Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
Note 4
Wireless Licenses, Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets
Wireless Licenses
Changes in the carrying amount of wireless licenses are as follows:
(dollars in millions) |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
Balance at December 31, 2008 |
$ |
61,974 |
|
Wireless licenses acquired (Note 2) |
|
9,444 |
|
Capitalized interest on wireless licenses |
|
730 |
|
Reclassifications, adjustments and other |
|
(81 |
) |
Balance at December 31, 2009 |
$ |
72,067 |
|
Wireless licenses acquired (Note 2) |
|
178 |
|
Capitalized interest on wireless licenses |
|
748 |
|
Reclassifications, adjustments and other |
|
3 |
|
Balance at December 31, 2010 |
$ |
72,996 |
|
During the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009, approximately $12.2 billion of wireless licenses were under development for commercial service for which we were capitalizing interest costs. In December 2010, a portion of these licenses were placed in service. Accordingly, approximately $3.3 billion of wireless licenses continue to be under development for commercial service.
During 2008, Verizon Wireless was the winning bidder in the FCC auction of spectrum in the 700 MHz band and paid the FCC $9.4 billion to acquire 109 licenses in the 700 MHz band.
The average remaining renewal period of our wireless license portfolio was 6.9 years as of December 31, 2010 (see Note 1, Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets – Intangible Assets Not Subject to Amortization).
Goodwill
Changes in the carrying amount of goodwill are as follows:
|
(dollars in millions) |
|||||||||
|
Nacional |
|
Línea fija |
|
Total |
|
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Balance at December 31, 2008 |
$ |
1,297 |
|
$ |
4,738 |
|
$ |
6,035 |
|
Acquisitions (Note 2) |
|
16,353 |
|
|
– |
|
|
16,353 |
|
Reclassifications, adjustments and other |
|
88 |
|
|
(4 |
) |
|
84 |
|
Balance at December 31, 2009 |
$ |
17,738 |
|
$ |
4,734 |
|
$ |
22,472 |
|
Acquisitions (Note 2) |
|
131 |
|
|
– |
|
|
131 |
|
Dispositions (Note 3) |
|
– |
|
|
(614 |
) |
|
(614 |
) |
Reclassifications, adjustments and other |
|
– |
|
|
(1 |
) |
|
(1 |
) |
Balance at December 31, 2010 |
$ |
17,869 |
|
$ |
4,119 |
|
$ |
21,988 |
|
Reclassifications, adjustments and other in Domestic Wireless during 2009 relate to the finalization of the Rural Cellular purchase accounting.
Other Intangible Assets
The following table displays the composition of other intangible assets:
|
(dollars in millions) |
||||||||||||||||||
|
At December 31, 2010 |
|
At December 31, 2009 |
|
||||||||||||||
|
Gross |
|
Accumulated |
|
Net |
|
Gross |
|
Accumulated |
|
Net |
|
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Other intangible assets: |
||||||||||||||||||
Customer lists (6 to 8 years) |
$ |
3,150 |
|
$ |
(1,551 |
) |
$ |
1,599 |
|
$ |
3,134 |
|
$ |
(1,012 |
) |
$ |
2,122 |
|
Non-network internal-use software |
||||||||||||||||||
(2 to 7 years) |
|
8,446 |
|
|
(4,614 |
) |
|
3,832 |
|
|
8,455 |
|
|
(4,346 |
) |
|
4,109 |
|
Other (2 to 25 years) |
|
885 |
|
|
(486 |
) |
|
399 |
|
|
865 |
|
|
(332 |
) |
|
533 |
|
Total |
$ |
12,481 |
|
$ |
(6,651 |
) |
$ |
5,830 |
|
$ |
12,454 |
|
$ |
(5,690 |
) |
$ |
6,764 |
|
The amortization expense for other intangible assets was as follows:
Años |
(dollars in millions) |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
2010 |
|
$ |
1,812 |
|
2009 |
|
|
1,970 |
|
2008 |
|
|
1,383 |
|
Estimated annual amortization expense for other intangible assets is as follows:
Años |
(dollars in millions) |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
2011 |
|
$ |
1,656 |
|
2012 |
|
|
1,335 |
|
2013 |
|
|
1,100 |
|
2014 |
|
|
729 |
|
2015 |
|
|
512 |
|