UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

FORM 10-Q

(Mark One)

For the quarterly period ended March 31, 2005

OR

For the transition period from                      to                     .

Commission file number 000-28167

ALASKA COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS GROUP, INC.

600 Telephone Avenue, Anchorage, Alaska 99503
(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)

(907) 297-3000
(Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code)

Not Applicable
(Former name, former address and former three months, if changed since last report)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an accelerated filer (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

APPLICABLE ONLY TO ISSUERS INVOLVED IN BANKRUPTCY
PROCEEDINGS DURING THE PRECEDING FIVE YEARS:

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed all documents and reports required to be filed by Sections 12, 13, or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 subsequent to the distribution of securities under a plan confirmed by a court.

APPLICABLE ONLY TO CORPORATE ISSUERS:

The number of shares outstanding of the registrant’s Common Stock, as of April 27, 2005, was 45,343,952.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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ALASKA COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS GROUP, INC.

See Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

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ALASKA COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS GROUP, INC.

See Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

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ALASKA COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS GROUP, INC.

See Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

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ALASKA COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS GROUP, INC.

See Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

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ALASKA COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS GROUP, INC.

1. DESCRIPTION OF COMPANY AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

     Alaska Communications Systems Group, Inc., a Delaware corporation, and its Subsidiaries (the “Company” or “ACS Group”), is engaged principally in providing local telephone, wireless, Internet, interexchange network and other services to its retail consumer and business customers and wholesale customers in the State of Alaska through its telecommunications subsidiaries. The Company was formed in October of 1998 for the purpose of acquiring and operating telecommunications properties.

     The accompanying consolidated financial statements for the Company represent the consolidated financial position, results of operations and cash flows principally of the following entities:

	•	Alaska Communications Systems Group, Inc.
	•	Alaska Communications Systems Holdings, Inc. (“ACS Holdings”)
	•	ACS of Alaska, Inc. (“ACSAK”)
	•	ACS of the Northland, Inc. (“ACSN”)
	•	ACS of Fairbanks, Inc. (“ACSF”)
	•	ACS of Anchorage, Inc. (“ACSA”)
	•	ACS Wireless, Inc. (“ACSW”)
	•	ACS Long Distance, Inc. (“ACSLD”)
	•	ACS Internet, Inc. (“ACSI”)

     Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America have been condensed or omitted pursuant to rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission. However, the Company believes the disclosures which are made are adequate to make the information presented not misleading. The consolidated financial statements and footnotes included in this Form 10-Q should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004. Certain reclassifications have been made to the 2004 financial statements to make them conform to the current presentation.

     In the opinion of management, the financial statements contain all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) necessary to present fairly the consolidated financial position, results of operations and cash flows for all periods presented. The results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2005, are not necessarily indicative of the results of operations which might be expected for the entire year or any other interim periods.

Revenue Recognition

     Access revenue is recognized when earned. The Company participates in access revenue pools with other telephone companies. Such pools are funded by toll revenue and/or access charges regulated by the Regulatory Commission of Alaska (“RCA”) within the intrastate jurisdiction and the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) within the interstate jurisdiction. Much of the interstate access revenue is initially recorded based on estimates. These estimates are derived from interim financial statements, available separations studies and the most recent information available about achieved rates of return. These estimates are subject to adjustment in future accounting periods as additional operational information becomes available. To the extent that disputes arise over revenue settlements, the Company’s policy is to defer revenue collected until settlement methodologies are resolved and finalized. At March 31, 2005 and 2004, the Company had liabilities of $16,920 and $13,053, respectively, related to its estimate of refundable access revenue.

Regulatory Accounting and Regulation

     The local telephone exchange operations of the Company account for costs in accordance with the accounting principles for regulated enterprises prescribed by Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (“SFAS”) No. 71, Accounting for the Effects of Certain Types of Regulation. This accounting recognizes the economic effects of rate regulation by recording cost and a return on investment as such amounts are recovered through rates authorized by regulatory authorities. Accordingly, under SFAS No. 71, plant and equipment is depreciated over lives approved by regulators and certain costs and obligations are deferred based upon approvals received from regulators to permit recovery of such amounts in future years.

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ALASKA COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS GROUP, INC.
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
(Unaudited, In Thousands Except Per Share Amounts)

1. DESCRIPTION OF COMPANY AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Continued)

     The Company implemented, effective January 1, 2003, higher depreciation rates for its regulated telephone plant for the interstate jurisdiction, which management believes approximate the economically useful lives of the underlying plant. As a result, the Company has recorded a regulatory asset under SFAS No. 71 of $39,296 and $21,850 as of March 31, 2005 and 2004, respectively, related to depreciation of the regulated telephone plant allocable to its intrastate and local jurisdictions. The Company has also deferred as a regulatory asset $894 of costs incurred in connection with regulatory rate making proceedings, which is being amortized over three years starting in 2003. The balance of this regulatory asset was $223 at March 31, 2005. If the Company were not following SFAS No. 71, it would have recorded additional cumulative depreciation expense in the three months ended March 31, 2005, of $4,323 for the intrastate and local jurisdictions and the deferred costs incurred in connection with regulatory rate making proceedings would have been charged to expense as incurred. The Company also has a regulatory liability of $55,299 at March 31, 2005 related to accumulated removal costs. If the Company were not following SFAS No. 71, it would have followed SFAS No. 143, Accounting for Asset Retirement Obligations. Non-regulated revenues and costs incurred by the local telephone exchange operations and non-regulated operations of the Company are not accounted for under SFAS No. 71 principles.

Stock Incentive Plans

     The Company applies Accounting Principles Board Opinion No. 25, Accounting for Stock Issued to Employees, in accounting for its stock incentive plans. Accordingly, no compensation cost has been recognized for options with exercise prices equal to or greater than fair value on the date of grant. No compensation costs were charged to operations for the three months ended March 31, 2005 or 2004. If compensation costs had been determined consistent with SFAS No. 123, Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation, the Company’s net loss and net loss per share on a pro forma basis for the three months ended March 31, 2005 and 2004 would have been as follows:

     The fair value for these options was estimated at the date of grant using a Black-Scholes option pricing model with the following weighted average assumptions for grants made in 2004:

     No options were granted in 2005. The Company uses the treasury stock method to calculate earnings per share. As the Company incurred a loss for the period ended March 31, 2005, it excluded the dilutive impact of options equivalent to 1,319 shares from its earnings per share calculation.

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ALASKA COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS GROUP, INC.
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
(Unaudited, In Thousands Except Per Share Amounts)

2. NEW ACCOUNTING STANDARDS

     In March 2005, the FASB issued FIN 47, Accounting for Conditional Asset Retirement Obligations. FIN 47 will be effective for the Company on December 31, 2005 and requires it to recognize asset retirement obligations which are conditional on a future event, such as the obligation to safely dispose of asbestos when a building is remodeled. Uncertainty about the timing or settlement of the obligation is factored into the measurement of the liability. The Company is in the process of quantifying the impact FIN 47 will have on its financial position and results of operations.

     In April 2005, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) delayed the effective date of SFAS No. 123R, Share-Based Payments. SFAS No. 123R will now be effective for the Company as of the interim reporting period beginning January 1, 2006. SFAS 123R requires that compensation cost relating to share-based payment transactions be recognized in financial statements based on the fair value of the equity or liability instruments issued. SFAS No. 123R covers a wide range of share-based compensation arrangements including share options, restricted share plans, performance-based awards, share appreciation rights and employee share purchase plans. The Company does not anticipate that the adoption of SFAS No. 123R will have a material impact on its financial position or results of operations.

     In December 2004, the FASB issued SFAS No. 153, Exchanges of Non-Monetary Assets, which is effective for the Company starting July 1, 2005. In the past, the Company was frequently required to measure the value of assets exchanged in non-monetary transactions by using the net book value of the asset relinquished. Under SFAS No. 153, the Company will measure assets exchanged at fair value, as long as the transaction has commercial substance and the fair value of the assets exchanged is determinable within reasonable limits. A non-monetary exchange has commercial substance if the future cash flows of the entity are expected to change significantly as a result of the exchange. The adoption of SFAS No. 153 is not anticipated to have a material effect on the Company’s financial position or results of operations.

3. LONG TERM OBLIGATIONS

     Long term obligations consist of the following at March 31, 2005 and December 31, 2004:

     The aggregate maturities of long-term obligations for each of the five years and thereafter subsequent to March 31, 2005 are as follows:

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ALASKA COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS GROUP, INC.
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
(Unaudited, In Thousands Except Per Share Amounts)

3. LONG TERM OBLIGATIONS (Continued)

     In the first quarter of 2005, the Company completed refinancing transactions whereby it entered into a new $380,000 senior secured credit facility, the 2005 senior credit facility, and used the $335,000 of term loan borrowings under that facility, together with the $76,307 in net proceeds of a simultaneous offering of our common stock and cash on hand to repay in full and redeem the $198,000 of outstanding principal under our 2003 senior credit facility, together with interest accrued thereon; repurchase $59,346 of outstanding principal of our senior unsecured notes, together with tender premiums and interest accrued thereon; repurchase $147,500 of outstanding principal of our senior subordinated notes, together with tender premiums and interest accrued thereon; and pay underwriters’ discounts and transaction fees and expenses associated with the equity offering and refinancing transactions.

     The $335,000 term loan under the 2005 senior credit facility was drawn on February 1, 2005 and generally bears interest at an annual rate of LIBOR plus 2.00%, with a term of seven years from the date of closing and no scheduled principal payments before maturity. The $45,000 undrawn revolving credit facility, to the extent drawn in the future, will bear interest at an annual rate of LIBOR plus 2.00% and have a term of six years from the date of closing. To the extent the $45,000 revolving credit facility under the 2005 senior credit facility remains undrawn, The Company will pay an annual commitment fee of 0.375% of the undrawn principal amount over its term. The Company also entered into floating-to-fixed interest rate swaps with total notional amounts of $135,000 and $85,000, respectively, which swap the floating interest rate on a portion of the term loan borrowings under the 2005 senior credit facility for a five year term at a fixed rate of 6.13% and 6.50% per year, respectively, inclusive of the 2.00% premium over LIBOR. The swaps are accounted for as cash flow hedges.

4. STOCK INCENTIVE PLANS

     Under various plans, ACS Group, through the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors, may grant stock options, stock appreciation rights and other awards to officers, employees and non-employee directors. At March 31, 2005, ACS Group has reserved a total of 10,060 shares of authorized common stock for issuance under the plans. In general, options under the plans vest ratably over three, four or five years.

Alaska Communications Systems Group, Inc. 1999 Stock Incentive Plan

     ACS Group has reserved 7,160 shares under this plan, which was adopted by the Company in November 1999. At March 31, 2005, 7,089 options have been granted, 2,892 have been forfeited, 2,035 have been exercised, and 2,963 shares are available for grant under the plan.

ACS Group, Inc. 1999 Non-Employee Director Stock Compensation Plan

     The non-employee director stock compensation plan was adopted by ACS Group in November 1999. ACS Group has reserved 350 shares under this plan. At March 31, 2005, 151 shares have been awarded and 199 shares are available for grant under the plan. In 2005 and 2004, the plan requires directors to receive not less than 50% and 25% respectively, of their annual retainer in the form of ACS Group’s stock and directors are permitted to elect up to 100% of their annual retainer in the form of ACS Group’s stock. On March 31, 2005, eight shares under the plan were awarded to directors, of which six were elected to be deferred until termination of service by the directors.

Alaska Communications Systems Group, Inc. 1999 Employee Stock Purchase Plan

     This plan was also adopted by ACS Group in November 1999. ACS Group has reserved 1,550 shares under this plan. At March 31, 2005, 980 shares are available for issuance and sale. The plan will terminate on December 31, 2009. All ACS Group employees and all of the employees of designated subsidiaries generally will be eligible to participate in the purchase plan, other than employees whose customary employment is 20 hours or less per week or is for not more than five months in a calendar year, or who are ineligible to participate due to restrictions under the Internal Revenue Code.

     A participant in the purchase plan may authorize regular salary deductions of a maximum of 15% and a minimum of 1% of base compensation. The fair market value of shares which may be purchased by any employee during any calendar year may not exceed $25. The amounts so deducted and contributed are applied to the purchase of full shares of common stock at 85% of the lesser of the fair market value of such shares on the date of purchase or on the offering date for

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ALASKA COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS GROUP, IN