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Licenses and Goodwill | 9 Months Ended
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Sep. 30, 2011
Disclosure Text Block [Abstract] |
Licenses and Goodwill | 7. Licenses and Goodwill Changes in U.S. Cellular's licenses and goodwill for the nine months ended September 30, 2011 and 2010 are presented below.
Licenses |  |  |  |  |
|  |  | September 30, |  | September 30,
|  |  | 2011 |  | 2010
(Dollars in thousands) |  |  |  |  |
Balance, beginning of period | $ | 1,452,101 |  | $ | 1,435,000
| Acquisitions (1) |  | 4,406 |  |  | 10,501
| Exchanges |  | 11,842 |  |  | —
| Other |  | 2,201 |  |  | —
Balance, end of period | $ | 1,470,550 |  | $ | 1,445,501
Goodwill
|  |  | September 30, |  | September 30,
|  |  | 2011 |  | 2010
(Dollars in thousands) |  |  |  |  |
Assigned value at time of acquisition | $ | 494,737 |  | $ | 494,737
| Accumulated impairment losses in prior periods |  | — |  |  | —
Balance, beginning of period |  | 494,737 |  |  | 494,737
| Acquisitions |  | — |  |  | —
Balance, end of period | $ | 494,737 |  | $ | 494,737
Does not include amounts reported as Assets held for sale in the Consolidated Balance Sheet. Goodwill and Licenses Impairment Assessment Goodwill and licenses must be assessed for impairment annually or more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate that such assets might be impaired. U.S. Cellular performs annual impairment testing of goodwill and licenses, as required by GAAP, in the fourth quarter of its fiscal year, based on fair values and net carrying values determined as of November 1. During the third quarter of 2011, the deterioration of macroeconomic conditions and financial markets coupled with a sustained decrease in U.S. Cellular's share price resulted in a triggering event, as defined by GAAP, requiring an interim impairment test of goodwill and licenses as of September 30, 2011. Therefore, U.S. Cellular performed an interim impairment assessment of goodwill and licenses as of September 30, 2011. The assessment resulted in no impairment of either goodwill or licenses.

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- 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. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 350 -SubTopic 20 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6905597&loc=d3e13816-109267 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 350 -SubTopic 30 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6905858&loc=d3e16265-109275 Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS) -Number 142 -Paragraph 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47 -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy. Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 350 -SubTopic 30 -Section 50 -Paragraph 3 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6905858&loc=d3e16373-109275 Reference 5: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 350 -SubTopic 30 -Section 50 -Paragraph 2 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6905858&loc=d3e16323-109275 Reference 6: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 350 -SubTopic 20 -Section 50 -Paragraph 2 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6905597&loc=d3e13854-109267 + Details
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