As many of you know, I work for GCI, an Alaska based telecommunications company. As our web site blurb crows, "we are Alaska's premier integrated telecommunications provider." But truly, we are pretty good - we've had an excellent past two years, which in this day and age is really an accomplishment. As an example, on a per capita basis, we're the number one CLEC in the US.
On the accounting front, our CFO and CAO scrupulously follow "best accounting practices" and are painfully honest. Expenses are expenses. Fiber Swaps and IRU leases are identified and emphasized in every financial report we do. We are not Global Crossing. We are not Worldcom. But ironically enough, guess who our largest customer is? Worldcom.
We are Worldcom's network provider in Alaska. We carry all of their traffic in and out of Alaska. And we service all of their national customers who have facilities in Alaska. At any one time, our outstanding Worldcom receivables can be anywhere from $10 million to $20 million.
So, as you begin to put two and two together, it becomes clear that Worldcom's egregiously self inflicted wounds have the potential of impacting GCI in a big way. We'll make it through - this mess even at its worst, would not put us out of business. But it certainly tightens things up.
Today, we held an "investor call" to discuss the impact of the Worldcom situation on GCI. The call was very interesting and provided a facinating glimpse into sophisticated corporate financing. I now have a much better understanding of credit facilities in general and our faciliites specifically. We were very careful not to speculate on Worldcom's future or discuss how they got themselves into their current mess. But we did discuss the Alaska Telecom market and potential scenarios.
If you have the time and the interest, I highly recommend listening to the archived web cast of the call. It is an educational gem and you'll definitely be on the cutting edge when it comes to understanding some of the nitty gritty details of the whole Worldcom mess. You'd better hurry though - the webcast will only be available for 72 hours.
My Mom, the investment author, also has some comments regarding the investor call.
9:09:17 PM 
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