Intangible Assets

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2021

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

Note 7 Intangible Assets

Activity related to Licenses for the nine months ended September 30, 2021, is presented below:


	Licenses
(Dollars in millions)
Balance at December 31, 2020	$	2,638
Acquisitions	1,464
Transferred to Assets held for sale	(1)



Capitalized interest	10
Balance at September 30, 2021	$	4,111

In February 2021, the FCC announced by way of public notice that UScellular was the provisional winning bidder for 254 wireless spectrum licenses in the 3.7-3.98 GHz bands (Auction 107) for $1,283 million. UScellular paid $30 million of this amount in 2020 and the remainder in March 2021. The wireless spectrum licenses from Auction 107 were granted by the FCC in July 2021. Additionally, UScellular expects to be obligated to pay approximately $181 million in total from 2021 through 2024 related to relocation costs and accelerated relocation incentive payments. Such additional costs were accrued and capitalized at the time the licenses were granted. In October 2021, UScellular paid $36 million related to the additional costs. The spectrum must be cleared by incumbent providers before UScellular can access it. UScellular does not expect to have access to this spectrum until late 2023.