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Investments and Advances
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2011
Investments and Advances
Note 3Investments and Advances

Investment in The Billing Resource, LLC

On October 30, 2008, the Company acquired a 36% non-controlling interest in The Billing Resource, LLC (“TBR”). TBR is an aggregator of fixed telephone line billing, providing alternative billing services to the Company and unrelated third parties.  As of September 30, 2011, the Company’s net investment in TBR totals $0.5 million and is included in Investments, Advances and Other Assets on the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet.

In addition, the Company has an operating agreement with TBR whereby TBR provides billing services to the Company and its customers. The agreement reflects transactions in the normal course of business and was negotiated on an arm’s length basis.

The Company records its investment in TBR under the equity method of accounting and as such presents its pro-rata share of the equity in earnings and losses of TBR within its quarterly and year end reported results. The Company recorded equity in earnings of $47,000 for the nine months ended September 30, 2011 and equity in loss of $74,000 for the nine months ended September 30, 2010.