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Goodwill And Other Intangible Assets

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2015

Goodwill And Other Intangible Assets

NOTE 7. GOODWILL AND OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS

As part of our organizational realignment discussed in Note 4, the goodwill from the previous Wireless segment was allocated to the Business Solutions and Consumer Mobility segments and the goodwill from the previous Wireline segment was allocated to the Business Solutions and Entertainment Group segments. The allocations were based on the relative fair value of the portions of the previous Wireless and Wireline segments which were moved into the new Business Solutions, Entertainment Group and Consumer Mobility segments.

	Wireless		Wireline		Business Solutions			Entertainment Group		Consumer Mobility		International		Total
Balance as of December 31, 2013	$	36,106	$	33,167	$	-	$	-	$	-	$	-	$	69,273
Goodwill acquired		367		-		-		-		-		-		367
Other		(4)		56		-		-		-		-		52
Balance as of December 31, 2014		36,469		33,223		-		-		-		-		69,692
Goodwill acquired		6		-		-		30,839		-		4,672		35,517
Foreign currency translation adjustments		-		-		-		-		-		(638)		(638)
Allocation of goodwill		(36,471)		(33,226)		45,351		7,834		16,512		-		-
Other		(4)		3		-		-		-		(2)		(3)
Balance as of December 31, 2015	$	-	$	-	$	45,351	$	38,673	$	16,512	$	4,032	$	104,568

The majority of our goodwill acquired during 2015 related to our acquisitions of DIRECTV, Nextel Mexico and GSF Telecom. The allocation of goodwill represents goodwill previously assigned to our Wireless and Wireline segments. Other changes to our goodwill in 2015 include foreign currency translation adjustments and the final valuation of Leap. The majority of our goodwill acquired during 2014 related to our acquisition of Leap. Other changes to our goodwill during 2014 include adjustments to the amount of goodwill moved to held for sale in 2013 related to the sale of our Connecticut wireline operations. (See Note 5)

Our other intangible assets are summarized as follows:

	December 31, 2015							December 31, 2014
Other Intangible Assets		Gross Carrying Amount		Currency Translation Adjustment		Accumulated Amortization		Gross Carrying Amount		Currency Translation Adjustment		Accumulated Amortization
Amortized intangible assets:
Customer lists and relationships:
Wireless acquisitions	$	1,055	$	-	$	679	$	1,082	$	-	$	550
BellSouth Corporation		4,450		-		4,347		5,825		-		5,559
DIRECTV		19,505		(294)		1,807		-		-		-
AT&T Corp.		33		-		23		56		-		42
Mexican wireless		485		(60)		110		-		-		-
Subtotal		25,528		(354)		6,966		6,963		-		6,151
Trade name		2,905		-		424		-		-		-
Other		686		-		195		275		-		189
Total	$	29,119	$	(354)	$	7,585	$	7,238	$	-	$	6,340

Indefinite-lived intangible assets not subject to amortization:
Licenses
Wireless licenses	$	81,147	$	60,824
Orbital slots		11,946		-
Trade names		6,437		5,241
Total	$	99,530	$	66,065

Wireless license additions in 2015 were primarily related to FCC Auction 97, with the remainder originating from our Mexico business acquisitions and various spectrum license purchases. The increase in orbital slots and trade names was primarily due to the DIRECTV acquisition. (See Note 5)

We review indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment annually (see Note 1). Licenses include wireless licenses that provide us with the exclusive right to utilize certain radio frequency spectrum to provide wireless communications services, similar licenses in Mexico and orbital slots representing the space in which we operate the broadcast satellites that support our digital video entertainment service offerings.

Amortized intangible assets are definite-life assets, and as such, we record amortization expense based on a method that most appropriately reflects our expected cash flows from these assets, over a weighted-average of 8.6 years (9.2 years for customer lists and relationships and 4.2 years for amortizing trade names and other). Amortization expense for definite-life intangible assets was $2,728 for the year ended December 31, 2015, $500 for the year ended December 31, 2014 and $672 for the year ended December 31, 2013. Amortization expense is estimated to be $5,207 in 2016, $4,623 in 2017, $3,580 in 2018, $2,521 in 2019, and $2,041 in 2020.

In 2015, we wrote off approximately $1,483 of fully amortized intangible assets (primarily customer lists). In 2014, we wrote off approximately $2,850 of fully amortized intangible assets (primarily customer lists). We review other amortizing intangible assets for impairment whenever events or circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable over the remaining life of the asset or asset group.

- 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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