| **Segments**                     | 6 Months Ended                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             |
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| **Segment Reporting [Abstract]** |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |
| Segments                         | SegmentsOur reportable segments are business units that offer different products and are each managed separately.A description of our reportable segments follows:Wireless - We offer wholesale wireless services.  Wireline - We offer a full range of retail wireless, data, video and voice services to residential, local, national and global businesses, governmental entities and public and private educational institutions; wholesale data and voice services to common carrier customers; Internet, data network and managed services to rural schools and health organizations and regulated voice services to residential and commercial customers in rural communities primarily in Southwest Alaska.We evaluate performance and allocate resources based on earnings before depreciation and amortization expense, net interest expense, income taxes, share-based compensation expense, accretion expense, income or loss attributable to non-controlling interest resulting from New Markets Tax Credit ("NMTC") transactions, non-cash contribution adjustment, and other non-cash adjustments (“Adjusted EBITDA”). Management believes that this measure is useful to investors and other users of our financial information in evaluating operating profitability as an analytical indicator of income generated to service debt and fund capital expenditures.  In addition, multiples of current or projected earnings before depreciation and amortization, net interest expense, and income taxes (“EBITDA”) are used to estimate current or prospective enterprise value.  The accounting policies of the reportable segments are the same as those described in Note 1, “Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” of this Form 10-Q.  We have no intersegment sales.We earn all revenues through sales of services and products within the United States. All of our long-lived assets are located within the United States of America, except approximately 82% of our undersea fiber optic cable systems which transit international waters and all of our satellite transponders.Summarized financial information for our reportable segments for the three and six months endedJune 30, 2014 and 2013 follows (amounts in thousands): Three Months Ended Six Months Ended Wireless Wireline Total Reportable Segments Wireless Wireline Total Reportable SegmentsJune 30, 2014           Revenues$69,397 155,002 224,399 131,914 308,768 440,682Adjusted EBITDA$40,174 44,297 84,471 78,196 81,072 159,268            June 30, 2013           Revenues$35,559 154,102 189,661 69,396 306,481 375,877Adjusted EBITDA$14,273 47,866 62,139 29,462 91,326 120,788A reconciliation of reportable segment Adjusted EBITDA to consolidated income before income taxes follows (amounts in thousands): Three Months Ended June 30, Six Months Ended June 30, 2014 2013 2014 2013Reportable segment Adjusted EBITDA$84,471 62,139 159,268 120,788Less depreciation and amortization  expense(43,786) (34,396) (86,138) (68,395)Less share-based compensation  expense(2,193) (1,647) (3,971) (2,906)Less accretion expense(301) (155) (602) (282)Other223 (246) 122 (450)Consolidated operating income38,414 25,695 68,679 48,755Less other expense(19,219) (17,474) (37,527) (34,378)Consolidated income before  income tax expense$19,195 8,221 31,152 14,377 |

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| - Definition
The entire disclosure for reporting segments including data and tables. Reportable segments include those that meet any of the following quantitative thresholds a) it's reported revenue, including sales to external customers and intersegment sales or transfers is 10 percent or more of the combined revenue, internal and external, of all operating segments b) the absolute amount of its reported profit or loss is 10 percent or more of the greater, in absolute amount of 1) the combined reported profit of all operating segments that did not report a loss or 2) the combined reported loss of all operating segments that did report a loss c) its assets are 10 percent or more of the combined assets of all operating segments.
+ References
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