Goodwill and Other Intangibles

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

(6)	Goodwill and Other Intangibles:

The components of goodwill and other intangibles, net are as follows:

($ in thousands)	September 30, 2012			December 31, 2011

Goodwill:	$	6,337,719		$	6,337,719

Other Intangibles:
Customer base	$	2,697,763		$	2,697,413
Software licenses		105,019			105,019
Trade name and license		135,285			135,285
Other intangibles		2,938,067			2,937,717
Less: Accumulated amortization		(1,307,102	)		(973,212	)
Total other intangibles, net	$	1,630,965		$	1,964,505

Amortization expense was $88.5 million and $125.2 million, and $333.9 million and $391.0 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011, respectively. Amortization expense primarily represents the amortization of intangible assets (primarily customer base) that were acquired in the Transaction based on a fair value of $2.5 billion and a useful life of nine years for the residential customer base and 12 years for the business customer base, amortized on an accelerated method. Amortization expense included $10.2 million and $41.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011, respectively, for amortization associated with certain Frontier legacy properties, which were fully amortized in March 2012.

- 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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