8. GOODWILL AND INTANGIBLE ASSETS

Goodwill

The Company tests goodwill for impairment on an annual basis, which has been determined to be as of December 31st of each fiscal year. The Company also tests goodwill between annual tests if an event occurs or circumstances change that indicate that the fair value of a reporting unit may be below its carrying value.

The Company employs both qualitative and quantitative tests of its goodwill. The company tests goodwill at the reporting unit which is one level below its operating segments. During 2017, the Company performed a qualitative assessments for all of its reporting units except for the trigger based impairment review in its International Telecom segment discussed below. During 2016, the Company performed a qualitative assessment for one reporting unit in its International Telecom segment and one reporting unit in its Renewable Energy segment and determined there were no indicators of impairment. Also in 2016, the company performed a quantitative assessment for one reporting unit in its International Telecom segment and one reporting unit in its US Telecom segment concluding no impairment was present. In 2015, the Company performed a qualitative assessment on goodwill to determine whether a quantitative assessment was necessary and determined there were no indicators of potential impairment.

The quantitative test for goodwill impairment involves a comparison of the estimated fair value of a reporting unit to its carrying amount, including goodwill. The Company determines the fair value of a reporting unit using a discounted cash flow (“DCF”) analysis. Determining fair value requires the exercise of significant judgment, including judgments about appropriate discount rates, perpetual growth rates, and the amount and timing of expected future cash flows. Discount rates are based on a weighted‑average cost of capital (“WACC”), which represents the average rate a business must pay its providers of debt and equity. The cash flows employed in the DCF analysis were derived from internal earnings and forecasts and external market forecasts. If the estimated fair value of a reporting unit exceeds its carrying amount, goodwill of the reporting unit is not impaired. If the carrying amount of a reporting unit exceeds its estimated fair value, then an impairment charge is recognized in the amount of that excess but not greater than the carrying amount of goodwill

During June 2016, as a result of recent industry consolidation activities and a review of strategic alternatives for the Company’s U.S. Wireline business in the Northeast, the Company identified factors indicating the carrying amount of certain assets may not be recoverable. More specifically, the factors included the competitive environment, recent industry consolidation, and the Company’s view of future opportunities in the market which began to evolve in the second quarter of 2016. On August 4, 2016, the Company entered into a stock purchase agreement to sell the majority of its U.S. Wireline business. The transaction was completed in March 2017.

As a result of this transaction and market developments, the Company determined it was appropriate to assess the reporting unit’s assets for impairment. The reporting unit holds three types of assets for purposes of impairment testing: i) other assets such as accounts receivable and inventory, ii) long lived assets such as property plant and equipment, and iii) goodwill. Management first assessed the other assets for impairment and determined no impairment was appropriate. Second, the property, plant and equipment was assessed for impairment. The impairment test compared the undiscounted cash flows from the use and eventual disposition of the asset group to its carrying amount and determined the carrying amount was not recoverable. The impairment loss of $3.6 million was equal to the amount by which the carrying amount exceeded the fair value. Third management assessed goodwill for impairment and recorded an impairment of $7.5 million. The Company utilized the income approach, with Level 3 valuation inputs, which considered both the purchase agreement and cash flows discounted at a rate of 14% in its fair value calculations. In total, the Company recorded an impairment charge of $11.1 million. The impairment charge is included in income from operations for the year ended December 31, 2016.

In the third quarter of 2017, the Company determined that the damage caused by the Hurricanes caused a triggering event requiring it to assess the related reporting unit’s goodwill for impairment. After consideration of the disposals of fixed assets within the reporting unit, the impairment test for goodwill was performed by comparing the fair value of the reporting unit to its carrying amount. The Company calculated the fair value of the reporting unit by utilizing an income approach, with Level 3 valuation inputs, including a cash flow discount rate of 14.5%. Determining fair value requires the exercise of significant judgment, including judgments about appropriate discount rates, perpetual growth rates, and the amount and timing of expected future cash flows. The discount rate was based on a weighted‑average cost of capital, which represents the average rate the business would pay its providers of debt and equity. The cash flows employed in the discounted cash flow analysis were derived from internal and external forecasts. The impairment assessment concluded that no impairment was required for the goodwill because the fair value of the reporting unit exceeded its carrying amount.

The Company’s annual impairment assessment of its goodwill for all reporting units as of December 31, 2017 determined that no impairment relating to our goodwill existed during the year ended December 31, 2017.

The table below disclosed goodwill recorded in each of the Company’s segments and accumulated impairment changes (in thousands):


	U.S.		International		Renewable
	Telecom		Telecom		Energy		Consolidated
Balance at December 31, 2015	$	39,639	$	5,438	$	—	$	45,077
Acquisitions		3,121		20,586		3,279		26,986
Deconsolidation of Subsidiary		—		(1,698)		—		(1,698)
Impairment		(7,492)		—		—		(7,492)
Balance at December 31, 2016		35,268		24,326		3,279		62,873
Acquisitions		—		1,097		—		1,097
Balance at December 31, 2017	$	35,268	$	25,423	$	3,279	$	63,970

	U.S.		International		Renewable
	Telecom		Telecom		Energy		Consolidated
Balance at December 31, 2016
Gross	$	42,760	$	24,326	$	3,279	$	70,365
Accumulated Impairment (1)		(7,492)		—		—		(7,492)
Net		35,268		24,326		3,279		62,873
Balance at December 31, 2017
Gross		35,268		25,423		3,279		63,970
Accumulated Impairment (1)		—		—		—		—
Net	$	35,268	$	25,423	$	3,279	$	63,970

(1) The Company recorded an impairment charge in 2016 related to its U.S. Wireline business. The sale of that business was completed 2017.

Telecommunications Licenses

The Company tests those telecommunications licenses that are indefinite lived for impairment on an annual basis, which has been determined to be as of December 31 of each fiscal year. The Company also tests telecommunication licenses that are indefinite lived between annual tests if an event occurs or circumstances change that indicate that the fair value of a reporting unit may be below its carrying value.

In the third quarter of 2017, the Company determined that the damage caused by the Hurricanes caused a triggering event requiring us to assess the related reporting unit’s indefinite lived telecommunications licenses for impairment. After consideration of the write-downs of fixed assets within the reporting unit, the impairment test for telecommunications licenses was performed by comparing the fair value of the reporting unit to its carrying amount. The Company performed a qualitative and quantitative analysis. The Company calculated the fair value of the reporting unit by utilizing an income approach, with Level 3 valuation inputs, including a cash flow discount rate of 14.5%. Determining fair value requires the exercise of significant judgment, including judgments about appropriate discount rates, perpetual growth rates, and the amount and timing of expected future cash flows. The discount rate was based on a weighted‑average cost of capital, which represents the average rate the business would pay its providers of debt and equity. The cash flows employed in the discounted cash flow analysis were derived from internal and external forecasts. The impairment assessment concluded that no impairment was required for the indefinite lived telecommunication licenses because the fair value of the reporting unit exceeded its carrying amount.

The Company performed quantitative and qualitative assessments for its annual impairment assessment of its indefinite lived telecommunications licenses as of December 31, 2017 and 2016 and determined that there were no indications of potential impairments.

The changes in the carrying amount of the Company’s telecommunications licenses, by operating segment, for the three years ended December 31, 2017 were as follows (in thousands):


	U.S.		Int'l
	Telecom		Telecom		Consolidated
Balance at December 31, 2015	$	24,944	$	18,524	$	43,468
Deconsolidation of subsidiary		—		(2,178)		(2,178)
Acquired licenses		—		7,623		7,623
Amortization		—		(622)		(622)
Balance at December 31, 2016	$	24,944	$	23,347	$	48,291
Acquired licenses		47,692		—		47,692
Dispositions		(31)		—		(31)
Balance at December 31, 2017	$	72,605	$	23,347	$	95,952

The licenses acquired during 2017 are expected to be available for use into perpetuity. A subsidiary in the Company’s International Telecom segment was amortizing one of its telecommunications licenses until the date of its deconsolidation in December 2016.

Customer Relationships

The customer relationships, all of which are included in the International Telecom segment, are being amortized on an accelerated basis, over the expected period during which their economic benefits are to be realized. The Company recorded $3.2 million, $2.0 million, and $0.4 million of amortization related to customer relationships during year ended December 31, 2017, 2016, and 2015, respectfully.

Future amortization of customer relationships, in our International Telecom segment, is as follows (in thousands):


	Future Amortization
2018	$	2,411
2019		1,897
2020		1,528
2021		1,300
2022		1,143
Thereafter		3,455
Total	$	11,734

Other Intangible Assets

The Company has other intangibles of $4.7 million consisting of $3.0 million of franchise rights and $1.7 million of tradenames in its International Telecom segment. These assets are recorded in other assets on the Company’s balance sheet as of December 31, 2017. In 2016, we assessed the value of a tradename and concluded that its book value exceeded its fair value. As a result, we recorded a non-cash impairment charge of $0.3 million during the year ended December 31, 2016.