $75.0 million that will mature on February 2, 2023 and will bear interest at a rate of 7.5% per year ("Searchlight Note"). A portion of the proceeds from the Searchlight Note were used to finance the Wireless Acquisition and the remainder was used for general corporate purposes. Additionally, we entered into a stock appreciation rights agreement pursuant to which we issued to Searchlight three million stock appreciation rights which entitles Searchlight to receive, upon exercise, an amount payable at our election in either cash or shares of GCI's Class A-1 common stock equal in value to the excess of the fair market value of a share of GCI Class A-1 common stock on the date of exercise over the price of $13.00.

In the second quarter of 2015, we closed on the issuance of $450.0 million of new 6.875% Senior Notes due 2025 ("2025 Notes") at an issue price of 99.105% issued by our wholly owned subsidiary, GCI, Inc. The net proceeds of the offering were used to retire our existing 2019 Notes. We paid closing costs totaling $7.9 million in connection with the offering.

While our short-term and long-term financing abilities are believed to be adequate as a supplement to internally generated cash flows to fund capital expenditures and acquisitions as opportunities arise, turmoil in the global financial markets may negatively impact our ability to further access the capital markets in a timely manner and on attractive terms, which may have a negative impact on our ability to grow our business.

We monitor the third-party depository institutions that hold our cash and cash equivalents. Our emphasis is primarily on safety of principal and secondarily on maximizing yield on those funds.

Investing Activities

Net cash used for investing activities consists primarily of cash paid for capital expenditures.  Our most significant recurring investing activity has been capital expenditures and we expect that this will continue in the future.  A significant portion of our capital expenditures is based on the level of customer growth and the technology being deployed.

Our cash expenditures for property and equipment, including construction in progress, totaled $189.4 million and $194.5 million during 2017 and 2016, respectively.  Depending on available opportunities and the amount of cash flow we generate during 2018, we expect our 2018 capital expenditures to total approximately $170.0 million. This estimate is based on purchases in 2018 regardless of the timing of cash payments.

Financing Activities

Net cash provided by financing activities in 2017 consists primarily of borrowings from our Senior Credit Facility, net of payments partially offset by repurchases of our stock. Net cash provided by financing activities in 2016 consists primarily of cash received from the Tower Transaction partially offset by repurchases of our stock, payments on our Senior Credit Facility, net of borrowings, and costs paid for the amendment to our Senior Credit Facility. Our borrowings fluctuate from year to year based on our liquidity needs.  We may use excess cash to make optional repayments on our debt or repurchase our common stock depending on various factors, such as market conditions.

Available Borrowings Under Senior Credit Facility

We had a $100.0 million outstanding balance and $21.0 million in letters of credit under the $200.0 million Senior Credit Facility Revolver at December 31, 2017 , which leaves $79.0 million available for borrowing as of December 31, 2017 .

Debt Covenants

We are subject to covenants and restrictions applicable to our $325.0 million in aggregate principal amount of 6.75% Senior Notes due 2021 ("2021 Notes"), our 2025 Notes, Senior Credit Facility, and Wells Fargo note payable.  We are in compliance with the covenants, and we believe that neither the covenants nor the restrictions in our indentures or loan documents will limit our ability to operate our business.

Share Repurchases

GCI's Board of Directors has authorized a common stock buyback program for the repurchase of GCI common stock in order to reduce the outstanding shares of common stock.  During 2017 we repurchased 0.2 million shares of GCI common stock under the stock buyback program at a cost of $4.0 million excluding shares withheld to cover employee tax liabilities resulting from the vesting of restricted stock awards.  We have temporarily suspended the buyback program due to the Reorganization Agreement that we entered into with Liberty.

Schedule of Certain Known Contractual Obligations

The following table details future projected payments associated with certain known contractual obligations as of December 31, 2017 (amounts in thousands):

Long-term debt listed in the table above includes principal payments on our 2021 and 2025 Notes, Senior Credit Facility, Searchlight Note, and the Wells Fargo note payable.  Interest on the amounts outstanding under our Senior Credit Facility and Wells Fargo note payable are based on variable rates.  We used the current rate paid on our Senior Credit Facility to estimate our future interest payments. Our 2021 Notes require semi-annual interest payments of $11.0 million through June 2021 and our 2025 Notes require semi-annual interest payments of $15.5 million through April 2025.  Our Searchlight Note requires annual interest payments of $5.6 million through February 2023. For a discussion of our long-term debt see Note 7 in the accompanying "Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements."

Capital lease obligations consist primarily of our obligation to lease transponder capacity on Galaxy 18.  For a discussion of our capital and operating leases, see Note 15 in the accompanying "Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements."

Tower obligations consist of our obligation to Vertical Bridge for the Master Lease Agreement that we entered into as part of the Tower Transaction.

Purchase obligations include cancelable open purchase orders for goods and services for capital projects and normal operations, which are not included in our Consolidated Balance Sheets at December 31, 2017, because the goods had not been received or the services had not been performed at December 31, 2017.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

We have not created, and are not party to, any special-purpose and off-balance sheet entities for the purpose of raising capital, incurring debt or operating parts of our business that are not consolidated into our financial statements. We do not have any arrangements or relationships with entities that are not consolidated into our financial statements that are reasonably likely to materially affect our liquidity or the availability of our capital resources.

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

See Note 1 included in "Part II - Item 8 - Consolidated Financial Statements and Supplementary Data" for recently issued accounting pronouncements.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

Our accounting and reporting policies comply with GAAP.  The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions.  Our financial position and results of operations can be affected by these estimates and assumptions, which are integral to understanding reported results.  Critical accounting policies are those policies that management believes are the most important to the portrayal of our financial condition and results, and require management to make estimates that are difficult, subjective or complex.  Most accounting policies are not considered by management to be critical accounting policies.  Several factors are considered in determining whether or not a policy is critical in the preparation of financial statements.  These factors include, among other things, whether the estimates are significant to the financial statements, the nature of the estimates, the ability to readily validate the estimates with other information including third parties or available prices, and sensitivity of the estimates to changes in economic conditions and whether alternative accounting methods may be utilized under GAAP.  For all of these policies, management cautions that future events rarely develop exactly as forecast, and the best estimates routinely require adjustment.  Management has discussed the development and the selection of critical accounting policies with our Audit Committee.

Those policies and estimates considered to be critical for the year ended December 31, 2017 are described below.

Allowance for Doubtful Receivables

We record expense to maintain an allowance for doubtful receivables for estimated losses that result from the failure or inability of our customers to make required payments. When determining the allowance, we consider the probability of recoverability based on past experience, economic data, and changes in our collections processes. Credit risks are assessed based on historical write-offs, net of recoveries, as well as an analysis of the aged accounts and installment receivable balances with reserves generally increasing as the receivable ages. Accounts receivable may be fully reserved when specific collection issues are known to exist, such as pending bankruptcy or catastrophes.

Valuation of Derivative Stock Appreciation Rights

In connection with the $75.0 million unsecured promissory note issued to Searchlight on February 2, 2015, we entered into a stock appreciation rights agreement pursuant to which we issued to Searchlight three million stock appreciation rights. Each stock appreciation right entitles Searchlight to receive, upon exercise, an amount payable at our election in either cash or shares of GCI's Class A-1 common stock equal in value to the excess of the fair market value of a share of GCI Class A-1 common stock on the date of exercise over the price of $13.00. The instrument is exercisable on the fourth anniversary of the grant date and will expire eight years from the date of grant. We have determined that the stock appreciation rights are required to be separately accounted for as a derivative instrument and are subject to fair value liability accounting under ASC 815-10.

We use a lattice-based valuation model to value the stock appreciation rights liability at each reporting date. The model incorporates transaction details such as our stock price, instrument term and settlement provisions, as well as highly complex and subjective assumptions about volatility, risk-free interest rates, issuer behavior and

holder behavior. The lattice model uses highly subjective assumptions and the use of other reasonable assumptions could provide different results that could have a material effect on our results of operations.

Impairment and Useful Lives of Intangible Assets

We had $530.8 million of indefinite-lived intangible assets at December 31, 2017, consisting of goodwill of $242.3 million, cable certificates of $191.6 million, wireless licenses of $93.8 million and broadcast licenses of $3.1 million.  

Goodwill represents the excess of cost over fair value of net assets acquired in connection with a business acquisition. We have determined that our reporting unit is the same as our reportable segment. Our cable certificates represent agreements with government entities to construct and operate a video business.  The value of our cable certificates is derived from the economic benefits we receive from the right to solicit new customers and to market new services.  The amount we have recorded for cable certificates is from cable system acquisitions. Our wireless licenses are from the FCC and give us the right to provide wireless service within a certain geographical area.  The amount we have recorded is from acquisitions of wireless companies and auctions of wireless spectrum.  Our broadcast licenses are from the FCC and give us the right to broadcast television stations within a certain geographical area. The amount we have recorded for broadcast licenses is from broadcast television station acquisitions.

We assess our indefinite-lived intangible assets including goodwill for impairment on an annual basis during the fourth quarter using October 31 as a measurement date unless circumstances require a more frequent measurement. When evaluating our indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment, we may first perform an assessment qualitatively to determine whether it is more likely than not that the carrying amount exceeds its fair value, referred to as a "step zero" approach. If, based on the review of the qualitative factors, we determine it is not more likely than not that the fair value of one of our indefinite-lived intangible assets is less than its carrying value, we would bypass the two-step impairment test. Events and circumstances we consider in performing the "step zero" qualitative assessment include macro-economic conditions, market and industry conditions, internal forecasts, share price fluctuations, and operational stability and overall financial performance.

For goodwill, if we conclude that it is more likely than not that a reporting unit's fair value is less than its carrying amount, we would perform the first step ("step one") of the two-step impairment test and calculate the estimated fair value of the reporting unit by using discounted cash flow valuation models and by comparing our reporting units to guideline publicly-traded companies. These methods require estimates of our future revenues, profits, capital expenditures, working capital, and other relevant factors, as well as selecting appropriate guideline publicly-traded companies for each reporting unit. We estimate these amounts by evaluating historical trends, current budgets, operating plans, industry data, and other relevant factors. Using assumptions that are different from those used in our estimates, but in each case reasonable, could produce significantly different results and materially affect the determination of fair value and/or impairment for our indefinite-lived intangible assets.

For 2017 and 2016, we performed a step zero qualitative analysis for our annual assessment of impairment for goodwill and our indefinite-lived intangible assets. After evaluating and weighing all relevant events and circumstances, we concluded that it is not more likely than not that the fair value of our reporting unit or indefinite-lived intangible assets were less than their carrying amounts. Consequently, we did not perform a step one quantitative analysis in 2017 or 2016.

Valuation Allowance for Net Operating Loss Deferred Tax Assets

Our income tax policy provides for deferred income taxes to show the effect of temporary differences between the recognition of revenue and expenses for financial and income tax reporting purposes and between the tax basis of assets and liabilities and their reported amounts in the financial statements.  Significant management judgment is required in developing our provision for income taxes, including the determination of deferred tax assets and liabilities and any valuation allowances that may be required against the deferred tax assets.  We have not recorded a valuation allowance on the deferred tax assets as of December 31, 2017, based on management's belief that future reversals of existing temporary differences and estimated future taxable income exclusive of reversing temporary differences and carryforwards will, more likely than not, be sufficient to realize the benefit of these assets over time.  In the event that actual results differ from these estimates or if our historical trends change, we may be required to record a valuation allowance on deferred tax assets, which could have a material adverse effect in our consolidated financial position or results of operations.

Other significant accounting policies, not involving the same level of measurement uncertainties as those discussed above, are nevertheless important to an understanding of the financial statements. A complete discussion of our significant accounting policies can be found in Note 1 in the accompanying "Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements."

Regulatory Developments

See "Part I - Item 1. Business - Regulation" for more information about regulatory developments affecting us.

Inflation

We do not believe that inflation has a significant effect on our operations.

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk

We are exposed to various types of market risk in the normal course of business, including the impact of interest rate changes and adjustments to the fair value of our derivative stock appreciation rights liability. Market risk is the potential loss arising from adverse changes in market rates and prices. We do not hold or issue financial instruments for trading purposes.

Interest Rate Risk

Our Senior Credit Facility and Wells Fargo note payable carry interest rate risk.  Our Senior Credit Facility consists of a term loan, Term Loan B, and revolving credit facility. Amounts borrowed under the term loan bear interest at London Interbank Offered Rate ("LIBOR") plus 3.00% or less depending upon our Total Leverage Ratio (as defined in the Senior Credit Facility agreement).  Amounts borrowed under the Term Loan B bear interest at LIBOR plus 2.25%. Amounts borrowed under the Wells Fargo note payable bear interest at LIBOR plus 2.25%. Should the LIBOR rate change, our interest expense will increase or decrease accordingly.  As of December 31, 2017, we have borrowed $565.6 million subject to interest rate risk.  On this amount, each 1% increase in the LIBOR interest rate would result in $5.7 million of additional gross interest cost on an annualized basis.  All of our other material borrowings have a fixed interest rate.

Other Market Risk

As our derivative stock appreciation rights are subject to fair value liability accounting, we revalue the instrument at each reporting date and recognize changes in the fair value of the derivative liability as a component of Other Income (Expense) included in our Consolidated Statements of Operations. The earnings effect of the fair value adjustment at each reporting date is sensitive to changes in our stock price. At December 31, 2017, a $1.00 increase in our stock price used as an input to determine the fair value of our stock appreciation rights would result in recognition of $3.0 million of additional derivative instrument unrealized loss.

Item 9. Changes In and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure

None.

Item 9A. Controls and Procedures

We maintain disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in reports that we file or submit under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("Exchange Act") is recorded, processed, summarized, accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive and financial officers, to allow timely decisions regarding required financial disclosure, and reported as specified in the SEC's rules and forms.  As of the end of the period covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we carried out an evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our "disclosure controls and procedures" (as defined in Exchange Act Rule 13a - 15(e)) under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer.  Based on that evaluation and as described below under "Management's Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting," our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of December 31, 2017.

The certifications attached as Exhibits 31 and 32 to this report should be read in conjunction with the disclosures set forth herein.

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(f). Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting based on the framework in Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations (COSO) in 2013.

Based on our evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, our management concluded that as of December 31, 2017, we maintained effective internal control over financial reporting.

Grant Thornton LLP, our independent registered public accounting firm, has issued an audit report on our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2017, which is included in Item 8 of this Form 10-K.

There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act) identified in connection with the evaluation of our controls performed during the quarter ended December 31, 2017, that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

A company's internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with GAAP.  A company's internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with GAAP, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company's assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Internal control over financial reporting has inherent limitations. Internal control over financial reporting is a process that involves human diligence and compliance and is subject to lapses in judgment and breakdowns resulting from human failures.  Internal control over financial reporting also can be circumvented by collusion or improper management override.  Because of such limitations, there is a risk that material misstatements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis by internal control over financial reporting.  However, these inherent limitations are known features of the financial reporting process.  Therefore, it is possible to design into the process safeguards to reduce, though not eliminate, this risk.

We may enhance, modify, and supplement internal controls and disclosure controls and procedures based on experience.

Item 9B. Other Information

None.

Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance

Identification

As of December 31, 2017, our board consisted of ten director positions, divided into three classes of directors serving staggered three-year terms.

A director on our board is elected at an annual meeting of shareholders and serves until the earlier of his or her resignation or removal, or his or her successor is elected and qualified.  Our executive officers generally are appointed at our board's meeting immediately preceding each annual meeting of shareholders and serve at the discretion of the board.

The following table sets forth certain information about our directors and executive officers as of December 31, 2017:

The board, when considering whether directors have the experience, qualifications, attributes or skills, taken as a whole, to enable the board to satisfy its oversight responsibilities effectively in light of the Company's business and structure, focused primarily on each person's background and experience.  We believe that the Company's directors have backgrounds that, when combined, provide us with a board equipped to direct us through an ever challenging course in the segments of the telecommunication business in which we are involved.  Attributes of members of our board include experience in entrepreneurial, video service, telecommunication, technological and financial aspects of companies similar to, as well as much larger than, us.

In particular, our board considered important the following regarding its members.  With regard to Mr. Brett, our board considered his telecommunications and cable experience, as well as his over 40 year experience as a corporate lawyer.  With regard to Ms. Baker, our board considered her experience with broadcast and cable networks. With regards to Messrs. Fisher and Glasgow, our board considered the broad backgrounds of these individuals in finance and their operational experience with cable companies.  With regards to Messrs. Edgerton

and Mooney, our board considered the extensive experience and expertise of these individuals in business development in the telecommunications industry and their financial knowledge.  Our board also considered the broad perspective brought by Mr. Kroloff's experience in operating diverse businesses throughout Alaska as well as his experience as a lawyer.  With regard to Mr. Schneider, our board considered his significant financial and accounting experience including his time spent as Chief Financial Officer of a large public company. With regard to Mr. Zinterhofer, our board considered his experience as an investor in cable, fiber, wireless, and satellite companies.

Our board also considered the many years of experience with the Company represented by Mr. Duncan, our Chief Executive Officer.  He has been with the Company since he co-founded it.

Many of our directors, including Messrs. Edgerton, Glasgow, Kroloff, Mooney and Schneider, were initially proposed for nomination by (or, in the case of Mr. Kroloff, through a request from Mr. Duncan to) holders of significant amounts of Company shares.  Our board has retained each of these directors, even after the shareholders have exited the Company or no longer have retained a right to nominate a director, due to the valued expertise our board feels they provide as members.

Stephen M. Brett .   Mr. Brett has served as Chairman of our board since June 2005 and as a director on our board since January 2001.  He has been of counsel to Sherman & Howard, L.L.C., a law firm, since January 2001.  He was Senior Executive Vice President for AT&T Broadband from March 1999 to April 2000.  In addition, Mr. Brett serves as director for Liberty Expedia Holdings, Inc. His present term as a director on our board expires at the time of our 2018 annual meeting.

Ronald A. Duncan .   Mr. Duncan is a co-founder of the Company and has served as a director on our board since 1979.  Mr. Duncan has served as our Chief Executive Officer since August 2017. Prior to that, he served as our President and Chief Executive Officer from January 1989 to August 2017.  His present term as director on the board expires at the time of our 2018 annual meeting.

Peter J. Pounds. Mr. Pounds became our Chief Financial Officer and one of our Senior Vice Presidents effective January 1, 2014. Prior to that he served as Vice President, Finance since 2009.

G. Wilson Hughes .   Mr. Hughes has served as an Executive Vice President since January 1, 2017. Prior to that he served as the Chief Executive Officer of The Alaska Wireless Network, LLC from July 22, 2013 to January 1, 2017. Prior to that he served as our Executive Vice President – Wireless from June 4, 2012 to July 22, 2013.  Prior to that, he served as our Executive Vice President and General Manager from June 1991 to June 4, 2012.

William C. Behnke .   Mr. Behnke has served as one of our Senior Vice Presidents since January 2001.

Martin E. Cary .   Mr. Cary has served as one of our Senior Vice Presidents and as General Manager, GCI Business since April 2016. Prior to that, he served as our Vice President – General Manager, Managed Broadband Services from September 2004 to April 2016.

Gregory F. Chapados.   Mr. Chapados has served as our President and Chief Operating Officer since August 2017. Priort to that he served as our Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer from June 2012 to August 2017.  Prior to that, he served as one of our Senior Vice Presidents from June 2006 to June 2012.

Paul E. Landes .   Mr. Landes has served as one of our Senior Vice Presidents and as General Manager, GCI Consumer since December 2010.  Prior to that, he served as our Vice President and General Manager, Consumer Services from September 2005 to December 2010.

Tina M. Pidgeon.   Ms. Pidgeon has served as our Senior Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer, General Counsel and Government Affairs, since September 2010.  Prior to that, she served as our Vice President, Federal Regulatory Affairs from January 2003 to September 2010.

Bridget L. Baker. Ms. Baker has served as a director on our board since July 2013. Since January 2013, she has been a Principal of Baker Media, Inc., an entertainment and media consulting firm that she founded. From 2006 to 2012, Ms. Baker was NBCUNIVERSAL's president of content distribution where she was responsible for the

company's multi-billion dollar subscription revenue business across the cable, satellite, and telecommunications industry. Her present term as a director on our board expires at the time of our 2020 annual meeting.

Jerry A. Edgerton .   Mr. Edgerton has served as a director on our board since June 2004.  Since January 2013, he has been Chief Executive Officer of Cumulus Solutions, Inc., a provider of visual collaboration tools. From September 2011 to December 2012, he was President of Global Services for iNETWORKS Group, Inc., a comprehensive telecommunications solutions provider.  From July 2009 to August 2011, he was President of Government Markets for Core 180, a network integrator for large governmental and commercial customers.  From November 2007 to May 2009, he was Chief Executive Officer for Command Information, Inc., a next generation Internet service company.  From April 2007 to October 2007, Mr. Edgerton was an advisor on matters affecting the telecommunications industry as well as the U.S. government.  Prior to that and from January 2006 to April 2007, he was Group President of Verizon Federal.  Prior to that and from November 1996, he was Senior Vice President – Government Markets for MCI Communications Corporation, an affiliate of MCI, which was later acquired by Verizon Communications, Inc.  His present term as a director on our board expires at the time of our 2020 annual meeting.

Scott M. Fisher .   Mr. Fisher has served on our board since December 2005.  From 1998 to the present, he has been a partner of Fisher Capital Partners, Ltd., a private equity and real estate investment company located in Denver, Colorado.  During that time, Fisher Capital owned and operated Peak Cablevision, a multiple system cable television operator with approximately 120,000 subscribers.  At Peak Cablevision, Mr. Fisher was responsible for television programming and corporate development.  Mr. Fisher serves on the advisory boards of several private companies.  His present term as director on our board expires at the time of our 2019 annual meeting.

William P. Glasgow .   Mr. Glasgow has served as a director on our board since 1996.  From 2000 to the present Mr. Glasgow has been acting as President for the operating and investing entities of Prime IX Investment's group of companies of which he has been involved for thirty years.  His present term as a director on our board expires at the time of our 2019 annual meeting.

Mark W. Kroloff.   Mr. Kroloff has served as a director on our board since February 2009.  Since January 2010, he has been a principal at First Alaskan Capital Partners, LLC, an investment firm.  From May 2005 to December 2009, he was Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, an Alaska Native regional corporation formed pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.  From 2001 to April 2005, Mr. Kroloff was Chief Operating Officer of Cook Inlet Region, Inc., also an Alaska Native regional corporation.  He also serves on the board of directors of Trilogy International Partners, Inc.  Mr. Kroloff's present term as a director on our board expires at the time of our 2020 annual meeting.

Stephen R. Mooney .   Mr. Mooney has served as a director on our board since January 1999.  He has been a Partner at Chessiecap Securities, Inc., an investment bank specializing in technology and telecommunications services based in Maryland since 2012.  From April 2010 to 2012, Mr. Mooney was a Managing Director with the McClean Group, LLC, a national financial advisory services firm.  From February 2008 to November 2009, Mr. Mooney was Vice President, Business Development for Affiliated Computer Services, Inc., a global information technology and business process outsourcing company.  From January 2006 to September 2007, he was Executive Director, Business Development of VerizonBusiness, a unit of Verizon.  Prior to that, he was Vice President, Corporate Development and Treasury Services at MCI beginning in 2002.  His present term as a director on our board expires at the time of our 2018 annual meeting.

James M. Schneider .   Mr. Schneider has served as a director on our board since July 1994.  He has been Chairman of Frontier Bancshares, Inc. since February 2007.  Prior to that, Mr. Schneider had been Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Dell, Inc. from March 2000 to February 2007.  Prior to that, he was Senior Vice President – Finance for Dell Computer Corporation from September 1998 to March 2000.  From 2012 to the present Mr. Schneider has been an Operating Partner for Lead Edge Capital. His present term as a director on our board expires at the time of our 2019 annual meeting.

Eric L. Zinterhofer. Mr. Zinterhofer has served as a director on our board since March 4, 2015. Mr. Zinterhofer is a Founding Partner of Searchlight Capital Partners. Prior to co-founding Searchlight, Mr. Zinterhofer was co-head of the media and telecommunications investment platform at Apollo Management, L.P. Mr. Zinterhofer has been an active cable investor over the last 15 years in companies such as Charter Communications, Liberty Cablevision Puerto Rico, Unity Media, Cablecom and Primacom. Mr. Zinterhofer is also an active investor in the fiber, wireless and satellite sectors, having invested in Integra Telecom, IPCS, Spectrasite and Dish TV India. In addition, Mr.

Zinterhofer serves as a director for Charter Communications (Chairman) and Hemisphere Media Group. His present term as a director on our board expires at the time of our 2018 annual meeting.

Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance

Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act requires executive officers and directors and persons who beneficially own more than 10% of the outstanding common stock to file initial reports of ownership on Form 3 and reports of changes in ownership on Forms 4 and 5 with the SEC. Executive officers, directors, and greater than 10% beneficial owners are required by SEC regulations to furnish us with copies of all Section 16(a) forms that they file.

Based solely on a review of the copies of such forms furnished to us, each of our directors, officers and beneficial owners of more than 10% of the outstanding common stock filed all forms required by Section 16 of the Exchange Act in 2017 on a timely basis, except that Mr. Cary inadvertently failed to file a Form 4 with the SEC for transactions that occurred on January 3, 2017. The filing to report the transaction was made on January 9, 2017. Mr. Chapados inadvertently failed to file a Form 4 with the SEC for transactions that occurred on January 9, 2017, however, the filing to report the transactions was made on January 12, 2017. Mr. Hughes inadvertently failed to file a Form 4 with the SEC for transactions that occurred on March 31, 2017, however, the filing to report the transactions was made on April 5, 2017.

Additionally, Ms. Pidgeon informed us that her financial adviser engaged in transactions for her account, pursuant to an investment strategy she approved for the purposes of protecting against a decline in the value of her shares of our common stock, which should have been reported on Forms 4. On April 25, 2017, May 22, 2017, July 10, 2017, July 24, 2017, and November 24, 2017, Ms. Pidgeon made Form 4 filings reporting all such transactions.

Code of Business Conduct and Ethics

Our current Code of Business Conduct and Ethics ("Ethics Code"), was adopted by our board in 2013.  It applies to all of our officers, directors and employees.  The Ethics Code takes as its basis a set of business principles adopted by our board several years ago.  It also builds upon the basic requirements for a code of ethics as required by federal securities law and rules adopted by the SEC.

Through our Ethics Code, we reaffirm our course of business conduct and ethics as based upon key values and characteristics and through adherence to a clear code of ethical conduct.  Our Ethics Code promotes honest and ethical conduct, including ethical handling of actual or apparent conflicts of interest between personal and professional relationships of our employees.  It also promotes full, fair, accurate, timely and understandable disclosure in our reports and documents filed with, or submitted to, the SEC and other public communications made by us.  Our Ethics Code further promotes compliance with applicable governmental laws, rules and regulations, internal reporting of violations of the code to appropriate persons as identified in the code and accountability for adherence to the code.

A copy of our Ethics Code is displayed on our Internet website at www.gci.com.  Except for the Ethics Code, and any other documents specifically incorporated herein, no information contained on the Company's website shall be incorporated by reference in this Form 10-K.

No Change in Nominating Procedure

There were no changes made during 2017 to the procedure by which our shareholders may recommend nominees to our board.

Litigation and Regulatory Matters

We were, as of December 31, 2017, involved in various lawsuits, billing disputes, legal proceedings, and regulatory matters that have arisen from time to time in the normal course of business.  These actions are discussed in more detail elsewhere in this report.  See "Part I – Item 3 – Legal Proceedings."  However, as of that date, our board was unaware of any legal proceedings in which one or more of our directors, officers, affiliates or owners of record or beneficially of more than 5% of any class of our voting securities, or any associates of the previously listed persons were parties adverse to us or any of our subsidiaries.  Furthermore, as of that date, our board was unaware of any

events occurring during the past 10 years materially adverse to an evaluation of the ability or integrity of any director, person nominated to become a director or executive officer of the Company.

In December 2010, Mr. Schneider settled charges brought against him by the SEC for actions that allegedly took place when he was the chief financial officer at Dell, Inc.  Mr. Schneider is no longer employed by Dell, Inc.  He settled the charges and consented to the issuance of an SEC administrative order without admitting or denying the SEC's findings, with limited exceptions.  The limited exceptions are acknowledgment of the SEC's jurisdiction over Mr. Schneider and the subject matter of the SEC proceedings brought against him, and the SEC findings with respect to litigation involving that company and certain of its senior executive officers including Mr. Schneider.  The court in that litigation entered an order permanently enjoining Mr. Schneider, by consent, from future violations of specified provisions of federal securities law.  Mr. Schneider paid, as specified in the court's order, $3.0 million as a civil money penalty and $83,096 in disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, as well as $38,640 in prejudgment interest.  In the settlement with the SEC, Mr. Schneider consented to his suspension from appearing or practicing before the SEC as an accountant for at least five years. Mr. Schneider filed an application for reinstatement to appear or practice as an accountant before the SEC as a preparer or reviewer of a public company's financial statements. That application for reinstatement was approved by the SEC on July 22, 2016.

Audit Committee, Audit Committee Financial Expert

We have a board audit committee ("Audit Committee") comprised of several members of our board, i.e., Messrs. Mooney (Chair), Fisher, and Glasgow.

Our Audit Committee is governed by, and carries out its responsibilities under, an Audit Committee Charter, as adopted and amended from time to time by our board ("Audit Committee Charter").  The charter sets forth the purpose of the Audit Committee and its membership prerequisites and operating principles.  It also requires our Audit Committee to select our independent, registered, public accounting firm to provide for us accounting and audit services ("External Accountant") and sets forth other primary responsibilities.  A copy of our Audit Committee Charter is available to our shareholders on our Internet website: www.gci.com.

The Nasdaq corporate governance listing standards require that at least one member of our Audit Committee must have past employment experience in finance or accounting, requisite professional certification in accounting, or comparable experience or background which results in the individual's "financial sophistication."  This financial sophistication may derive from the person being or having been a chief executive officer, chief financial officer or other senior officer with financial oversight responsibilities.

Our board believes that Messrs. Fisher, Glasgow and Mooney, are audit committee financial experts ("Audit Committee Financial Experts") and also meet the Nasdaq requirements for financial sophistication.  Our board further believes that Messrs. Fisher, Glasgow and Mooney are each an independent director as the term is defined in the Nasdaq Stock Market corporate listing standards (to which the Company is subject), i.e., an individual other than one of our executive officers or employees or any other individual having a relationship which in the opinion of our board would interfere in carrying out the responsibilities of a director ("Independent Director") and are independent as defined by Rule 10A-3(b)(1) under the Exchange Act.

Under the SEC's rules, an Audit Committee Financial Expert is defined as a person who has all of the following attributes:

The Audit Committee Charter specifies how one may determine whether a person has acquired the attributes of an Audit Committee Financial Expert.  They are one or more of the following:

Our Audit Committee acts on behalf of our board and generally carries out specific duties including the following, all of which are described in detail in our Audit Committee Charter:

Item 11. Executive Compensation

Compensation Discussion and Analysis

Overview –

Compensation of our executive officers and directors during 2017 was subject to processes and procedures carried out through our Compensation Committee ("Compensation Program").  This compensation discussion and analysis ("Compensation Discussion and Analysis") addresses the material elements of our Compensation Program as applied to our Chief Executive Officer, our Chief Financial Officer, and to each of our three other most highly

compensated executive officers other than the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer who were serving as executive officers as of December 31, 2017.  All five of these officers are identified in the Summary Compensation Table ("Named Executive Officers").  See "Part III – Item 11 – Executive Compensation:  Summary Compensation Table."

Both the Compensation Committee and the Company believe that the compensation paid to the Named Executive Officers under our Compensation Program is fair, reasonable, competitive and consistent with our Compensation Principles.  See "Part III – Item 11 – Compensation Discussion and Analysis: Principles of the Compensation Program."

Our Compensation Committee is composed of Messrs. Brett, Edgerton (Chair), Mooney, Schneider, and Ms. Baker.  All of the members of the committee are considered by our board to be Independent Directors.

The charter of the Compensation Committee guides decisions regarding our Compensation Program, the aspects of which are described elsewhere in this report.  See "Part III – Item 11 – Compensation Discussion and Analysis:  Process." A copy of our Compensation Committee Charter is available to our shareholders on our Internet website: www.gci.com.

Our Charter of the Compensation Committee sets forth the scope of authority of our Compensation Committee and requires the committee to carry out the following:

In carrying out its duties, our Compensation Committee may accept for review and inclusion in its annual review with our board, recommendations from our Chief Executive Officer as to expected performance and compensation of, and the criteria on which compensation is based for, executive officers.  See "Part III – Item 11 – Compensation Discussion and Analysis:  Process."

Principles of the Compensation Program –

Our Compensation Program is based upon the following principles ("Compensation Principles"):

Process –

Overview .   Our Compensation Committee reviews and approves the base salary, incentive and other compensation of our Chief Executive Officer and senior executive officers, including the Named Executive Officers.  The analyses and recommendations of the Chief Executive Officer on these matters may be considered by our Compensation Committee in its deliberations and approvals.

Other elements of executive compensation and benefits as described in this section are also reviewed by our Compensation Committee on a regular basis.

Implementation .   Discussions on executive compensation and benefits made by the Compensation Committee have been guided by our Compensation Principles.  The elements of compensation as described later in this section are believed by the Compensation Committee to be integral and necessary parts of the Compensation Program.

Our Compensation Committee has concluded that each individual segment of each element of executive compensation continues generally to be consistent with one or more of our Compensation Principles.  Our Compensation Committee has further concluded the amount of compensation provided by the segment is reasonable, primarily based upon a comparison of the compensation amounts and segments we provide when compared to those offered by other similar companies in our industry and in our market.

Our process for determining executive compensation and benefits does not involve a precise and identifiable formula or link between each element and our Compensation Principles.  However, it takes into consideration market practice and information provided by our management.  Furthermore, it is based upon the relationship of compensation as shall be paid and financial performance of the Company.  It is also the result of discussion among our Compensation Committee members and management.  Ultimately it is based upon the judgment of our Compensation Committee.

Each year our Compensation Committee reviews elements of compensation for each of our senior executive officers including, for 2017, the Named Executive Officers. The Compensation Committee believes it has created a framework for an effective Compensation Program. The Compensation Committee modifies the Compensation Program at its discretion to continue its effectiveness for motivating the senior executive officers and aligning their interests with the long-term interests of our shareholders. We have not compared our compensation to a peer group since 2010. We do not currently benchmark our executive compensation against other peer group companies.

Elements of Compensation –

Overview .   For 2017, the elements of compensation in our Compensation Program were as follows:

As of December 31, 2017, there were no compensatory plans or arrangements providing for payments to any of the Named Executive Officers in conjunction with any termination of employment or other working relationship of such an officer with us (including without limitation, resignation, severance, retirement or constructive termination of employment of the officer).  Furthermore, as of that date, there were no such plans or arrangements providing for payments to any of the Named Executive Officers in conjunction with a change of control of us or a change in such an officer's responsibilities to us.  However, in the event of a change in control, the options and restricted stock of

our Named Executive Officers could vest.  See "Part III – Item 11 – Executive Compensation:  Potential Payments upon Termination or Change-in-Control."

The Company has no requirements with respect to security ownership by its officers or directors, and it has no policies regarding hedging the economic risk of ownership of Company equity.  Executive officers are invited to provide their input with respect to their compensation to the Compensation Committee primarily through our Chief Executive Officer.

A Named Executive Officer participating in the Compensation Program could, under terms of the corresponding Incentive Compensation Plan agreement with us and pursuant to our Deferred Compensation Plan, elect to defer a significant portion of that compensation.  In this instance, the Named Executive Officer becomes our unsecured creditor.  See "Part III – Item 11 – Nonqualified Deferred Compensation."

Base Salary .   Effective January 1, 2017, based upon the process previously described in this section, the base salaries reported in the Summary Compensation Table (see "Part III – Item 11 – Executive Compensation:  Summary Compensation Table") were approved by the Compensation Committee.

Mr. Duncan's base salary reflects cash compensation of $925,000 per year.  Mr. Duncan's duties remained unchanged during 2017.

Mr. Pounds' base salary reflects cash compensation of $400,000 per year.  Mr. Pounds' duties remained unchanged during 2017.

Mr. Cary's base salary reflects cash compensation of $200,000 per year.  Mr. Cary's base salary increased in 2017 from $160,000 to $200,000 to compensate him for additional responsibilities acquired when he was promoted in 2016. His duties remained unchanged during 2017.

Mr. Chapados' base salary reflects cash compensation of $450,000 per year.  During 2017, Mr. Chapados was appointed as President of GCI.

Ms. Pidgeon's base salary reflects cash compensation of $325,000 per year. Ms. Pidgeon's duties remained unchanged during 2017.

Incentive Compensation Plan . Overview – A portion of the Company's compensation to each Named Executive Officer relates to, and is contingent upon, the officer's performance and our financial performance and resources.

Our board approved an Incentive Compensation Plan for our Named Executive Officers (Messrs. Duncan, Pounds, Chapados, and Cary and Ms. Pidgeon) to create a framework that aligns the interests of our executive officers with the long-term interests of our shareholders.

The Compensation Committee first determined the targeted annual incentive compensation for each of them.  Incentive compensation is paid out in the form of 50% cash and 50% restricted stock grants that vest 100% at the end of three years, unless otherwise determined by the Compensation Committee based on the individual circumstances of each of the Named Executive Officers.  Therefore, the incentive compensation is designed to encourage the focus of these executives on long-term performance.  Discretionary annual cash bonuses are intended to reward short-term performance and to make our senior executive compensation packages competitive with comparable executive positions in other companies.

Incentive Compensation.   The following table provides a summary of the 2017 incentive compensation targets for the Four Named Executive Officers:

The following is a description of what each of these incentive compensation targets are and how they are measured.

Adjusted EBITDA.   The Adjusted EBITDA goal is intended to focus the Named Executive Officers on increasing Adjusted EBITDA. Adjusted EBITDA for purposes of this goal is defined as earnings plus imputed interest on financed devices and the cash received in excess of revenue recognized for long-term roaming arrangements before net interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization expense, loss on extinguishment of debt, share-based compensation expense, accretion expense, loss attributable to non-controlling interest resulting from NMTC transactions, gains and impairment losses on equity and cost method investments, and other non-cash adjustments. The goal is achieved by the Company recording Adjusted EBITDA that is equal to the Adjusted EBITDA target.

The target for this metric was $321.4 million in 2017 for the Named Executive Officers who would earn their Target Incentive Compensation for this goal if the metric was achieved.  In the case of the Named Executive Officers, the incentive compensation earned is increased or decreased from the Target Incentive Compensation by 5% for each $1 million that the actual Adjusted EBITDA is above or below the Adjusted EBITDA metric.

Discretionary.    The board will take various factors into account when deciding on the payout of the discretionary portion of the plan applying to the Named Executive Officers.  These factors include, but are not limited to, leadership, crisis management, succession planning, strategic planning, risk management, special projects, and financial reporting.

The following table summarizes the 2017 incentive compensation achieved by the Named Executive Officers, each of whom participated in this plan.  The 2017 incentive compensation was paid 50% in cash and 50% in the form of restricted stock grants that will vest at the end of three years after the grant date with the exception of Mr. Duncan who was paid 75% in cash and 25% in the form of restricted stock grants; the majority of the cash portion was paid in 2017:

Stock Option Plan .   Awards, if granted to the Named Executive Officers, were granted pursuant to terms of our Stock Option Plan.  Awards, if granted, were granted contemporaneously with the approval of the Compensation Committee, typically early in the year in question or late in the previous year as described above.  See "Part III – Item 11 – Compensation Discussion and Analysis:  Elements of Compensation – Incentive Compensation Plan."

We adopted our stock option plan in 1986.  It has been subsequently amended from time to time and presently is our Stock Option Plan, i.e., our Amended and Restated 1986 Stock Option Plan.  Under our Stock Option Plan, we are authorized to grant awards and options to purchase shares of Class A-1 common stock to selected officers, directors and other employees of, and consultants or advisors to, the Company and its subsidiaries.  We have not issued any stock options since 2010. The selection of grantees for awards under the plan is made by our Compensation Committee.

The number of shares of Class A-1 common stock allocated to the Stock Option Plan is 15.7 million shares.  The number of shares for which options or awards may be granted is subject to adjustment upon the occurrence of stock dividends, stock splits, mergers, consolidations and certain other changes in corporate structure or capitalization.  As of December 31, 2017, 1.2 million shares had been granted subject to vesting, 6.9 million share grants had vested, 8.7 million shares had been issued upon the exercise of options under the plan, 2.3 million shares had been repurchased by the plan and 1.2 million shares remained available for additional grants under the plan.

Restricted stock awards granted under the Stock Option Plan may be subject to vesting conditions based upon service or performance criteria as the Compensation Committee may specify.  These specifications may include attainment of one or more performance targets.  Shares acquired pursuant to such an award may not be transferred by the participant until vested.  Unless otherwise provided by the Compensation Committee, a participant will forfeit

any shares of restricted stock where the restrictions have not lapsed prior to the participant's termination of service with us.  Participants holding restricted stock will have the right to vote the shares and to receive dividends paid, if any.  However, those dividends or other distributions paid in shares will be subject to the same restrictions as the original award.

Our Compensation Committee selects each grantee and the time of grant of an option or award and determines the terms of each grant, including the number of shares covered by each grant and the exercise price.  In selecting a participant, as well as in determining these other terms and conditions of each grant, our Compensation Committee takes into consideration such factors as it deems, in its sole discretion, relevant in connection with accomplishing the purpose of the plan.

Under our Stock Option Plan, our authority to modify or amend the plan is subject to prior approval of our shareholders only in cases of increasing the number of shares of our stock allocated to, and available and reserved for, issuance under the plan, changing the class of persons eligible to receive incentive stock options or where shareholder approval is required under applicable law, regulation or rule.

Subject to these limitations, the Company may terminate or amend the Stock Option Plan at any time.  However, no termination or amendment may affect any outstanding option or award unless expressly provided by the Compensation Committee.  In any event, no termination or amendment of the plan may adversely affect an outstanding option or award without the consent of the participant unless necessary to comply with applicable law, regulation or rule.

With limited exception, no maximum or minimum exists with regard to the amount, either in dollars or in numbers, of options that may be exercised in any year, either by a single optionee or by all optionees under our Stock Option Plan.  At the 2002 annual meeting, our shareholders approved an amendment to the plan placing a limitation on accumulated grants of options of not more than 500,000 shares of Class A-1 common stock per optionee per year.

With these exceptions, there are no fixed limitations on the number or amount of securities being offered, other than the practical limitations imposed by the number of employees eligible to participate in the plan and the total number of shares of stock authorized and available for granting under the plan.   Shares covered by options which have terminated or expired for any reason prior to their exercise are available for grant of new options pursuant to the plan.

Perquisites .   The Company provides certain perquisites to its Named Executive Officers.  The Compensation Committee believes these perquisites are reasonable and appropriate and consistent with our awareness of perquisites offered by similar publicly traded companies.  The perquisites assist in attracting and retaining the Named Executive Officers and, in the case of certain perquisites, promote health, safety and efficiency of our Named Executive Officers.  These perquisites are as follows:

Retirement and Welfare Benefits – GCI 401(k) Plan.   In January 1987, we adopted an Employee Stock Purchase Plan ("GCI 401(k) Plan") qualified under Section 401 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. The GCI 401(k) Plan provides for acquisition of GCI's Class A-1 common stock at market value as well as various mutual funds. We may match a percentage of the employees' contributions up to certain limits. Named Executive Officers may, along with our employees generally, participate in our GCI 401(k) Plan in which we may provide matching contributions in accordance with the terms of the plan.

As of December 31, 2017, there remained 4.1 million shares of Class A-1 and 0.5 million shares of Class B-1 common stock allocated to our GCI 401(k) Plan and available for issuance by us or otherwise acquisition by the plan for the benefit of participants in the plan.

– Deferred Compensation Arrangements.   The Company offers to our executive officers deferred compensation arrangements specifically fashioned to the needs of the officer and us ("Deferred Compensation Arrangements").  During 2017, none of our Named Executive Officers participated in Deferred Compensation Arrangements.

– Welfare Benefits.   With the exception of the enhanced long-term and short-term disability benefits described previously, the Company provided to the Named Executive Officers the same health and welfare benefits provided generally to all other employees of the Company at the same general premium rates as charged to those employees.  The cost of the health and welfare programs is subsidized by the Company for all eligible employees including the Named Executive Officers.

Performance Rewarded –

Our Compensation Program is, in large part, designed to reward individual performance.  What constitutes performance varies from officer to officer, depending upon the nature of the officer's responsibilities.  Consistent with the Compensation Program, the Company identified key business metrics and established defined targets related to those metrics for each Named Executive Officer.  In the case of each Named Executive Officer, the targets were regularly reviewed by management, from time to time, and provided an immediate and clear picture of performance and enabled management to respond quickly to both potential problems as well as potential opportunities.  The

Compensation Program also was used to establish and track corresponding applicable targets for individual management employees.

In 2017, the Compensation Program was used in the development of each Named Executive Officer's individual performance goals and established incentive compensation targets.  The Compensation Committee evaluated the performance of each of the executive officers and the financial performance of the Company and awarded incentive compensation as described above.  See "Part III – Item 11 – Compensation Discussion and Analysis:  Elements of Compensation – Incentive Compensation Plan."

Our Compensation Committee increased Mr. Pounds' total incentive compensation plan target for 2018 from $455,000 to $535,000. The increase to Mr. Pounds' Incentive Compensation is to replace compensation that was previously granted in the form of a retention restricted stock award.

Timing of Equity Awards –

Overview .   Timing of equity awards under our Director Compensation Plan and equity awards under our Compensation Program varies with the plan or portion of that program.  However, the Company does not, and has not in the past, timed its release of material nonpublic information for purposes of affecting the value of equity compensation.  Timing issues and our grant policy are described further below.

Director Compensation Plan .   As a part of the Director Compensation Plan, we grant awards of our common stock to board members, including those persons who may also be serving as one or more of our executive officers.  Mr. Duncan, a board member and Named Executive Officer, has been granted such awards in the past.  These awards are made annually in June of each year in accordance with the terms of the Director Compensation Plan.  The awards are made through our Stock Option Plan.  See "Part III – Item 11 – Compensation Discussion and Analysis:  Elements of Compensation – Stock Option Plan."

Incentive Compensation Plan .   As a part of our Compensation Program, from time to time, we grant awards in our Class A-1 common stock to our executive officers, including the Named Executive Officers.  In particular, awards are granted in conjunction with the agreements that we enter into with Named Executive Officers pursuant to our Incentive Compensation Plan.  The grants of such awards are typically made early in the year at the time our board finalizes the prior year incentive compensation plan payouts for each of the Named Executive Officers.  All such awards are granted through the Stock Option Plan.  See "Part III – Item 11 – Compensation Discussion and Analysis:  Elements of Compensation – Incentive Compensation Plan" and "– Elements of Compensation – Stock Option Plan."

Stock Option Plan .   As a part of our Compensation Program, from time to time, we grant stock awards in our Class A-1 common stock to our executive officers.  In all cases, regardless of the identity of the grantee, the timing, amount and other terms of the grant of awards under our Stock Option Plan are determined in the sole discretion of our Compensation Committee.  See "Part III – Item 11 – Compensation Discussion and Analysis:  Elements of Compensation – Stock Option Plan."

Grant Policy .   Under our grant policy, all approved grants are granted effective the date they were approved by the committee and are priced at the market value at the close of trading on that date.  The terms of the award are then communicated to the recipient within a reasonable time period.

Tax and Accounting Treatment of Executive Compensation –

In determining the amount and form of compensation granted to executive officers, including the Named Executive Officers, the Company takes into consideration both tax treatment and accounting treatment of the compensation.  Tax and accounting treatment for various forms of compensation is subject to changes in, and changing interpretations of, applicable laws, regulations, rulings and other factors not within the Company's control.  As a result, tax and accounting treatment is only one of several factors that the Company takes into account in designing the previously described elements of compensation.

Compensation Policies and Practices in Relation to Our Risk Management –

At the direction of our board, Company management has reviewed our compensation policies, plans and practices to determine whether they create incentives or encourage behavior that is reasonably likely to have a materially adverse effect on the Company.  This effort included a review of our various employee compensation plans and practices as described elsewhere in this report.  See "Part III – Item 11 – Compensation Discussion and Analysis: Process."

The purpose of the review was to evaluate risks and the internal controls we have implemented to manage those risks.  The controls include multiple performance metrics, corporate-wide financial measures, statutory clawbacks on equity awards, and board and board committee oversight and approvals.

In completing this review, our board and management believe risks created by our compensation policies, plans and practices that create incentives likely to have a material adverse effect on us are remote.

Pay Ratio Disclosure Rule -

In August 2015, pursuant to a mandate of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act ("Dodd-Frank Act"), the SEC adopted a rule requiring annual disclosure of the ratio of the median employee's annual total compensation to the total annual compensation of the principal executive officer ("PEO"). Our PEO Is Ronald A. Duncan.

To determine the median employee, a listing was prepared of all active employees as of December 31, 2017 including the following:

We used gross wages from the W-2 to determine the median employee and for the wages used to calculate the ratio. W-2 wages include base salary, bonus payments, the value of realized equity awards, paid commissions, and taxable fringe benefits. We did not annualize wages and salaries for employees who were not employed for all of 2017.

For 2017, the total compensation for our PEO was $3,223,376 and our median employee's pay was $68,563. As a result, the pay ratio of our CEO to the median employee for 2017 was 47.01 to 1.

Shareholder Advisory Votes on Executive Compensation

At our 2017 annual meeting, our shareholders adopted a non-binding proposal pertaining to executive compensation of our Named Executive Officers. Our board anticipates placing before our shareholders a proposal on executive compensation at our 2020 annual shareholder meeting.

Our board views decisions as to compensation of Company named executive officers, including but not limited to those for 2017, as its responsibility.  Our board takes this responsibility seriously and has gone to considerable effort to establish and implement a process for determining executive compensation as described elsewhere in this report.  See "Part III – Item 11 – Compensation Discussion and Analysis."

Our board carefully considers all proposals from our shareholders.  However, in light of its responsibilities to the Company, our board may or may not follow the advice of those shareholder votes.

Our board contemplates next placing before our shareholders a proposal dealing with the frequency of shareholder advisory votes on executive compensation of our named executive officers during our 2020 annual shareholder meeting.

Executive Compensation

Summary Compensation Table –

As of December 31, 2017, the Company did not have employment agreements with any of the Named Executive Officers.  The following table summarizes total compensation paid or earned by each Named Executive Officer for fiscal years 2017, 2016 and 2015.  The process followed by the Compensation Committee in establishing total compensation for each Named Executive Officer as set forth in the table is described elsewhere in this report.  See "Part III – Item 11 – Compensation Discussion and Analysis."

Summary Compensation Table

The amounts reported under the "All Other Compensation" column are comprised of the following:

Components of "All Other Compensation"