Intangible Assets

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2013

NOTE 6 INTANGIBLE ASSETS

Changes in TDS' Licenses, Goodwill and Franchise rights are presented below. See Note 5 — Acquisitions, Divestitures and Exchanges for information regarding transactions which affected Licenses, Goodwill and Franchise rights during the periods. Previously under GAAP, 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. Consequently, U.S. Cellular's Licenses and Goodwill on a stand-alone basis do not equal the TDS consolidated Licenses and Goodwill related to U.S. Cellular.

Licenses

(Dollars in thousands)		U.S. Cellular		Wireline		Non-Reportable Segment		Total

Balance December 31, 2012		$	1,462,019	$	2,800	$	15,220	$	1,480,039
	Acquisitions		16,540		-		-		16,540
	Divestitures		(59,419)		-		-		(59,419)
	Transferred to Assets held for sale		(16,027)		-		-		(16,027)
	NY1 & NY2 Deconsolidation		(592)		-		-		(592)
	Other		3,238		-		-		3,238
Balance December 31, 2013		$	1,405,759	$	2,800	$	15,220	$	1,423,779

Balance December 31, 2011		$	1,475,994	$	2,800	$	15,220	$	1,494,014
	Acquisitions		122,690		-		-		122,690
	Transferred to Assets held for sale		(140,599)		-		-		(140,599)
	Other		3,934		-		-		3,934
Balance December 31, 2012		$	1,462,019	$	2,800	$	15,220	$	1,480,039

Goodwill

(Dollars in thousands)			U.S. Cellular		Wireline		Cable		HMS		Non-Reportable Segment		Total

Assigned value at time of acquisition			$	622,681	$	449,898	$	-	$	103,627	$	4,317	$	1,180,523
	Accumulated impairment losses in prior periods			(333,900)		(29,440)		-		-		(515)		(363,855)
	Transferred to Assets held for sale			(19,474)		-		-		-		-		(19,474)
Balance December 31, 2012				269,307		420,458		-		103,627		3,802		797,194
	Acquisitions			-		-		61,712		15,203		-		76,915
	Divestitures			(135)		-		-		-		-		(135)
	NY1 & NY2 Deconsolidation			(37,131)		-		-		-		-		(37,131)
Balance December 31, 2013			$	232,041	$	420,458	$	61,712	$	118,830	$	3,802	$	836,843

Assigned value at time of acquisition			$	622,681	$	450,156	$	-	$	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 (1)			-		-		-		-		(515)		(515)
	Transferred to Assets held for sale			(19,474)		-		-		-		-		(19,474)
	Other			-		(258)		-		-		-		(258)
Balance December 31, 2012			$	269,307	$	420,458	$	-	$	103,627	$	3,802	$	797,194

(1)		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.

During the third quarter of 2013, TDS determined that an interim Goodwill impairment test was required for TDS Telecom's ILEC and HMS reporting units. The fair value of each reporting unit exceeded its respective carrying value, and accordingly no Goodwill impairment resulted.

Franchise rights

(Dollars in thousands)		Cable

Balance December 31, 2012		$	-
	Acquisitions		123,668
Balance December 31, 2013		$	123,668

- 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.

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