| Summary of Significant Accounting Policies | 1. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Principles of Consolidation - The consolidated financial statements include our wholly owned subsidiaries. All intercompany transactions and account balances have been eliminated. Unless otherwise noted, discussion in these Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements refers to our continuing operations. Refer to Note 19, “Discontinued Operations,” for further information. We operate in a single distinct business segment, Business Aviation, for which operating performance is measured and resources are allocated on a consolidated basis, consistent with the financial information regularly reviewed by the chief operating decision maker, our CEO. Therefore, we report one business segment, comprised of our continuing operations. As we do not have multiple segments, we do not present segment information in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Use of Estimates - The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. On an ongoing basis, management evaluates the significant estimates and bases such estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. However, actual results could differ materially from those estimates. As a result of our determination to participate in the FCC Reimbursement Program (as defined below), we reassessed and shortened the estimated useful lives of affected network equipment to be consistent with our estimated date to complete the program. This change in accounting estimate was effective beginning the second quarter of 2023 and resulted in increased depreciation expense of $ 5.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. Net income per basic and diluted share decreased by $ 0.04 for the year ended December 31, 2023. See Note 6, “Composition of Certain Reserves and Allowances,” for further details. Significant Risks and Uncertainties - Our operations are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including without limitation those associated with fluctuations in operating results, implementation of our technology roadmap, strategic alliances, relationships with customers, suppliers and dealers, supply chain disruptions, funding of our growth, financing terms that may restrict operations, regulatory issues, competition, the economy, te chnology trends, evolving industry standards and other events that may impact the demand for air travel. Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments - We consider cash and cash equivalents to be short-term, highly liquid investments that have the following characteristics: readily convertible to known amounts of cash, so near their maturities that there is insignificant risk of changes in value due to any changes in market interest rates, and having maturities of three months or less when purchased. We continually monitor positions with, and the credit quality of, the financial institutions with which we invest. The carrying amounts reported in the balance sheets for cash and cash equivalents approximate the fair market value of these assets. We consider short-term investments to be investments with maturities of twelve months or less (but greater than three months). Allowance for Credit Losses - We regularly evaluate our accounts receivable and contract assets for expected credit losses. Our expected loss allowance methodology for accounts receivable is developed using historical collection experience, current and future economic and market conditions, and a review of the current status of each customer’s trade accounts receivables. Due to the short-term nature of such receivables, the estimated amount of accounts receivable that may not be collected is based on the aging of the accounts receivable balances and the financial condition of customers. Additionally, specific allowance amounts are established to record the appropriate provision for customers that have a higher probability of default. Our monitoring activities include timely account reconciliation, dispute resolution, payment confirmation, consideration of each customer’s financial condition and macroeconomic conditions. Balances are written off when determined to be uncollectible. We apply a similar methodology to our current and non-current contract asset balances. However, due to the inherent additional risk associated with a long-term receivable, an additional provision for credit loss is applied to contract asset balances that will diminish over time as the contract nears its expiration date. Estimates are used to determine the expected loss allowances. Such allowances are based on management’s assessment of anticipated payment, taking into account available historical and current information as well as management’s assessment of potential future developments. We are continuously monitoring our assumptions used to determine our expected credit losses which could cause us to record additional material credit losses in future periods. Restricted Cash - Certain cash amounts are restricted as to use and are classified outside of cash and cash equivalents. Cash amounts with restrictions of twelve months or less are included in Prepaid expenses and other current assets and amounts restricted for greater than twelve months are included in Other non-current assets in our consolidated balance sheets. Our restricted cash balances were $ 0.3 million as of both December 31, 2023 and 2022 , and consisted primarily of a letter of credit issued for the benefit of the landlord of our office location in Chicago, IL. Concentrations of Credit Risk - Financial instruments that potentially subject us to a concentration of credit risk consist principally of cash and cash equivalents. All cash and cash equivalents are invested with creditworthy financial institutions. Our revenue from customers domiciled outside of the United States accounted for less than 10% of our total revenue for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021. Our long-lived assets outside of the United States were less than 10% of our consolidated long-lived assets as of December 31, 2023 and 2022 . Income Tax - We use an asset- and liability-based approach in accounting for income taxes. Deferred income tax assets and liabilities are recorded for tax attributes and are based on the differences between the financial statement and tax basis of assets and liabilities, applying enacted statutory tax rates in effect for the year in which the tax differences are expected to reverse. We regularly assess the need for a valuation allowance related to our deferred income tax assets to determine, based on the weight of the available positive and negative evidence, whether it is more likely than not that some or all of such deferred assets will not be realized. We also consider the existence of any uncertain tax positions and, as necessary, provide a reserve for any uncertain tax positions at each reporting date. See Note 13, “Income Tax,” for further details. Inventories - Inventories consist primarily of telecommunications systems and parts and are recorded at the lower of average cost or net realizable value. We evaluate the need for write-downs associated with obsolete, slow-moving and nonsalable inventory by reviewing net realizable inventory values on a periodic basis. See Note 5, “Composition of Certain Balance Sheet Accounts,” for further details. Property and Equipment and Depreciation - Property and equipment, including leasehold improvements, are stated at historical cost, less accumulated depreciation. Network asset inventory and construction in progress, which include materials, transmission and related equipment, interest and other costs relating to the construction and development of our network, are not depreciated until they are put into service. Network equipment consists of switching equipment, antennas, base transceiver stations, site preparation costs, and other related equipment used in the operation of our network. Depreciation expense totaled $ 14.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 and $ 7.9 million for both of the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021. Depreciation of property and equipment is computed using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives for owned assets, which are as follows:
Office equipment, furniture, fixtures and other 3 - 5 years
Leasehold improvements 7 - 13 years
Network equipment 5 - 25 years See Note 5, “Composition of Certain Balance Sheet Accounts,” for further details. Improvements to leased property are depreciated over the shorter of the useful life of the improvement or the term of the related lease. We reassess the useful lives of leasehold improvements when there are changes to the terms of the underlying lease. Such reassessment has resulted in the useful life of specific assets being adjusted to a shorter period than originally estimated, resulting in an increase in annual depreciation expense for those assets. Repairs and maintenance costs are expensed as incurred. Software Development Costs - We capitalize costs for network and non-network software developed or obtained for internal use during the application development stage. These costs include purchased software and direct costs associated with the development and configuration of internal use software that supports the operation of our service offerings. These costs are included in Intangible assets, net, in our consolidated balance sheets and, when the software is placed in service, are amortized on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives. Costs incurred in the preliminary project and post-implementation stages, as well as maintenance and training costs, are expensed as incurred. With respect to software sold as part of our equipment sales, we capitalize software development costs once technological feasibility has been established. Such capitalized software costs are included in Intangible assets, net, in our consolidated balance sheets and amortized on a product-by-product basis over the remaining estimated economic life of the product, based on the greater of the ratio that current gross revenues for a product bear to the total of current and anticipated future gross revenues for that product or the straight-line method. Intangible Assets - Intangible assets with indefinite lives are not amortized but are reviewed for impairment at least annually or whenever events or circumstances indicate the carrying value of the asset may not be recoverable. Our FCC Licenses, as defined in Note 7, “Intangible Assets,” are our only material indefinite-lived intangible assets. We perform our annual impairment test of our FCC Licenses during the fourth quarter of each fiscal year. We assess qualitative factors to determine the likelihood of impairment. Our qualitative analysis includes, but is not limited to, assessing the changes in macroeconomic conditions, regulatory environment, industry and market conditions, financial performance versus budget and any other events or circumstances specific to the FCC Licenses. If it is more likely than not that the fair value of the FCC Licenses is greater than the carrying value, no further testing is required. If our qualitative analysis indicates more testing is required, or if we elect not to perform a qualitative analysis, we will apply the quantitative impairment test method. Our quantitative impairment testing of the FCC Licenses uses the Greenfield method, an income-based approach. When performing this quantitative impairment testing, we estimate the value of our FCC spectrum licenses by calculating the present value of the cash flows of a hypothetical new market participant whose only assets are such licenses to determine the fair value of the FCC licenses. The estimate takes into account all costs and expenses necessary to build the Company’s infrastructure during the start-up period, projected revenue, and cash flows once the infrastructure is completed. Since there is limited corroborating data available in the marketplace that would demonstrate a market participant’s experience in establishing an “air-to-ground” business, we utilize our historic results and future projections as the underlying basis for the application of the Greenfield method. We follow the traditional discounted cash flow method, calculating the present value of a new market participant’s estimated debt free cash flows, based on our historical weighted average cost of capital, adjusted to reflect the cost of capital for a new market participant. Although we believe our projected future operating results and cash flows and related estimates regarding fair values are based on reasonable assumptions, projected operating results and cash flows may not always be achieved. The failure to achieve one or more of our assumptions regarding projected operating results and cash flows in the near term or long term could reduce the estimated fair value below carrying value and result in the recognition of an impairment charge. The results of our annual indefinite-lived intangible asset impairment assessments for 2023, 2022 and 2021 indicated no impairment. Intangible assets that are deemed to have a finite life are amortized over their useful lives as follows:
Software 3 - 8 years
OEM and dealer relationships 10 years
Service customer relationships 5 - 7 years
Other intangible assets 8 years See Note 7, “Intangible Assets,” for further details . Long-Lived Assets - We review our long-lived assets to determine potential impairment whenever events indicate that the carrying amount of such assets may not be recoverable. We do this by comparing the carrying value of the long-lived assets with the estimated future undiscounted cash flows expected to result from the use of the assets, including cash flows from disposition. If we determine an impairment exists, the asset is written down to estimated fair value. There were no impairments of long-lived assets in 2023, 2022 or 2021 . Revenue Recognition - Our revenue is primarily earned from providing connectivity and entertainment services and through sales of equipment. We determine revenue recognition through the following steps: • Identification of the contract, or contracts, with a customer; • Identification of the performance obligations in the contract; • Determination of the transaction price; • Allocation of the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract; and • Recognition of revenue as we satisfy the performance obligations. Service revenue primarily consists of monthly subscription and usage fees paid by aircraft owners and operators for telecommunication, data, and in-flight entertainment services and is recognized as the services are provided to the customer. Equipment revenue primarily consists of proceeds from the sale of ATG and narrowband satellite connectivity equipment and is recognized when control of the equipment is transferred to OEMs and dealers, which generally occurs when the equipment is shipped. In all cases, we evaluate whether a contract exists as it relates to collectability of the contract. Once a contract is deemed to exist, we evaluate the transaction price and deliverables under the contract. A limited number of contracts contain multiple equipment and service deliverables. For these contracts, we account for each distinct good or service as a separate performance obligation. We allocate the contract’s transaction price to each performance obligation using the relative standalone selling price, which is based on the actual selling price for any good or service sold separately to a similar class of customer. See Note 3, “Revenue Recognition,” for further information. Government Assistance - In July 2023, the Company elected to participate in the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program (the “FCC Reimbursement Program”). There is no applicable authoritative guidance under GAAP to account for this government grant. Therefore, we have elected to apply International Accounting Standard (“IAS”) 20 Accounting for Government Grants and Disclosure of Government Assistance by analogy. Under IAS 20, government grants related to assets are presented as either deferred income that is recognized on a systematic basis over the useful life of the asset or by deducting the grant from the carrying value of the asset. The Company has elected to deduct the grant from the carrying value of the asset. For grants related to income, the Company has elected to recognize these grants as a deduction from the related expense. Grant receivables from the FCC are recorded by the Company once there is reasonable assurance that the Company will comply with the conditions of the grant and the grant will be received. See Note 4, “Government Assistance,” for additional information. Research and Development Costs - Expenditures for research and development are charged to expense as incurred and totaled $ 36.7 million , $ 29.6 million and $ 24.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021 , respectively. Research and development costs are reported as engineering, design and development expenses in our consolidated statements of operations. Warranty - We provide warranties on parts and labor related to our products. Our warranty terms range from two to five years. Warranty reserves are established for costs that are estimated to be incurred after the sale, delivery and installation of the products under warranty. The warranty reserves are determined based on known product failures, historical experience and other available evidence, and are included in accrued liabilities in our consolidated balance sheets. See Note 6, “Composition of Certain Reserves and Allowances,” for the details of the changes in our warranty reserve. Asset Retirement Obligations - We have certain asset retirement obligations related to contractual commitments to remove our network equipment and other assets from leased cell sites upon termination of the site leases. The asset retirement obligations are classified as a noncurrent liability in our consolidated balance sheets. See Note 5, “Composition of Certain Balance Sheet Accounts,” for the details of the changes in our asset retirement obligations. Fair Value of Financial Instruments - We group financial assets and financial liabilities measured at fair value into three levels of hierarchy based on the markets in which the assets and liabilities are traded and the reliability of the assumptions used to determine fair value. See Note 11, “Fair Value of Financial Assets and Liabilities,” for further information. Derivatives - We are exposed to interest rate risk on our variable rate borrowings. We currently use interest rate caps to manage our exposure to interest rate changes, and have designated these interest rate caps as cash flow hedges for accounting purposes. We account for these interest rate caps in accordance with ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging , which requires companies to recognize all derivative instruments as either assets or liabilities at fair value in the balance sheet. We record the effective portion of changes in the fair value of our cash flow hedges to other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax, and subsequently reclassify these amounts into earnings in the period during which the hedged transaction is recognized. See Note 9, “Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities,” for further information. Earnings Per Share - We calculate basic earnings per share using the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding during the period. We calculate diluted earnings per share using the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding and all dilutive potential common shares outstanding. See Note 2, “Earnings Per Share,” for further information. Stock-Based Compensation Expense - Compensation cost is measured and recognized at fair value for all stock-based payments, including stock options. For time-based vesting stock options, we estimate fair value using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model, which requires assumptions, such as expected volatility, risk-free interest rate, expected life, and dividends. Forfeitures are recognized when they occur. Restricted stock units (“RSUs”) and restricted stock are measured based on the fair market value of the underlying stock on the date of grant. Our stock-based compensation expense is recognized over the applicable vesting period and is included in the same operating expense line items in the consolidated statements of operations as the base cash compensation paid to the underlying employees . See Note 12, “Stock-Based Compensation and 401(k) Plan,” for further information. Leases – We have operating lease agreements for which w e have recorded lease liabilities and right-of-use assets for leases primarily related to cell sites and office buildings. We determine whether a contract contains a lease at contract inception and calculate the lease liability and right-of-use asset using our incremental borrowing rate. Our cell site leases generally have terms of five to ten years , with renewal options for an additional five to 25 years . For certain cell sites, the renewal options are deemed to be reasonably certain to be exercised. Our building leases have original terms of ten years , with renewal options for an additional five years . We recogni ze operating lease expense on a straight-line basis over the lease term. We have finance leases for computer and office equipment. Covenants within the Term Loan Facility contain certain restrictions on our ability to enter into new finance lease arrangements. See Note 14, “Leases,” for further information. Advertising Costs - Costs for advertising are expensed as incurred. Debt Issuance Costs - We defer loan origination fees and financing costs related to our various debt offerings as deferred financing costs. Additionally, we defer fees paid directly to the lenders related to amendments of our various debt offerings as deferred financing costs. We amortize these costs over the term of the underlying debt obligation using the effective interest method and include them in interest expense in the consolidated statement of operations. The fees incurred but not paid directly to the lenders in connection with amendments are expensed as incurred to interest expense. Deferred financing costs associated with future debt issuances are written off in the period during which we determine that the debt will no longer be issued. See Note 8, “Long-Term Debt and Other Liabilities,” for further information. Comprehensive Income - Comprehensive income for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021 is net income plus or minus unrealized gains and losses on foreign currency translation adjustments and the changes in fair value of cash flow hedges. Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements The Company considers the applicability and impact of all Accounting Standards Updates (ASUs) issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). ASUs not listed below were assessed and determined to be either not applicable or expected to have minimal impact on our consolidated financial statements and related notes. Accounting standards not yet adopted: In November 2023, the FASB issued ASU No. 2023-07, Segment Reporting (Topic 280): Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures to improve reportable segment disclosure requirements, primarily through enhanced disclosures about significant segment expenses. This guidance is effective retrospectively for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023 and interim periods after December 15, 2024. Early adoption is permitted. We are currently evaluating the impact that this guidance will have upon our consolidated financial statements and related notes. In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU No. 2023-09, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvement to Income Tax Disclosures to enhance the transparency and decision usefulness of income tax disclosures, most notably in the tax rate reconciliation and income taxes paid. This guidance is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2024. Early adoption is permitted and the amendments should be applied on a prospective basis, however, retrospective application is permitted. We are currently evaluating the impact that this guidance will have upon our consolidated financial statements and related notes. |
