Property, Plant and Equipment

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

Property, Plant and Equipment [Abstract]

Property, plant and equipment consist of the following:


($ in thousands)	Estimated Useful Lives	December 31, 2023		December 31, 2022
Land		$	3,692	$	3,722
Land improvements	10 years	4,448		3,483
Buildings and structures	10 - 45 years	95,436		93,461
Cable and fiber	15 - 30 years	799,612		593,771
Equipment and software	4 - 8 years	337,808		317,347
Plant in service		1,240,996		1,011,784
Plant under construction		145,710		144,534
Total property, plant and equipment		1,386,706		1,156,318
Less: accumulated depreciation and amortization		(507,207)		(468,765)
Property, plant and equipment, net		$	879,499	$	687,553

Property, plant and equipment, net increased due primarily to capital expenditures in the Broadband segment driven by our Glo Fiber market expansion. The Company’s accounts payable as of December 31, 2023 and 2022 included amounts associated with capital expenditures of approximately $51.1 million and $43.8 million, respectively. Depreciation and amortization expense was $65.0 million, $68.2 million, and $54.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, respectively. During year ended December 31, 2023, the Company disposed of fully depreciated property, plant and equipment assets, which reduced plant in service by approximately $26.0 million, with a corresponding offset to accumulated depreciation and amortization. The majority of disposals related to Beam assets as a result of the cessation of Beam assets described in the following paragraph.

In the fourth quarter of 2021, due to the availability of grants awarded under various governmental initiatives in support of rural FTTH broadband network expansion projects, we decided to cease further expansion of our Beam branded fixed wireless edge-out strategy, which is offered under our Broadband segment. During the second quarter of 2022, the Company permanently ceased operating 20 of our 55 Beam fixed wireless sites. Consequently, Shentel recorded an impairment charge of $4.1 million. The Company ceased its remaining Beam operations in the fourth quarter of 2022 and accelerated depreciation for remaining Beam network assets, which were expected to have limited use through 2023. Shentel recorded $7.4 million in accelerated depreciation during the year ended December 31, 2022 and impaired the remaining $1.5 million of Beam property, plant and equipment assets during the year ended December 31, 2023. Shentel also recorded $1.3 million in restructuring costs related to severance and other exit costs associated with the cessation of Beam operations during the year ended December 31, 2022. No restructuring costs related to Beam were recorded during the year ended December 31, 2023.