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United States Cellular Corporation
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
NOTE 10 PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT
Property, plant and equipment in service and under construction, and related accumulated depreciation
and amortization, as of December 31, 2012 and 2011 were as follows:
Useful Lives
December 31, (Years) 2012 2011
(Dollars in thousands)
Land .............................. N/A $ 33,947 $ 30,807
Buildings ........................... 20 341,852 330,925
Leasehold and land improvements ......... 1-30 1,188,720 1,129,818
Cell site equipment .................... 6-25 3,100,916 2,874,397
Switching equipment .................. 1-8 1,155,114 1,113,780
Office furniture and equipment ............ 3-5 535,656 570,776
Other operating assets and equipment ...... 5-25 128,290 127,253
System development .................. 3-7 631,184 545,193
Work in process ...................... N/A 362,749 285,500
7,478,428 7,008,449
Accumulated depreciation and amortization . . (4,455,840) (4,218,147)
$ 3,022,588 $ 2,790,302
Depreciation and amortization expense totaled $597.7 million, $565.1 million and $559.0 million in 2012,
2011 and 2010, respectively. As a result of the Divestiture Transaction, U.S. Cellular recognized
incremental depreciation and amortization in 2012. See Note 7—Acquisitions, Divestitures and
Exchanges for additional information.
In 2012, 2011 and 2010, (Gain) loss on asset disposals and exchanges, net included charges of
$18.1 million, $9.9 million and $10.7 million, respectively, related to disposals of assets, trade-ins of older
assets for replacement assets and other retirements of assets from service in the normal course of
business. The 2011 (Gain) loss on asset disposals and exchanges, net also included a gain on the
exchange of licenses, as described in Note 7—Acquisitions, Divestitures and Exchanges
NOTE 11 ASSET RETIREMENT OBLIGATIONS
U.S. Cellular is subject to asset retirement obligations associated with its leased cell sites, switching
office sites, retail store sites and office locations in its operating markets. Asset retirement obligations
generally include obligations to restore leased land and retail store and office premises to their pre-lease
conditions. These obligations are included in Other deferred liabilities and credits in the Consolidated
Balance Sheet.
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