Goodwill, Customer Relationships and Other Intangible Assets

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2016

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

Goodwill, Customer Relationships and Other Intangible Assets

Goodwill, customer relationships and other intangible assets consisted of the following:



	As of December 31,
	2016		2015
	(Dollars in millions)
Goodwill	$	9,354	9,354
Customer relationships, less accumulated amortization of $3,822 and $3,264	$	1,877	2,435
Other intangible assets subject to amortization:
Capitalized software, less accumulated amortization of $1,510 and $1,383	$	471	613

As of December 31, 2016, the gross carrying amount of goodwill, customer relationships and other intangible assets was $17.034 billion.

Total amortization expense for intangible assets was as follows:



	Years Ended December 31,
	2016		2015	2014
	(Dollars in millions)
Amortization expense for intangible assets	$	767	871	957

We estimate that total amortization expense for intangible assets for the years ending December 31, 2017 through 2021 will be as follows:



	(Dollars in millions)
Year ending December 31,
2017	$	652
2018	584
2019	509
2020	440
2021	127

We annually review the estimated lives and methods used to amortize our other intangible assets. The actual amounts of amortization expense may differ materially from our estimates, depending on the results of our annual reviews.

Our goodwill was derived from CenturyLink's acquisition of us where the purchase price exceeded the fair value of the net assets acquired.

We assess our goodwill for impairment annually, or, under certain circumstances, more frequently, such as when events or changes in circumstances indicate there may be impairment. We are required to write down the value of goodwill only when our assessment determines the recorded amount of goodwill exceeds the fair value. Our annual impairment assessment date for goodwill is October 31, at which date we assessed goodwill at our reporting units. In reviewing the criteria for reporting units, we have determined that we are one reporting unit.

We compare our estimated fair value of equity to our carrying value of equity. If the estimated fair value of our equity is greater than the carrying value of our equity, we conclude that no impairment exists. If the estimated fair value of our equity is less than our carrying value of our equity, a second calculation is required in which the implied fair value of goodwill is compared to our carrying value of goodwill. If the implied fair value of goodwill is less than our carrying value of goodwill, goodwill must be written down to the implied fair value.

At October 31, 2016, we utilized a level 3 fair valuation technique to estimate the fair value of our equity by considering both a market approach and a discounted cash flow method. The market approach method includes the use of comparable multiples of publicly traded companies whose services are comparable to ours. The discounted cash flow method is based on the present value of projected cash flows and a terminal value, which represents the expected normalized cash flows of the reporting unit beyond the cash flows from the discrete projection period. We discounted the estimated cash flows using a rate that represents our estimated weighted average cost of capital, which we determined to be approximately 6.0% as of the assessment date (which was comprised of an after-tax cost of debt of 2.8% and a cost of equity of 6.2%). Based on our assessment performed with respect to our reporting unit as described above, we concluded that our goodwill was not impaired as of that date.

- 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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