Property and Equipment

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

Property, Plant and Equipment [Abstract]

The major classes of property and equipment are summarized in the table below.


	Estimated Useful Lives	As of December 31,
		2023		2022
Land(a)	—	$	2,442	$	2,339
Buildings	40 years	209		221
Communications infrastructure assets	1-20 years	25,479		24,353
Information technology assets and other	2-7 years	681		652
Construction in process	—	1,134		913
Total gross property and equipment		29,945		28,478
Less: accumulated depreciation		(14,279)		(13,071)
Total property and equipment, net		$	15,666	$	15,407

(a)Includes land owned through fee interests and perpetual easements.

Depreciation expense for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $1.3 billion, and for each of the years ended December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, depreciation expense was $1.2 billion.

22% of the Company's towers are leased or subleased or operated and managed under a master lease or other related agreements with AT&T for a weighted-average initial term of approximately 28 years, weighted based on towers site rental gross margin. The Company has the option to purchase the leased and subleased towers from AT&T at the end of the respective lease or sublease terms for aggregate option payments of approximately $4.2 billion, which payments, if such option is exercised, would be due between 2032 and 2048.

31% of the Company's towers are leased or subleased or operated and managed under master leases, subleases, or other agreements with T-Mobile (including those which T-Mobile assumed in its merger with Sprint). Approximately half of such towers have an initial term of 32 years (through May 2037), and the Company has the option to purchase in 2037 all (but not less than all) of such leased and subleased towers from T-Mobile for approximately $2.3 billion. The remainder of such towers have a weighted-average initial term of approximately 28 years, weighted based on towers site rental gross margin, and the Company has the option to purchase such towers from T-Mobile at the end of the respective terms for aggregate option payments of approximately $2.0 billion, which payments, if such option is exercised, would be due between 2035 and 2049. In addition, another 1% of the Company's towers under master leases, subleases, or other agreements with T-Mobile are subject to a lease and sublease or other related arrangements with AT&T. The Company has the option to purchase these towers from AT&T at the end of their respective lease terms for aggregate option payments of up to approximately $400 million as of December 31, 2023, which payments, if such option is exercised, would be due prior to 2032 (less than $15 million would be due before 2029).

See note 13 for further discussion of finance leases recorded as "Property and equipment, net" on the Company's consolidated balance sheet.