Property, Plant and Equipment

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2024

Property, Plant and Equipment [Abstract]

The carrying value of property, plant and equipment is as follows:


(Dollars in Thousands)	Depreciable Lives	June 30, 2024		December 31, 2023
Land	Indefinite	$	30,491	$	30,099
Building and improvements	3 - 40 years	370,191		366,490
Poles	30 years	326,387		314,489
Fiber	30 years	5,040,626		4,835,623
Equipment	5 - 7 years	475,671		460,463
Copper	20 years	3,973,190		3,974,410
Conduit	30 years	90,117		90,087
Tower assets	20 years	1,220		1,221
Finance lease assets	(1)	52,589		52,589
Other assets	15 - 20 years	10,436		10,436
Corporate assets	3 - 7 years	16,215		15,731
Construction in progress	(1)	49,146		49,771
		10,436,279		10,201,409
Less accumulated depreciation		(6,343,480)		(6,219,340)
Net property, plant and equipment		$	4,092,799	$	3,982,069

(1) See our Annual Report for property, plant and equipment accounting policies.

Depreciation expense for the three and six months ended June 30, 2024 was $70.6 million and $140.7 million, respectively. Depreciation expense for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023 was $69.8 million and $139.2 million, respectively.

CableSouth Transaction

In 2018, we acquired certain fiber assets from CableSouth Media, LLC (“CableSouth”) and leased back certain of those acquired assets to CableSouth pursuant to a triple-net lease.

During the fourth quarter of 2023, the Company entered into an agreement with a fund managed by Macquarie Asset Management ("MAM") pursuant to which MAM would make a structured equity investment into CableSouth in order to assist CableSouth in the acquisition of all of our previously acquired CableSouth fiber assets and the buyout of their triple-net lease for cash consideration of $40.0 million (the "CableSouth Transaction"). The Company completed the CableSouth Transaction on January 31, 2024 and recorded a $19.0 million gain on sale of real estate in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss).

The CableSouth Transaction is included in the results of the Uniti Leasing segment, and because the sale does not represent a strategic shift that will have a major effect on operations and financial results, it does not qualify for presentation as a discontinued operation.