Intangible Assets and Deferred Credits

Intangible Assets

Goodwill

The changes in the carrying value of goodwill for the year ended December 31, 2013 were as follows:



Balance as of December 31, 2011	$	2,035,390
Additions due to NextG Acquisition^(a)	573,617
Additions due to WCP Acquisition ^(b)	54,824
Additions due to T-Mobile Acquisition ^(c)	428,019
Additions due to other acquisitions	28,113
Effect of exchange rate fluctuations	(6		)
Balance as of December 31, 2012	$	3,119,957
Additions due to AT&T Acquisition ^(c)	1,768,535
Additions due to other acquisitions	25,194
Effect of exchange rate fluctuations and other adjustments	2,740
Balance as of December 31, 2013	$	4,916,426


(a)	The purchase price allocation for the NextG Acquisition resulted in the recognition of a substantial amount of goodwill at CCUSA relative to the purchase price based on the following:


•	the acquired or in-process DAS have low average tenancy, which the Company believes provides an opportunity to co-locate additional tenants on those systems;


•	the Company believes that the economics associated with DAS are similar to the economics associated with the Company's towers, whereby expected increases in revenues from additional tenants on existing DAS are expected to result in high incremental margins due to relatively fixed operating costs;


•	the Company believes the demand for tenants to co-locate on DAS will be driven by the continued growth trends in the wireless communication industry as wireless carriers continue to focus on improving network quality and expanding capacity;


•	the Company believes the acquired DAS are well-positioned to benefit from the anticipated growth in the wireless industry with their previously mentioned locations in the ten largest metropolitan statistical areas in the U.S.; or


•	other intangibles not qualified for separate recognition, including the assembled work force.

To a lesser extent, a portion of the goodwill recognized is the result of recording the tax impact of the NextG Acquisition. See also note 10.


(b)	The Company paid a purchase price for the WCP Acquisition that resulted in goodwill at CCUSA primarily because of the strategic opportunities related to the acquired portfolio.


(c)	The purchase price allocation for the T-Mobile Acquisition and the preliminary purchase price allocation for the AT&T Acquisition resulted in the recognition of goodwill at CCUSA primarily because of the anticipated growth opportunities in the respective tower portfolios.

Intangibles

The following is a summary of the Company's intangible assets. See note 3 for further discussion of the Company's acquisitions.



	As of December 31, 2013							As of December 31, 2012
	Gross Carrying Value		Accumulated Amortization			Net Book Value		Gross Carrying Value		Accumulated Amortization			Net Book Value
Site rental contracts and customer relationships	$	4,761,605	$	(1,111,262	)	$	3,650,343	$	3,566,207	$	(913,647	)	$	2,652,560
Other intangible assets	486,751		(79,229		)	407,522		354,208		(65,072		)	289,136
Total	$	5,248,356	$	(1,190,491	)	$	4,057,865	$	3,920,415	$	(978,719	)	$	2,941,696

The components of the additions to intangible assets during the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012 are as follows:



	For Years Ended December 31,
	2013				2012
	Amount			Weighted-Average Amortization Period	Amount			Weighted-Average Amortization Period
				(In years)				(In years)
Site rental contracts and customer relationships	$	1,203,596		20	$	741,526		21
Other intangible assets	132,763		^(a)	21	208,700		^(b)	19
Total	$	1,336,359		20	$	950,226		21


(a)	$114.9 million is related to below-market leases for land interests under acquired wireless infrastructure for the year ended December 31, 2013 which is inclusive of adjustments made during 2013 related to the T-Mobile purchase price allocation (see note 3).


(b)	$178.3 million is related to below-market leases for land interests under acquired wireless infrastructure for the year ended December 31, 2012.

Amortization expense related to intangible assets is classified as follows on the Company's consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive income (loss):



	For Years Ended December 31,
Classification	2013		2012		2011
Depreciation, amortization and accretion	$	204,042	$	177,163	$	159,478
Site rental costs of operations	10,197		3,352		3,709
Total amortization expense	$	214,239	$	180,515	$	163,187

The estimated annual amortization expense related to intangible assets (inclusive of those recorded as an increase to "site rental costs of operations") for the years ended December 31, 2014 to 2018 is as follows:



	Years Ending December 31,
	2014		2015		2016		2017		2018
Estimated annual amortization	$	272,944	$	267,326	$	267,273	$	266,902	$	266,732

- 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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