PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2015

Property, Plant and Equipment [Abstract]

Property, Plant and Equipment (Including Equipment Under Capital Leases)

Property, plant and equipment (including equipment under capital leases) consist of the following assets, which are depreciated or amortized on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives shown below:
	December 31,						Estimated
	2015			2014			Useful Lives
Customer equipment	$	1,952,336		$	1,954,512		3 to 5 years
Headends and related equipment	1,571,750			1,437,681			4 to 25 years
Central office equipment	816,539			811,320			5 to 10 years
Infrastructure	5,639,226			5,695,519			3 to 25 years
Equipment and software	1,577,616			1,507,500			3 to 10 years
Construction in progress (including materials and supplies)	87,412			97,955
Furniture and fixtures	96,561			94,265			5 to 12 years
Transportation equipment	210,013			217,486			5 to 18 years
Buildings and building improvements	322,267			303,344			10 to 40 years
Leasehold improvements	354,136			345,942			Term of lease
Land	14,507			14,538
	12,642,363			12,480,062
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization	(9,625,348		)	(9,454,315		)
	$	3,017,015		$	3,025,747

Gross Amount of Equipment and Related Accumulated Amortization Recorded Under Capital Leases

At December 31, 2015 and 2014, the gross amount of equipment and related accumulated amortization recorded under capital leases were as follows:

	December 31,
	2015			2014
Equipment	$	90,099		$	95,719
Less accumulated amortization	(28,119		)	(39,951		)
	$	61,980		$	55,768