Recently Issued Accounting Standards

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2015

Recently Issued Accounting Standards [Abstract]

New Accounting Pronouncements and Changes in Accounting Principles [Text Block]

Recently Issued Accounting Standards

In April 2014, the FASB issued Accounting Standard Update ("ASU") 2014-08, Reporting Discontinued Operations and Disclosures of Disposals of Components of an Entity.  The amendments in this update increased the threshold for a disposal to qualify as a discontinued operation and require new disclosures of both discontinued operations and certain other disposals that do not meet the definition of a discontinued operation.  ASU 2014-08 was effective on January 1, 2015 and applicable to our wireless operations, which qualified for discontinued operations as of March 31, 2015. For full discussion of discontinued operations and required disclosures reference Notes 1 and 3 of the Consolidated Financial Statements.

In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers. The standard’s core principle is that a company will recognize revenue when it transfers promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the company expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. This standard also includes expanded disclosure requirements that result in an entity providing users of financial statements with comprehensive information about the nature, amount, timing, and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from the entity’s contracts with customers. This standard will be effective for us in the first quarter of the fiscal year ending December 31, 2018. The Company is currently in the process of evaluating the impact of adoption of this ASU on the consolidated financial statements.

The FASB issued ASU 2014-15, Disclosure of Uncertainties About an Entity's Ability to Continue as a Going Concern in August 2014.  The amendments provide guidance about management’s responsibility to evaluate whether there is substantial doubt about an entity’s ability to continue as a going concern and to provide related footnote disclosures. The standard will be effective for us in the fiscal year ending December 31, 2016.  The adoption of this pronouncement is not expected to have a material impact on our financial statements.

In April 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-03, Interest - Imputation of Interest, which changes the presentation of debt issuance costs in the financial statements. The amendments in this update require companies to present such costs in the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the related debt rather than as an asset and to record amortization of the costs as interest expense. The standard will be effective for us in the fiscal year ending December 31, 2016 and will be applied retrospectively for prior periods. The Company estimates approximately $10 million of debt issuance costs will be reclassified from "Other non-current assets" to "Long term debt, less current portion" on the Consolidated Balance Sheets on the date of adoption. The adoption is not expected to impact the Statement of Operations.

The FASB issued ASU 2015-05, Intangibles-Goodwill and Other-Internal-Use Software, which amends ASC 350-40 to provide customers with guidance on determining whether a cloud computing arrangement contains a software license that should be accounted for as internal-use software in April 2015. The standard will be effective for us in the fiscal year ending December 31, 2016 and can be adopted retrospectively or prospectively to arrangements entered into, or materially modified, after the effective date. The Company plans to prospectively adopt this standard and estimates an immaterial impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

In November 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-17, Balance Sheet Classification of Deferred Taxes, which amends rules regarding the classification of current and noncurrent deferred tax liabilities and assets.  Specifically, this amendment requires that for a particular tax-paying component of an entity and within a particular tax jurisdiction, all deferred tax liabilities and assets shall be offset and presented as a single noncurrent amount. The Company retrospectively adopted the amended standard effective December 31, 2015. The adoption of this standard resulted in a prior period adjustment due to a change in accounting principle. The Consolidated Balance Sheet for the period ending December 31, 2014 has been restated to reflect this change in accounting principle and reclass of $68.9 million of "Deferred income taxes, net" from current to non-current. The previously discussed reclasses also impact the Supplemental Guarantor Condensed Consolidating Balance Sheets in Footnote 18 and 19 by decreasing “Other current assets” and increasing “Other noncurrent assets” by $68.9 million. Adoption of ASU 2015-17 did not effect income (loss) from continuing operations, income (loss) from discontinued operations or retained earnings in the presented periods.

The FASB issued ASU 2016-01, Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities, which amends the guidance in U.S. GAAP on the classification and measurement of financial instruments in January 2016. The amended guidance requires entities to carry all investments in equity securities at fair value through net income unless the entity has elected the practicability exception to fair value measurement. This standard will be effective for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2018 and will require a cumulative-effect adjustment to beginning retained earnings on this date. The Company is currently in the process of evaluating the impact of adoption of this ASU on the consolidated financial statements.

Other accounting standards that have been issued or proposed by the FASB or other standards-setting bodies that do not require adoption until a future date are not expected to have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements upon adoption.