Intangible Assets

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure

7. Intangible Assets

Changes in TDS' Licenses and Goodwill for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011 are presented below.

Licenses
		U.S.				Non-Reportable
		Cellular (1)		TDS Telecom		Segment (2)		Total
(Dollars in thousands)

Balance December 31, 2011		$	1,475,994	$	2,800	$	15,220	$	1,494,014
	Acquisitions		57,957		-		-		57,957
	Other		3,147		-		-		3,147
Balance September 30, 2012		$	1,537,098	$	2,800	$	15,220	$	1,555,118


Balance December 31, 2010		$	1,457,326	$	2,800	$	-	$	1,460,126
	Acquisitions		4,406		-		15,220		19,626
	Exchanges		11,842		-		-		11,842
	Other		2,202		-		-		2,202
Balance September 30, 2011		$	1,475,776	$	2,800	$	15,220	$	1,493,796

Goodwill
		U.S.		TDS Telecom						Non-Reportable
		Cellular (1)		ILEC		CLEC		HMS		Segment (2)		Total
(Dollars in thousands)

Assigned value at time of acquisition		$	622,681	$	420,716	$	29,440	$	83,263	$	4,317	$	1,160,417
	Accumulated impairment losses in prior periods		(333,900)		-		(29,440)		-		-		(363,340)
Balance December 31, 2011			288,781		420,716		-		83,263		4,317		797,077
	Acquisitions		-		-		-		20,364		-		20,364
	Impairment		-		-		-		-		(515)		(515)
	Other		-		(258)		-		-		-		(258)
Balance September 30, 2012		$	288,781	$	420,458	$	-	$	103,627	$	3,802	$	816,668

Assigned value at time of acquisition		$	622,681	$	420,716	$	29,440	$	15,156	$	3,802	$	1,091,795
	Accumulated impairment losses in prior periods		(333,900)		-		(29,440)		-		-		(363,340)
Balance December 31, 2010			288,781		420,716		-		15,156		3,802		728,455
	Acquisitions		-		-		-		68,107		522		68,629
Balance September 30, 2011		$	288,781	$	420,716	$	-	$	83,263	$	4,324	$	797,084

Prior to January 1, 2009, TDS accounted for U.S. Cellular's share repurchases as step acquisitions, allocating a portion of the share repurchase value to TDS' Licenses and Goodwill, as required by GAAP in effect at that time. Consequently, U.S. Cellular's Licenses and Goodwill on a stand-alone basis do not match the TDS consolidated Licenses and Goodwill related to U.S. Cellular.
"Non-Reportable Segment'' consists of amounts related to Suttle-Straus and, as of September 23, 2011, Airadigm. During the second quarter of 2012, a sustained decrease in TDS' stock price resulted in a triggering event, as defined by GAAP, requiring an interim impairment test of Licenses and Goodwill as of June 30, 2012. Based on this test, TDS concluded that the entire amount of Goodwill related to Airadigm was impaired resulting in an impairment loss of $0.5 million and no impairment of Licenses.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the aggregate amount of goodwill and a description of intangible assets, which may include (a) for amortizable intangible assets (also referred to as finite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, the amount of any significant residual value, and the weighted-average amortization period, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization (also referred to as indefinite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, and (c) the amount of research and development assets acquired and written off in the period, including the line item in the income statement in which the amounts written off are aggregated, if not readily apparent from the income statement. Also discloses (a) for amortizable intangibles assets in total and by major class, the gross carrying amount and accumulated amortization, the total amortization expense for the period, and the estimated aggregate amortization expense for each of the five succeeding fiscal years, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization the carrying amount in total and by major class, and (c) for goodwill, in total and for each reportable segment, the changes in the carrying amount of goodwill during the period (including the aggregate amount of goodwill acquired, the aggregate amount of impairment losses recognized, and the amount of goodwill included in the gain (loss) on disposal of a reporting unit). If any part of goodwill has not been allocated to a reportable segment, discloses the unallocated amount and the reasons for not allocating. For each impairment loss recognized related to an intangible asset (excluding goodwill), discloses: (a) a description of the impaired intangible asset and the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method for determining fair value, (c) the caption in the income statement or the statement of activities in which the impairment loss is aggregated, and (d) the segment in which the impaired intangible asset is reported. For each goodwill impairment loss recognized, discloses: (a) a description of the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method of determining the fair value of the associated reporting unit, and (c) if a recognized impairment loss is an estimate not finalized and the reasons why the estimate is not final. May also disclose the nature and amount of any significant adjustments made to a previous estimate of an impairment loss.

+ References+ Details