Leases

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Note 9 Leases

Change in Accounting Policy

In February 2016, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update 2016-02, Leases and has since amended the standard with Accounting Standards Update 2018-01, Leases: Land Easement Practical Expedient for Transition to Topic 842, Accounting Standards Update 2018-10, Codification Improvements to Topic 842, Leases, Accounting Standards Update 2018-11, Leases: Targeted Improvements, and Accounting Standards Update 2018-20, Leases: Narrow-Scope Improvements for Lessors, collectively referred to as ASC 842. This standard replaces the previous lease accounting standard under ASC 840 - Leases and requires lessees to record a right-of-use (ROU) asset and lease liability for the majority of leases. TDS adopted the provisions of ASC 842 on January 1, 2019, using a modified retrospective method. Under this method, TDS elected to apply the new accounting standard only to the most recent period presented, recognizing the cumulative effect of the accounting change, if any, as an adjustment to the beginning balance of retained earnings. Accordingly, prior periods have not been recast to reflect the new accounting standard. The cumulative effect of applying the provisions of ASC 842 had no material impact on retained earnings.

TDS elected transitional practical expedients for existing leases which eliminated the requirements to reassess existing lease classification, initial direct costs, and whether contracts contain leases. TDS also elected the practical expedient related to land easements that allows it to carry forward the accounting treatment for pre-existing land easement agreements.

The cumulative effect of the adoption of ASC 842 on TDS’ Consolidated Balance Sheet as of January 1, 2019 is presented below.



	December 31, 2018		ASC 842 Adjustment			January 1, 2019
(Dollars in millions)
Prepaid expenses	$	103	$	(13	)	$	90
Operating lease right-of-use assets	—		975			975
Other assets and deferred charges	616		(12		)	604
Short-term operating lease liabilities	—		112			112
Other current liabilities	114		(8		)	106
Long-term operating lease liabilities	—		949			949
Other deferred liabilities and credits	541		(103		)	438

In connection with the adoption of ASC 842, TDS recorded ROU assets and lease liabilities for its operating leases in its Consolidated Balance Sheet as of January 1, 2019. The amounts for ROU assets and lease liabilities initially were calculated as the discounted value of future lease payments. The difference between the ROU assets and the corresponding lease liabilities at January 1, 2019 as shown in the table above resulted from adjustments to ROU assets to account for various lease prepayments and straight-line expense recognition deferral balances which existed as of December 31, 2018. Finance leases are included in Property, plant and equipment and Long-term debt, net consistent with the presentation under prior accounting standards.

Lessee Agreements

A lease is generally present in a contract if the lessee controls the use of identified property, plant or equipment for a period of time in exchange for consideration. Nearly all of TDS’ leases are classified as operating leases, although it does have a small number of finance leases. TDS’ most significant leases are for land and tower spaces, network facilities, retail spaces, and offices.

TDS has agreements with both lease and nonlease components, which are accounted for separately. As part of the present value calculation for the lease liabilities, TDS uses an incremental borrowing rate as the rates implicit in the leases are not readily determinable. The incremental borrowing rates used for lease accounting are based on TDS' unsecured rates, adjusted to approximate the rates at which TDS would be required to borrow on a collateralized basis over a term similar to the recognized lease term. TDS applies the incremental borrowing rates to lease components using a portfolio approach based upon the length of the lease term and the reporting entity in which the lease resides. The cost of nonlease components in TDS’ lease portfolio (e.g., utilities and common area maintenance) are not typically predetermined at lease commencement and are expensed as incurred at their relative standalone price.

Variable lease expense occurs when, subsequent to the lease commencement, lease payments are made that were not originally included in the lease liability calculation. TDS’ variable lease payments are primarily a result of leases with escalations that are tied to an index. The incremental changes due to the index changes are recorded as variable lease expense and are not included in the ROU assets or lease liabilities.

Lease term recognition determines the periods to which expense is allocated and also has a significant impact on the ROU asset and lease liability calculations. Many of TDS’ leases include renewal and early termination options. At lease commencement, the lease terms include options to extend the lease when TDS is reasonably certain that it will exercise the options. The lease terms do not include early termination options unless TDS is reasonably certain to exercise the options. Certain asset classes have similar lease characteristics; therefore, TDS has applied the portfolio approach for lease term recognition for its tower space, retail, and certain ground lease asset classes.

The following table shows the components of lease cost included in the Consolidated Statement of Operations:



	Three Months Ended September 30, 2019		Nine Months Ended September 30, 2019
(Dollars in millions)
Operating lease cost	$	45	$	133
Financing lease cost:
Amortization of ROU assets	1		1
Variable lease cost	2		6
Total lease cost	$	48	$	140

The following table shows supplemental cash flow information related to lease activities:



	Nine Months Ended September 30, 2019
(Dollars in millions)
Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities:
Operating cash flows from operating leases	$	127
ROU assets obtained in exchange for lease obligations:
Operating leases	$	97
Finance leases	8

The following table shows the classification of TDS’ operating and finance leases in its Consolidated Balance Sheet:



	September 30, 2019
(Dollars in millions)
Operating Leases
Operating lease right-of-use assets	$	970

Short-term operating lease liabilities	$	115
Long-term operating lease liabilities	931
Total operating lease liabilities	$	1,046

Finance Leases
Property, plant and equipment	$	18
Less: Accumulated depreciation and amortization	5
Property, plant and equipment, net	$	13
Current portion of long-term debt	$	1
Long-term debt, net	6
Total finance lease liabilities	$	7

The table below shows a weighted-average analysis for lease term and discount rate for all leases:



	September 30, 2019
Weighted Average Remaining Lease Term
Operating leases	12 years
Finance leases	23 years

Weighted Average Discount Rate
Operating leases	4.4	%
Finance leases	6.6	%

The maturities of lease liabilities are as follows:



	Operating Leases		Finance Leases
(Dollars in millions)
Remainder of 2019	$	30	$	—
2020	169		1
2021	154		1
2022	138		1
2023	121		1
Thereafter	818		14
Total lease payments¹	$	1,430	$	18
Less: Imputed interest	384		11
Present value of lease liabilities	$	1,046	$	7


¹	Lease payments exclude $16 million of legally binding lease payments for leases signed but not yet commenced.

Lessor Agreements

TDS’ most significant lessor leases are for tower space and colocation space. All of TDS’ lessor leases are classified as operating leases. A lease is generally present in a contract if the lessee controls the use of identified property, plant, or equipment for a period of time in exchange for consideration. TDS’ lessor agreements with lease and nonlease components are generally accounted for separately; however, certain service agreements with insignificant lease components are accounted for as nonlease transactions.

Lease term recognition determines the periods to which revenue is allocated over the term of the lease. Many of TDS’ leases include renewal and early termination options. At lease commencement, lease terms include options to extend the lease when TDS is reasonably certain that lessees will exercise the options. Lease terms would not include periods after the date of a termination option that lessees are reasonably certain to exercise.

Variable lease income occurs when, subsequent to the lease commencement, lease payments are received that were not originally included in the lease receivable calculation. TDS’ variable lease income is primarily a result of leases with escalations that are tied to an index. The incremental increases due to the index changes are recorded as variable lease income.

The following table shows the components of lease income which are included in service revenues in the Consolidated Statement of Operations:



	Three Months Ended September 30, 2019		Nine Months Ended September 30, 2019
(Dollars in millions)
Operating lease income¹	$	29	$	75

During the third quarter of 2019, TDS recorded an out-of-period adjustment attributable to 2009 through the second quarter of 2019 due to errors in the timing of recognition of revenue for certain tower leases. This out-of-period adjustment had the impact of increasing operating lease income by $5 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019. TDS determined that this adjustment was not material to any of the periods impacted.

The maturities of expected lease payments to be received are as follows:



	Operating Leases
(Dollars in millions)
Remainder of 2019	$	17
2020	86
2021	57
2022	37
2023	25
Thereafter	28
Total future lease maturities	$	250

Disclosures under ASC 840

As of December 31, 2018, future minimum rental payments required under operating leases and rental receipts expected under operating leases that have noncancellable lease terms in excess of one year were as follows:



	Operating Leases Future Minimum Rental Payments		Operating Leases Future Minimum Rental Receipts
(Dollars in millions)
2019	$	170	$	59
2020	158		48
2021	142		35
2022	126		23
2023	110		10
Thereafter	784		7
Total	$	1,490	$	182