| **Segments**                     | 9 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 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.We evaluate performance and allocate resources based on Adjusted EBITDA, which is defined as earnings plus imputed interest on financed devices before:•Net interest expense, •Income taxes, •Depreciation and amortization expense, •Loss on extinguishment of debt, •Software impairment charge, •Derivative instrument unrealized income (loss), •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.Management believes that this measure is useful to investors and other users of our financial information in understanding and evaluating operating performance as an analytical indicator of income generated to service debt and fund capital expenditures.  In addition, multiples of current or projected Adjusted EBITDA are used to estimate current or prospective enterprise value.  In the first quarter of 2016, we added an adjustment to Adjusted EBITDA, our measure of segment profitability, for cash received in excess of revenue recognized for long-term roaming arrangements ("Roaming Adjustment").  In the third quarter of 2016, we reevaluated our measure of segment profitability and decided to eliminate this adjustment due to the fact that this adjustment is not appropriate to include in non-GAAP metrics, which resulted in differences between our measure of segment profitability and disclosures of non-GAAP metrics.  The effect of removing the Roaming Adjustment from Adjusted EBITDA for the three months ended March 31, 2016 and the three and six months ended June 30, 2016 follows (amounts in thousands): Wireless Segment Adjusted EBITDA Adjusted EBITDA as Previously DefinedRemoval of Roaming AdjustmentAdjusted EBITDAFirst Quarter 2016$40,064(7,500)32,564Second Quarter 2016$40,334(7,500)32,834Six Months Ended June 30, 2016$80,398(15,000)65,398The 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 the majority 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 nine months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015 follows (amounts in thousands): Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended Wireless Wireline Total Reportable Segments Wireless Wireline Total Reportable SegmentsSeptember 30, 2016           Revenues$52,327 184,328 236,655 $157,664 543,855 701,519Adjusted EBITDA$32,018 46,167 78,185 $97,416 122,915 220,331            September 30, 2015           Revenues$80,424 178,149 258,573 $207,568 529,622 737,190Adjusted EBITDA$57,404 39,122 96,526 $140,518 119,312 259,830A reconciliation of reportable segment Adjusted EBITDA to consolidated income (loss) before income taxes follows (amounts in thousands): Three Months Ended September 30, Nine Months Ended September 30, 2016 2015 2016 2015Reportable segment Adjusted EBITDA$78,185 96,526 220,331 259,830Less depreciation and amortization expense(47,819) (45,157) (143,033) (135,563)Less share-based compensation expense(2,810) (2,660) (7,820) (8,074)Less imputed interest on financed devices(651) (268) (1,885) (438)Less accretion expense(406) (191) (1,240) (992)Less software impairment charge— (2,571) — (29,839)Other(131) (206) (435) 493Consolidated operating income26,368 45,473 65,918 85,417Less other expense, net(16,134) (19,856) (46,215) (107,361)Consolidated income (loss) before income taxes$10,234 25,617 19,703 (21,944) |

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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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