Goodwill and Intangible Assets

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Goodwill and Intangible Assets [Abstract]

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Text Block]

Goodwill and Intangible Assets

Goodwill

At December 31, 2011 and 2010, the gross value of goodwill was $340.9 million and $341.7 million, respectively. Accumulated impairment losses were $50.3 million at December 31, 2011, with no such losses recognized at December 31, 2010.

The changes in the carrying amount of goodwill, net of accumulated impairment losses, for the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2010 are as follows:



							Data Center		IT Services
(dollars in millions)	Wireless			Wireline			Colocation		and Hardware		Total
Balance as of December 31, 2009	$	50.3		$	12.6		$	6.7	$	2.3	$	71.9
Business acquisitions	—			—			269.6		0.2		269.8
Balance as of December 31, 2010	$	50.3		$	12.6		$	276.3	$	2.5	$	341.7
Impairment	(50.3		)	—			—		—		(50.3		)
Disposition of home security business assets	—			(0.8		)	—		—		(0.8		)
Balance as of December 31, 2011	$	—		$	11.8		$	276.3	$	2.5	$	290.6

In 2011, we recognized a goodwill impairment loss in the Wireless business segment. The impairment loss arose from declines in revenues and wireless subscribers. See Note 9 for further information on how fair value of the reporting unit was estimated.

In 2011, we sold substantially all the assets of our home security monitoring business for a gain of $8.4 million. Goodwill of $0.8 million was associated with the assets sold and included within "(Gain) loss on sale of assets" on the Consolidated Statements of Operations. This business was historically included within the Wireline segment.

In 2010, we acquired CyrusOne which is included in the Data Center Colocation segment. Goodwill of $269.6 million was recognized based on the purchase price allocation. The purchase price allocation was completed early in 2011. Other small acquisitions were completed in 2010 which became part of our IT Services and Hardware segment.

Intangible Assets Not Subject to Amortization

As of December 31, 2011, intangible assets not subject to amortization consist solely of FCC licenses with a carrying value of $88.2 million. These licenses are subject to renewal every 10 years for a nominal fee. The next renewal date is in 2015. As of December 31, 2010, intangible assets not subject to amortization consisted of FCC licenses and Wireless trademarks. In 2011, the Company reassessed the useful life of the Wireless trademarks and concluded that it should be reclassified as a finite-lived asset.

Intangible Assets Subject to Amortization

Intangible assets subject to amortization consist of customer relationships, trademarks and a favorable leasehold interest. As of December 31, 2010, Wireless trademarks had been classified as an indefinite-lived intangible asset with a carrying value of $6.2 million. No impairments were recognized on intangible assets subject to amortization in 2011, 2010 or 2009.

Summarized below are the carrying values for the major classes of intangible assets subject to amortization:



	Weighted-
	Average	December 31, 2011					December 31, 2010
	Life in	Gross Carrying		Accumulated			Gross Carrying		Accumulated
(dollars in millions)	Years	Amount		Amortization			Amount		Amortization
Customer relationships
Wireline	10	$	7.0	$	(4.2	)	$	7.0	(3.4		)
Wireless	9	8.7		(7.6		)	8.7		(6.8		)
Data Center Colocation	15	136.6		(26.4		)	136.6		(11.4		)
IT Services and Hardware	5	2.0		(2.0		)	2.0		(1.9		)
		154.3		(40.2		)	154.3		(23.5		)
Trademarks
Wireless	7	6.2		(1.5		)	—		—
Data Center Colocation	15	7.4		(1.3		)	7.4		(0.5		)
		13.6		(2.8		)	7.4		(0.5		)
Favorable leasehold interest
Data Center Colocation	56	3.9		(0.1		)	3.9		—

		$	171.8	$	(43.1	)	$	165.6	$	(24.0	)

Amortization expense for intangible assets subject to amortization was $19.1 million in 2011, $11.6 million in 2010, and $4.1 million in 2009.

The following table presents estimated amortization expense for 2012 through 2016:



(dollars in millions)
2012	$	19.6
2013	19.6
2014	19.2
2015	16.3
2016	12.5

- 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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