[exelius]

"Goodwill" is simply an accounting term (remove any preconceptions of what "goodwill" actually is).

Goodwill is essentially what happens when you pay over book value for an asset.

It's quite common in telecom, because telecom infrastructure investments are generally depreciated over 10 years, but the capital assets still have some value even after they've been depreciated for tax purposes. If they were still listed as capital assets they could be depreciated, so they have to be booked as an asset somewhere.