Revenue for Telecoms
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52 | <strong>Revenue</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>Telecoms</strong> – Issues In-Depth<br />
| 3 Step 2: Identify the per<strong>for</strong>mance obligations in the contract<br />
Example 20 – Wireless family plan with shared data<br />
Telco X enters into a contract with Customer C to provide Customer C and his<br />
child a family wireless share plan. The plan is comprised of two voice plans, two<br />
text plans and 5GB of shared data <strong>for</strong> a fixed monthly fee. The minutes and texts<br />
are not shared. Customer C and his child each have their own wireless handsets.<br />
Customer C and his child are able to benefit from the voice, text and data services<br />
individually, together with readily available resources (i.e. the existing handsets).<br />
Similarly, the two voice plans and the two text plans do not trans<strong>for</strong>m one another<br />
and are there<strong>for</strong>e not highly interrelated. Telco X also promised to provide data<br />
services to two users (Customer C and his child), and assesses if this creates two<br />
per<strong>for</strong>mance obligations. Even though the data is shared between the two users,<br />
Telco X determines that the data service is one per<strong>for</strong>mance obligation.<br />
Telco X there<strong>for</strong>e concludes that the contract contains five per<strong>for</strong>mance<br />
obligations: the two voice plans, the two text plans and the shared data plan.<br />
Similar to the triple-play in Example 18, Telco X may decide as a practical matter<br />
that it is acceptable to account <strong>for</strong> the bundle as a single per<strong>for</strong>mance obligation if<br />
all per<strong>for</strong>mance obligations have the same pattern of transfer (see 6.3).<br />
Observations<br />
Bundled telecom contracts may contain several service per<strong>for</strong>mance<br />
obligations<br />
A telecom entity typically offers arrangements that can include varying service<br />
combinations, such as wireless, internet, television and landline voice. Each<br />
service is regularly sold separately, further supporting the conclusion that<br />
customers can benefit from each on its own (Criterion 1). Applying Criterion 2,<br />
however, requires judgment. The entity should analyze if the services are<br />
separately identifiable. The fact that the services are regularly sold separately<br />
generally evidences that they do not trans<strong>for</strong>m one another. Furthermore, that<br />
analysis considers whether there is an interrelationship between the services –<br />
e.g. in enterprise contracts where the services are complex.<br />
For practical reasons, dissimilar telecom services delivered concurrently<br />
can be treated as one per<strong>for</strong>mance obligation when they have the same<br />
pattern of transfer<br />
ASU 2014-09.BC116<br />
[IFRS 15.BC116]<br />
606-10-50-5 – 50-6<br />
[IFRS 15.114–115]<br />
Many telecom services are dissimilar (e.g. television, internet, voice) but are<br />
delivered concurrently. When per<strong>for</strong>mance obligations are dissimilar but have the<br />
same pattern of transfer (see 6.3), treating them as one per<strong>for</strong>mance obligation<br />
may have no effect on the overall pattern of revenue recognition. The classification<br />
of the revenues received, however, <strong>for</strong> disaggregated revenue disclosure or<br />
segment reporting requirements, as well as management, regulatory and tax<br />
reporting, should be considered.<br />
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