Debt and Other Obligations	12 Months Ended
Debt and Other Obligations	Dec. 31, 2012
Debt and Other Obligations [Abstract]
Debt and Other Obligations	Note 9. Debt and Other Obligations Our long-term obligations as of December 31, 2012 were $135,133,000, excluding current maturities of $1,420,000 on debt and $228,000 of current maturities on capital leases. Long-term obligations as of December 31, 2011 were $118,828,000 excluding current maturities of $1,200,000 on debt and $207,000 of capital leases. On August 11, 2011, we entered into a $150,000,000 credit agreement with a syndicate of nine banks that matures on December 31, 2016. The credit facility is comprised of a $30,000,000 revolving credit component ($29,980,000 and 29,965,000 available to borrow as of December 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively; $20,000 and $35,000 is reserved for outstanding letters of credit) and a $120,000,000 term loan component ($116,500,000 and $119,700,000 outstanding as of December 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively). On March 1, 2012 we borrowed an additional $22,000,000 of incremental term loan debt ($19,835,000 outstanding as of December 31, 2012) under our existing credit facility to fund our acquisition of IdeaOne Telecom. The term loans are structured in a Term Loan B facility. Under the terms of our credit facility we are required to make quarterly principal payments of $300,000 on the initial Term Loan and quarterly principal payments of $55,000 on the Incremental Term Loan. The revolving credit component does not require quarterly principal payments. The term loan component has a provision whereby we periodically receive patronage capital refunds from our lender. Patronage refunds are recorded as an offset to interest expense and amounted to $707,000 in 2012, $529,000 in 2011 and $525,000 in 2010. At December 31, 2012, we are in full compliance with specified financial ratios and tests required by our credit facility. The credit facility includes allowances for continued payment of dividends and specific limits on common stock repurchases. Our obligations under the credit facility are secured by a first-priority lien on the property and assets, tangible and intangible, of HickoryTech and its current subsidiaries, which includes total assets except for the Equipment Segment accounts receivable and inventory. We have given a first-priority pledge of the capital stock of our current subsidiaries to secure the credit facility. The credit facility contains certain restrictions that, among other things, limit or restrict our ability to create liens or encumbrances, incur additional debt, issue stock, make asset sales, transfers, or dispositions; and engage in mergers and acquisitions, pay dividends or purchase/redeem Company stock over specified maximum values. The credit facility requires us to enter in or maintain effective interest rate protection agreements on at least 50% of the Term Loans' outstanding balance for a period ending August 2013 to manage our exposure to interest rate fluctuations. We currently have interest rate swap agreements, effectively fixing the LIBOR rate portion of the interest rate on $72,000,000 of our variable interest debt. See Note 12 "Financial Derivative Instruments." Our effective interest rate was 4.2%, 4.1% and 4.1% in 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively. Annual requirements for principal payments for the years subsequent to 2012 are as follows: 2013 – $1,420,000; 2014 – $1,420,000; 2015 – $1,420,000, 2016 – $132,075,000.

The entire disclosure for information about short-term and long-term debt arrangements, which includes amounts of borrowings under each line of credit, note payable, commercial paper issue, bonds indenture, debenture issue, own-share lending arrangements and any other contractual agreement to repay funds, and about the underlying arrangements, rationale for a classification as long-term, including repayment terms, interest rates, collateral provided, restrictions on use of assets and activities, whether or not in compliance with debt covenants, and other matters important to users of the financial statements, such as the effects of refinancing and noncompliance with debt covenants.

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