Acquisitions, Dispositions And Other Adjustments

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2024

Business Combination, Asset Acquisition, and Joint Venture Formation [Abstract]

Acquisitions, Dispositions And Other Adjustments

NOTE 6. ACQUISITIONS, DISPOSITIONS AND OTHER ADJUSTMENTS

Acquisitions

Spectrum Auctions On January 14, 2022, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that we were the winning bidder for 1,624 3.45 GHz licenses in Auction 110. We provided the FCC an upfront deposit of $123 in the third quarter of 2021 and paid the remaining $8,956 in the first quarter of 2022, for a total of $9,079. We funded the purchase price using cash and short-term investments. We received the licenses in May 2022 and classified the auction deposits and related capitalized interest as “Licenses – Net” on our December 31, 2022 consolidated balance sheet.

In February 2021, the FCC announced that AT&T was the winning bidder for 1,621 C-Band licenses, comprised of a total of 80 MHz nationwide, including 40 MHz in Phase I. We provided to the FCC an upfront deposit of $550 in 2020 and cash payments totaling $22,856 in the first quarter of 2021, for a total of $23,406. We received the licenses in July 2021 and classified the auction deposits, related capitalized interest and billed relocation costs as “Licenses – Net” on our December 31, 2021 consolidated balance sheet. In December 2021, we paid $955 of Incentive Payments upon clearing of Phase I spectrum and paid $2,112 upon clearing of Phase II spectrum in 2023. Additionally, we are responsible for approximately $1,100 of compensable relocation costs over the next several years as the spectrum is being cleared by satellite operators, of which we paid $650 in 2021, $98 in 2022, $109 in 2023 and $138 in 2024. Funding for the purchase price of the spectrum included a combination of cash on hand and short-term investments, as well as short- and long-term debt.

Dispositions Reflected as Discontinued Operations

WarnerMedia On April 8, 2022, we completed the separation and distribution of our WarnerMedia business, and merger of Spinco, an AT&T subsidiary formed to hold the WarnerMedia business, with a subsidiary of Discovery, Inc., which was renamed Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc (WBD). Each AT&T shareholder was entitled to receive 0.241917 shares of WBD common stock for each share of AT&T common stock held as of the record date, which represented approximately 71% of WBD. In connection with and in accordance with the terms of the Separation and Distribution Agreement (SDA), prior to the distribution and merger, AT&T received approximately $40,400, which includes $38,800 of Spinco cash and $1,600 of debt retained by WarnerMedia. During the second quarter of 2022, $45,041 of retained earnings and $5,632 of additional paid-in capital associated with the transaction were removed from our balance sheet. Additionally, in August 2022, we and WBD finalized the post-closing adjustment, pursuant to Section 1.3 of the SDA, which resulted in a $1,200 payment to WBD in the third quarter of 2022 and was reflected in the balance sheet as an adjustment to additional paid-in capital. (See Note 24)

Xandr On June 6, 2022, we completed the sale of the marketplace component of Xandr to Microsoft Corporation. Xandr was reflected in our historical financial statements as discontinued operations.