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Licenses and Goodwill | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2010
Notes To The Financial Statements [Abstract] |
Licenses and Goodwill | NOTE 8 LICENSES AND GOODWILL Changes in U.S. Cellular's licenses and goodwill are presented below. See Note 7—Acquisitions, Divestitures and Exchanges for information regarding transactions which affected licenses an d goodwill during the periods.
Licenses |  |  |
| Year Ended December 31, | 2010 |  | 2009
| (Dollars in thousands) |  |  |  |  |
| Balance, beginning of year | $ | 1,435,000 |  | $ | 1,433,415
|  | Acquisitions |  | 17,101 |  |  | 15,750
|  | Impairment |  | — |  |  | (14,000)
|  | Other |  | — |  |  | (165)
| Balance, end of year | $ | 1,452,101 |  | $ | 1,435,000
Goodwill |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Year Ended December 31, | 2010 |  |  | 2009 |
| (Dollars in thousands) |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Assigned value at time of acquisition | $ | 494,737 |  |  | $ | 494,279 |
|  | Accumulated impairment losses in prior periods |  | — |  |  |  | — |
| Balance, beginning of period |  | 494,737 |  |  |  | 494,279 |
|  | Impairment |  | — |  |  |  | — |
|  | Acquisitions |  | — |  |  |  | — |
|  | Other |  | — |  |  |  | 458 |
| Balance, end of period | $ | 494,737 |  |  | $ | 494,737 |
See Note 1—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies and Recent Accounting Pronouncements for a description of accounting policies related to licenses and goodwill. 2010 Impairment Assessment In 2010, U.S. Cellular completed the required annual impairment assessment of its licenses and goodwill in the fourth quarter. The assessment resulted in no impairment of goodwill or licenses. 2009 Impairment Assessment In 2009, U.S. Cellular completed the required annual impairment assessment of its licenses and goodwill in t he fourth quarter. The assessment resulted in no impairment of goodwill and an impairment loss of $14.0 million on licenses. T he entire impairment loss relates to licenses in developed operating markets (built licenses). 2008 Impairment Assessment In 2008, U.S. Cellular completed the required annual impairment assessment of its licenses and goodwill as of April 1. As a result of the deterioration in the credit and financial markets and the decline of the overall economy in the fourth quarter of 2008, U.S. Cellular performed an interim impairment assessment of licenses and goodwill as of December 31, 2008. The assessment resulted in no impairment of goodwill and an impairment loss of $386.7 million on licenses. Of the $386.7 million, $330.6 million relate d to licenses in developed operating markets (built licenses) and $56.1 million relate d to licenses that are not being utilized (unbuilt licenses).

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- Definition Discloses 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 or 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. This element may be used as a single block of text to include the entire intangible asset disclosure including data and tables. + References Reference 1: 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 + Details
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