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Note 18 - Commitments and Contingencies
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2019
Notes to Financial Statements  
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block]
18.
Commitments and Contingencies:
 
(a)       The Company has several non-cancelable lease and purchase obligations primarily for general office facilities, service contracts for mobile telephone services and equipment that expire over the next
ten
years. Future minimum payments under these agreements are as follows (Dollar amounts in thousands of US dollars): 
 
Contractual Obligations for the year ending December 31,
 
Contractual Lease Obligations
(1)
   
Debt Obligations
   
Purchase Obligations
(2)
   
Total Obligations
 
                                 
2020
  $
2,248
    $
-
    $
29,153
    $
31,401
 
2021
   
1,824
     
-
     
12,638
     
14,462
 
2022
   
1,745
     
-
     
12,264
     
14,009
 
2023
   
1,708
     
114,400
     
13,584
     
129,692
 
2024
   
1,420
     
-
     
19,074
     
20,494
 
Thereafter
   
5,584
     
-
     
5,250
     
10,834
 
    $
14,529
    $
114,400
    $
91,963
    $
220,892
 
 
(
1
)
Contractual lease obligations include
$0.9
million in lease payments related to Fiber IRU contracts that have
not
yet commenced in Fiscal
2019.
 
 
(
2
)
Purchase obligations include all other legally binding service contracts for mobile telephone services and other operational agreements to be delivered during Fiscal
2020
and subsequent years.
 
 
(b)           On
February 9, 2015
Ting Fiber, Inc.(“Ting”) entered into a lease and network operation agreement with the City of Westminster, Maryland (the “City”) relating to the deployment of a new fiber network throughout the Westminster area (“WFN”).
 
Under the agreement, the City will finance, construct, and maintain the WFN which will be leased to Ting for a period of
ten
years. The network will be constructed in phases, the scope and timing of which shall be determined by the City, in cooperation with Ting.
 
Under the terms of the agreement, Ting
may
be required to advance funds to the City in the event of a quarterly shortfall between the City’s revenue from leasing the network to Ting and the City’s debt service requirements relating to financing of the network. Ting could be responsible for shortfalls between
$50,000
and
$150,000
per quarter. In Fiscal
2016,
the City has entered into financing for the construction of the WFN which allows the City to draw up to
$21.0
million, from their lenders, over the next
five
years with interest only payments during that period with a loan maturity of
30
years. As of
December 31, 2019,
the City has drawn
$16.2
 million and the City’s revenues from Ting exceed the City’s debt service requirements. The Company does
not
believe it will be responsible for any shortfall in Fiscal
2020.
 
(c) 
    
On
September 17, 2018
Ting entered into a non-exclusive access and use agreement with SiFi Networks Fullerton, LLC (“SiFi”). The agreement memorializes a long-term (
15
-year) relationship wherein Ting will be granted the non-exclusive right to act as an Internet service provider for a fiber-optic network to be constructed in the city of Fullerton, California. Under the terms of the agreement, SiFi is fully responsible for constructing, operating and maintaining a wholesale fiber-optic network, as well as the financing of those activities.
 
Ting will be responsible for paying a fee per subscriber to SiFi. Through a “take or pay” arrangement, Ting has agreed to certain minimum charges based on minimum subscriber rates. These minimum fees are variable based on the percentage completion of the fiber optic network, and thus have
not
been considered an unconditional purchase obligation for the purposes of the table in Note
18
(a).
 
(d)     
O
n
November 4, 2019
Ting entered into an access and use agreement with Netly, LLC (“Netly”). The agreement memorializes a long-term (
12
-year) relationship wherein Ting will be granted the right to act as an Internet service provider for fiber-optic networks to be constructed in and around the cities of Solana Beach, California. Under the terms of the agreement, Ting will have a
3
-year “Headstart” period over each completed segment of the network, whereby Ting shall be the exclusive provider of services to subscribers during the “Headstart” period. Netly is fully responsible for constructing, operating and maintaining a wholesale fiber optic network, as well as the financing of those activities.
 
Ting will be responsible for paying a fee per subscriber to Netly, as well as an unlit door fee for each serviceable address
not
subscribed. Through a “take or pay” arrangement, Ting has agreed to certain minimum charges based on minimum subscriber rates. These minimum fees are variable based on the percentage completion of the fiber optic network, and thus have
not
been considered an unconditional purchase obligation for the purposes of the table in Note
18
(a).
 
(e)            In the normal course of its operations, the Company becomes involved in various legal claims and lawsuits. The Company intends to vigorously defend these claims. While the final outcome with respect to any actions or claims outstanding or pending as of
December 
31,
2019
cannot be predicted with certainty, management does
not
believe that the resolution of these claims, individually or in the aggregate, will have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial position.