Commitments and Contingencies

Operating Lease Commitments

The Company leases certain circuits, facilities, and equipment used in its operations. Operating lease expense was $9.6 million, $10.1 million and $7.4 million in 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively. In 2015, our retail stores, which were previously used to support our wireless operations, were re-branded to support the growth of our Fioptics suite of products. Rent expense associated with our retail locations totaled $0.6 million and $0.8 million in 2016 and 2015, respectively. Certain facility leases provide for renewal options with fixed rent escalations beyond the initial lease term.

At December 31, 2016, future minimum lease payments required under operating leases having initial or remaining non-cancellable lease terms for the next five years are as follows:



(dollars in millions)
2017	$	4.1
2018	2.9
2019	2.6
2020	2.3
2021	2.2
Thereafter	19.8
Total	$	33.9

Asset Retirement Obligations

Asset retirement obligations exist for certain other assets. As of March 31, 2015, certain asset retirement obligations related to our wireless towers were reclassified to continuing operations as the obligations relate to tower leases retained by the Company. The following table presents the activity for the Company’s asset retirement obligations, which are included in "Other noncurrent liabilities" in the Consolidated Balance Sheets:



	December 31,
(dollars in millions)	2016			2015
Balance, beginning of period	$	4.8		$	1.6
Asset retirement obligations reclassified from discontinued operations	—			10.9
Liabilities settled	(2.0		)	(5.0		)
Revision to estimated cash flow	(1.1		)	(2.9		)
Accretion expense	0.1			0.2
Balance, end of period	$	1.8		$	4.8

Indemnifications

During the normal course of business, the Company makes certain indemnities, commitments, and guarantees under which it may be required to make payments in relation to certain transactions. These include (a) intellectual property indemnities to customers in connection with the use, sale, and/or license of products and services, (b) indemnities to customers in connection with losses incurred while performing services on their premises, (c) indemnities to vendors and service providers pertaining to claims based on negligence or willful misconduct of the Company, (d) indemnities involving the representations and warranties in certain contracts, and (e) outstanding letters of credit which totaled $6.3 million as of December 31, 2016. In addition, the Company has made contractual commitments to several employees providing for payments upon the occurrence of certain prescribed events. The majority of these indemnities, commitments, and guarantees do not provide for any limitation on the maximum potential for future payments that the Company could be obligated to make.

As permitted under Ohio law, the Company has agreements whereby the Company indemnifies its officers and directors for certain events or occurrences while the officer or director is, or was, serving at the Company's request in such capacity. The term of the indemnification period is for the lifetime of the officer or director. The maximum potential amount of future payments the Company could be required to make under these indemnification agreements is unlimited; however, the Company has a director and officer insurance policy that limits the Company's exposure and enables the Company to recover a portion of any future amounts paid. As a result of the Company's insurance policy coverage, the Company believes the estimated fair value of these indemnification agreements is minimal. The Company has no liabilities recorded for these agreements as of December 31, 2016 or 2015.

Purchase Commitments

The Company has noncancellable purchase commitments related to certain goods and services. These agreements typically range from one to three years. As of December 31, 2016 and 2015, the minimum commitments for these arrangements were approximately $191 million and $166 million, respectively. The Company generally has the right to cancel open purchase orders prior to delivery and to terminate the contracts without cause.

Litigation

Cincinnati Bell and its subsidiaries are subject to various lawsuits, actions, proceedings, claims and other matters asserted under laws and regulations in the normal course of business. We believe the liabilities accrued for legal contingencies in our consolidated financial statements, as prescribed by GAAP, are adequate in light of the probable and estimable contingencies. However, there can be no assurances that the actual amounts required to satisfy alleged liabilities from various legal proceedings, claims, tax examinations, and other matters, and to comply with applicable laws and regulations, will not exceed the amounts reflected in our consolidated financial statements. As such, costs, if any, that may be incurred in excess of those amounts provided as of December 31, 2016, cannot be reasonably determined.