Frontier Communications 2014 Annual Report Download - page 77

An analysis of the activity in the allowance for doubtful accounts for the years ended December 31,
2014, 2013 and 2012 is as follows:
($ in thousands)
Balance at
beginning of
Period
Charged to
Other Revenue
Charged (Credited) to
Switched and
Nonswitched Revenue
and Other Accounts
Write-offs and
Recoveries
Balance at end
of Period
2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $107,048 $74,332 $14,396 $(102,509) $93,267
2013 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93,267 68,965 (3,203) (87,667) 71,362
2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71,362 61,138 (22) (60,907) 71,571
We maintain an allowance for doubtful accounts based on our estimate of our ability to collect
accounts receivable. The provision for uncollectible amounts was $61 million, $66 million and $89
million for the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012, respectively.
(5) Property, Plant and Equipment:
Property, plant and equipment, net at December 31, 2014 and 2013 are as follows:
($ in thousands)
Estimated
Useful Lives 2014 2013
Land . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N/A $ 147,044 $ 126,483
Buildings and leasehold improvements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 years 1,325,865 1,061,097
General support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 to 17 years 1,037,279 977,941
Central office/electronic circuit equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 to 11 years 5,933,450 5,222,928
Poles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 years 671,931 549,322
Cable and wire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 to 30 years 6,973,234 6,259,292
Conduit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 years 509,418 359,974
Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 to 30 years 46,485 43,144
Construction work in progress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301,189 250,516
Property, plant and equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,945,895 14,850,697
Less: Accumulated depreciation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (8,379,847) (7,594,935)
Property, plant and equipment, net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 8,566,048 $ 7,255,762
Depreciation expense is principally based on the composite group method. Depreciation expense
was $835 million, $841 million and $845 million for the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013 and
2012, respectively. As a result of our annual independent study of the estimated remaining useful lives
of our plant assets, we adopted new estimated remaining useful lives for certain plant assets as of
October 1, 2014, with an insignificant impact to depreciation expense. In addition, we commissioned an
independent study to determine the estimated useful lives for assets acquired during the Connecticut
Acquisition. These new lives were adopted effective October 24, 2014.
(6) Goodwill and Other Intangibles:
The components of goodwill by the reporting units in effect as of December 31, 2014 and 2013 are
as follows:
($ in thousands) 2014 2013
Central . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,815,498 $1,815,498
East . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,711,061 2,003,574
Mid-Atlantic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,160,151 —
National . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,218,113 1,218,113
West. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,300,534 1,300,534
Total Goodwill. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $7,205,357 $6,337,719
F-16
FRONTIER COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements