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Revenue from Contracts with Customers
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2020
Revenue from Contract with Customer [Abstract]  
Revenue from Contracts with Customers Revenue from Contracts with Customers
Our Broadband segment provides broadband, video and voice services to residential and commercial customers in portions of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and Kentucky, via fiber optic and hybrid fiber coaxial ("HFC") cable. The Broadband segment also provides voice and digital subscriber line (“DSL”) telephone services to customers in Virginia’s Shenandoah County as a Rural Local Exchange Carrier (“RLEC”).

These contracts are generally cancellable at the customer’s discretion without penalty at any time. We allocate the total transaction price in these transactions based upon the standalone selling price of each distinct good or service. We generally recognize these revenues over time as customers simultaneously receive and consume the benefits of the service, with the exception of equipment sales and home wiring, which are recognized as revenue at a point in time when control transfers and when installation is complete, respectively. Installation fees are allocated to services and are recognized ratably over the longer of the contract term or the period in which the unrecognized fee remains material to the contract, which we estimate to be about one year. Additionally, the Company incurs commission and installation costs related to in-house and third-party vendors which are capitalized and amortized over the expected weighted average customer life which is approximately five years.
Our Broadband segment also provides Ethernet and Wavelength fiber optic services to enterprise and carrier customers under capacity agreements, and the related revenue is recognized over time. In some cases, non-refundable upfront fees are charged for connecting enterprise or carrier customers to our fiber network. Those amounts are recognized ratably over the longer of the contract term or the period in which the unrecognized fee remains material to the respective contract.

The Broadband segment also leases dedicated fiber optic strands to customers as part of “dark fiber” agreements, which are accounted for as leases under ASC 842 Leases.

Our Tower segment leases space on owned cell towers to our Wireless segment, and to other wireless carriers. Revenue from these leases is accounted for under ASC 842.

Refer to Note 14, Segment Reporting, for a summary of these revenue streams.

Below is a summary of the Broadband segment's capitalized contract acquisition and fulfillment costs:
Three Months Ended
September 30,
Nine Months Ended
September 30,
(in thousands)2020201920202019
Beginning Balance$12,780 $10,476 $11,005 $10,091 
Contract payments2,195 1,840 6,128 4,996 
Contract amortization(1,013)(1,399)(3,171)(4,170)
Ending Balance$13,962 $10,917 $13,962 $10,917 

Future performance obligations
On September 30, 2020, the Company had approximately $2.9 million allocated to unsatisfied performance obligations that will be satisfied at the rate of approximately $0.8 million per year.