Property, Plant and Equipment

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Property, Plant and Equipment [Abstract]

Note 4. Property, Plant and Equipment

Property, plant and equipment consists of the following at December 31, 2011 and 2010:

	Estimated Useful Lives	2011		2010
		(in thousands)
Land		$	3,087	$	2,409
Buildings and structures	15 – 40 years		71,934		67,168
Cable and wire	4 – 40 years		155,884		137,676
Equipment and software	2 – 16.7 years		305,362		259,405
Plant in service		$	536,267	$	466,658
Plant under construction			12,389		25,515
			548,656		492,173
Less accumulated amortization and depreciation			237,902		212,122
Property, plant and equipment, net		$	310,754	$	280,051

During 2011, the Company traded in certain PCS equipment for equipment with additional capacity and received credits of $2.9 million against the fair value purchase price of the new equipment. The Company recognized gains of $1.8 million for the difference between the book value of the equipment traded in and the trade-in credit received.

- Definition

Tabular disclosure of the useful life and salvage value of long-lived, physical assets that are used in the normal conduct of business to produce goods and services and not intended for resale. Examples include land, buildings, machinery and equipment, and other types of furniture and equipment including, but not limited to, office equipment, furniture and fixtures, and computer equipment and software.

+ References+ Details