UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D. C. 20549
FORM 10-Q

(Mark One)
QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
 For the quarterly period ended March 31,September 30, 2017
TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
 For the transition period from__________ to __________

Commission File No.: 000-09881
shenimagea01.jpg
SHENANDOAH TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANY
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

VIRGINIA 54-1162807
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

500 Shentel Way, Edinburg, Virginia    22824
(Address of principal executive offices)  (Zip Code)

(540) 984-4141
(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)
 
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.  Yes ☑   No ☐
 
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).   Yes  ☑   No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer ☑Accelerated filer ☐Non-accelerated filer ☐
Smaller reporting company☐Emerging growth company☐ 

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).
Yes ☐    No  ☑

 
The number of shares of the registrant’s common stock outstanding on April 26,October 27, 2017 was 49,109,626.49,264,693. 
 

SHENANDOAH TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANY
INDEX

 
Page
Numbers
 
Page
Numbers
PART I.FINANCIAL INFORMATION  FINANCIAL INFORMATION  
      
Item 1.Financial Statements  Financial Statements  
      
--
      
      
      
--
      
--
      
Item 2.--
      
Item 3.
      
Item 4.
    
PART II.OTHER INFORMATION OTHER INFORMATION 
    
Item 1A.
    
Item 2.
    
Item 6.
    
    



Index



SHENANDOAH TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(in thousands)

ASSETS March 31,
2017
 December 31,
2016
 September 30,
2017
 December 31,
2016
        
Current Assets        
Cash and cash equivalents $39,927
 $36,193
 $75,467
 $36,193
Accounts receivable, net 68,709
 69,789
Accounts receivable, net of allowance of $479 and $449, respectively 64,396
 69,789
Income taxes receivable 7,689
 
Inventory, net 24,855
 39,043
 7,439
 39,043
Prepaid expenses and other 16,989
 16,440
 18,226
 16,440
Total current assets 150,480
 161,465
 173,217
 161,465
        
Investments, including $3,058 and $2,907 carried at fair value 10,607
 10,276
Investments, including $3,271 and $2,907 carried at fair value 11,319
 10,276
        
Property, plant and equipment, net 689,948
 698,122
 683,355
 698,122
        
Other Assets  
  
  
  
Intangible assets, net 443,308
 454,532
 421,672
 454,532
Goodwill 144,001
 145,256
 146,497
 145,256
Deferred charges and other assets, net 14,645
 14,756
 11,012
 14,756
Total assets $1,452,989
 $1,484,407
 $1,447,072
 $1,484,407



(Continued)


Index

SHENANDOAH TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(in thousands)

LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY March 31,
2017
 December 31,
2016
 September 30,
2017
 December 31,
2016
        
Current Liabilities        
Current maturities of long-term debt, net of unamortized loan fees $38,124
 $32,041
 $54,316
 $32,041
Accounts payable 25,390
 72,810
 31,462
 72,810
Advanced billings and customer deposits 21,029
 20,427
 21,109
 20,427
Accrued compensation 3,678
 9,465
 7,373
 9,465
Income taxes payable 3,958
 435
 
 435
Accrued liabilities and other 18,174
 29,085
 15,277
 29,085
Total current liabilities 110,353
 164,263
 129,537
 164,263
        
Long-term debt, less current maturities, net of unamortized loan fees 810,873
 797,224
 778,686
 797,224
        
Other Long-Term Liabilities  
  
  
  
Deferred income taxes 149,763
 151,837
 142,056
 151,837
Deferred lease payable 19,230
 18,042
 21,089
 18,042
Asset retirement obligations 19,386
 15,666
 19,240
 15,666
Retirement plan obligations 17,892
 17,738
 16,939
 17,738
Other liabilities 26,057
 23,743
 40,180
 23,743
Total other long-term liabilities 232,328
 227,026
 239,504
 227,026
        
Commitments and Contingencies 

 

 

 

        
Shareholders’ Equity  
  
  
  
Common stock 46,083
 45,482
 43,908
 45,482
Retained earnings 245,965
 243,624
 249,419
 243,624
Accumulated other comprehensive income, net of taxes 7,387
 6,788
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), net of taxes 6,018
 6,788
Total shareholders’ equity 299,435
 295,894
 299,345
 295,894
        
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity $1,452,989
 $1,484,407
 $1,447,072
 $1,484,407

See accompanying notes to unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

Index

SHENANDOAH TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOMEOPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS)
(in thousands, except per share amounts)
 
 Three Months Ended
March 31,
 Three Months Ended
September 30,
 Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 2017 2016 2017 2016 2017 2016
            
Operating revenues $153,880
 $92,571
 $151,782
 $156,836
 $458,920
 $379,716
            
Operating expenses:  
  
  
  
  
  
Cost of goods and services, exclusive of depreciation and amortization shown separately below 53,761
 31,762
 55,834
 58,317
 162,976
 140,354
Selling, general and administrative, exclusive of depreciation and amortization shown separately below 40,153
 21,426
 42,199
 40,369
 125,374
 96,263
Integration and acquisition expenses 4,489
 332
 1,706
 15,272
 9,873
 35,801
Depreciation and amortization 44,804
 17,739
 42,568
 46,807
 132,297
 96,961
Total operating expenses 143,207
 71,259
 142,307
 160,765
 430,520
 369,379
Operating income 10,673
 21,312
Operating income (loss) 9,475
 (3,929) 28,400
 10,337
            
Other income (expense):  
  
  
  
  
  
Interest expense (9,100) (1,619) (9,823) (8,845) (28,312) (16,369)
Gain on investments, net 120
 88
Non-operating income, net 1,255
 468
Income before income taxes 2,948
 20,249
Gain (loss) on investments, net 202
 127
 395
 237
Non-operating income (loss), net 1,003
 1,400
 3,482
 2,910
Income (loss) before income taxes 857
 (11,247) 3,965
 (2,885)
            
Income tax expense 607
 6,368
Net income 2,341
 13,881
Income tax expense (benefit) (2,677) (3,651) (1,830) (2,174)
Net income (loss) 3,534
 (7,596) 5,795
 (711)
            
Other comprehensive income (loss):  
  
  
  
  
  
Unrealized gain (loss) on interest rate hedge, net of tax 599
 (1,048) 6
 1,712
 (770) (2,573)
Comprehensive income $2,940
 $12,833
Comprehensive income (loss) $3,540
 $(5,884) $5,025
 $(3,284)
            
Earnings per share:  
  
Earnings (loss) per share:  
  
  
  
Basic $0.05
 $0.29
 $0.07
 $(0.16) $0.12
 $(0.01)
Diluted $0.05
 $0.28
 $0.07
 $(0.16) $0.12
 $(0.01)
Weighted average shares outstanding, basic 49,050
 48,563
 49,133
 48,909
 49,100
 48,768
Weighted average shares outstanding, diluted 49,834
 49,249
 49,959
 48,909
 49,869
 48,768
 
See accompanying notes to unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

Index

SHENANDOAH TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
(in thousands, except per share amounts)

 
 
Shares
 
Common
Stock
 
Retained
Earnings
 
Accumulated
Other
Comprehensive
Income,
net of tax
 Total 
 
Shares
 
Common
Stock
 
Retained
Earnings
 
Accumulated
Other
Comprehensive
Income,
net of tax
 Total
Balance, December 31, 2015 48,475
 $32,776
 $256,747
 $415
 $289,938
 48,475
 $32,776
 $256,747
 $415
 $289,938
                    
Net loss 
 
 (895) 
 (895)
Other comprehensive gain, net of tax 
 
 
 6,373
 6,373
Net income (loss) 
 
 (895) 
 (895)
Other comprehensive gain (loss), net of tax 
 
 
 6,373
 6,373
Dividends declared ($0.25 per share) 
 
 (12,228) 
 (12,228) 
 
 (12,228) 
 (12,228)
Dividends reinvested in common stock 19
 524
 
 
 524
 19
 524
 
 
 524
Stock based compensation 
 3,506
 
 
 3,506
 
 3,506
 
 
 3,506
Stock options exercised 371
 3,359
 
 
 3,359
 371
 3,359
 
 
 3,359
Common stock issued for share awards 190
 
 
 
 
 190
 
 
 
 
Common stock issued 2
 14
 
 
 14
 2
 14
 
 
 14
Common stock issued to acquire non-controlling interests of nTelos 76
 10,400
 
 
 10,400
 76
 10,400
 
 
 10,400
Common stock repurchased (198) (5,097) 
 
 (5,097) (198) (5,097) 
 
 (5,097)
                    
Balance, December 31, 2016 48,935
 $45,482
 $243,624
 $6,788
 $295,894
 48,935
 $45,482
 $243,624
 $6,788
 $295,894
Net income 
 
 2,341
 
 2,341
Other comprehensive gain, net of tax 
 
 
 599
 599
         

Net income (loss) 
 
 5,795
 
 5,795
Unrealized gain (loss) on interest rate hedge, net of tax 
 
 
 (770) (770)
Stock based compensation 
 1,822
 
 
 1,822
 
 3,557
 
 
 3,557
Stock options exercised 295
 1,944
 
 
 1,944
Common stock issued for share awards 129
 
 
 
 
 153
 
 
 
 
Common stock issued 1
 5
 
 
 5
 1
 16
 
 
 16
Common stock issued to acquire non-controlling interests of nTelos 76
 
 
 
 
 76
 
 
 
 
Common stock repurchased (43) (1,226) 
 
 (1,226) (195) (7,091) 
 
 (7,091)
Balance, March 31, 2017 49,098
 $46,083
 $245,965
 $7,387
 $299,435
Balance, September 30, 2017 49,265
 $43,908
 $249,419
 $6,018
 $299,345

See accompanying notes to unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

Index

SHENANDOAH TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(in thousands)
 
 Three Months Ended
March 31,
 Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 2017 2016 2017 2016
Cash Flows From Operating Activities        
Net income $2,341
 $13,881
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:  
  
Net income (loss) $5,795
 $(711)
Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash provided by operating activities:  
  
Depreciation 37,878
 17,454
 113,437
 84,256
Amortization reflected as operating expense 6,926
 285
 18,860
 12,705
Amortization reflected as contra revenue 4,978
 
 15,563
 8,883
Amortization reflected as rent expense 258
 
 2,173
 
Provision for bad debt 420
 345
 1,479
 1,278
Straight line adjustment to management fee revenue 4,206
 
 12,960
 7,687
Stock based compensation expense 1,566
 1,048
 3,053
 2,570
Deferred income taxes (2,910) (1,489) (12,251) (57,196)
Net gain on disposal of equipment (28) (15)
Unrealized gain on investments (120) (16)
Net gains from patronage and equity investments (200) (210)
Amortization of long term debt issuance costs 1,202
 132
Net (gain) loss on disposal of equipment 80
 (144)
Unrealized (gain) loss on investments (308) (180)
Net (gains) loss from patronage and equity investments (2,315) (497)
Amortization of debt issuance costs 3,572
 2,608
Other 
 3,039
 
 1,634
Changes in assets and liabilities:  
  
  
  
(Increase) decrease in:  
  
  
  
Accounts receivable 1,629
 2,470
 6,418
 7,903
Inventory, net 14,188
 (267) 31,604
 (6,134)
Income taxes receivable (8,704) 8,294
Other assets (190) 988
 (162) 2,619
Increase (decrease) in:  
  
  
  
Accounts payable (39,399) 1,895
 (30,795) 3,551
Income taxes payable 3,523
 6,981
 (435) 16,225
Deferred lease payable 1,331
 208
 3,729
 2,728
Other deferrals and accruals (13,101) (3,559) (5,048) (2,633)
Net cash provided by operating activities 24,498
 43,170
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities $158,705
 $95,446
        
Cash Flows From Investing Activities  
  
  
  
Acquisition of property, plant and equipment (38,587) (20,537) (109,435) (102,850)
Proceeds from sale of equipment 117
 145
Proceeds from sale of assets 356
 287
Cash distributions from investments 3
 45
 27
 2,796
Additional contributions to investments (14) 
 (23) 
Cash disbursed for acquisition 
 (2,480)
Net cash used in investing activities (38,481) (22,827)
Cash disbursed for acquisition, net of cash acquired (6,000) (655,590)
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities $(115,075) $(755,357)

(Continued)

Index

SHENANDOAH TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(in thousands)

 Three Months Ended
March 31,
 Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 2017 2016 2017 2016
Cash Flows From Financing Activities        
Principal payments on long-term debt $(6,062) $(5,750) $(24,250) $(207,816)
Amounts borrowed under debt agreements 25,000
 
 25,000
 835,000
Cash paid for debt issuance costs 
 (1,528) 
 (14,825)
Repurchases of common stock (1,226) (3,526) (5,106) (5,097)
Proceeds from issuances of common stock 5
 2,809
Net cash provided by/(used in) financing activities 17,717
 (7,995)
Proceeds from issuance of common stock 
 3,368
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities $(4,356) $610,630
        
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents 3,734
 12,348
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents $39,274
 $(49,281)
        
Cash and cash equivalents:  
  
  
  
Beginning 36,193
 76,812
 36,193
 76,812
Ending $39,927
 $89,160
 $75,467
 $27,531
        
Supplemental Disclosures of Cash Flow Information  
  
  
  
Cash payments for:  
  
  
  
Interest, net of capitalized interest of $577 and $146, respectively $8,380
 $1,632
Interest, net of capitalized interest of $1,266 and $909, respectively $25,934
 $14,671
        
Income taxes paid, net of refunds received $
 $876
 $19,567
 $23,851

Non-cash investing and financing activities:
 
At March 31,September 30, 2017 and 2016, accounts payable included approximately $6.4$3.8 million and $1.2$14.2 million, respectively, associated with capital expenditures. Cash flows for accounts payable and acquisition of property, plant and equipment exclude this activity.

During the quarternine months ended March 31, 2017,September 30, 2016, in conjunction with the acquisition of nTelos, the Company recorded an increaseissued common stock to acquire non-controlling interests held by third parties in the fair valuea subsidiary of interest rate swaps of $972 thousand, an increase in deferred tax liabilities of $373 thousand, and an increase to accumulated other comprehensive income of $599 thousand.nTelos. The transaction was valued at $10.4 million.

See accompanying notes to unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

Index

SHENANDOAH TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

1.Basis of Presentation

The interim condensed consolidated financial statements of Shenandoah Telecommunications Company and Subsidiaries (collectively, the “Company”) are unaudited.  In the opinion of management, all adjustments necessary for a fair presentation of the interim results have been reflected therein.  All such adjustments weretherein in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States ("GAAP") for interim financial reporting and as required by Rule 10-01 of a normalRegulation S-X.  Accordingly, the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements may not include all of the information and recurring nature.  Prior yearnotes required by GAAP for audited financial statements. The preparation of condensed consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts have been reclassified in some cases to conform toof assets and liabilities, and related disclosures, as of the current year presentation. Thesedate of the financial statements, and the amounts of revenue and expenses reported during the period. Actual results could differ from estimates. The information contained herein should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and related notesincluded in the Company’sCompany's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016. The accompanying balance sheet information at December 31, 2016 was derived from the audited December 31, 2016 consolidated balance sheet. Operating revenues and income (loss) from operations for any interim period are not necessarily indicative of results that may be expected for the entire year.

Management has made an immaterial error correction to the accompanying prior period unaudited condensed consolidated statement of cash flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 to decrease both the amount of net cash provided by operating activities and the amount of net cash used in investing activities by approximately 10.4 million to properly reflect the common stock issued (non-cash) by the Company to acquire non-controlling interests in a subsidiary of nTelos held by third parties in conjunction with the nTelos acquisition. This immaterial error correction had no effect on the net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents for the period or the beginning or ending balance of cash and cash equivalents for the period.

Recently Issued Accounting Standards

There have been no developments to recently issued accounting standards, including the expected dates of adoption and estimated effects on the Company's consolidated financial statements and note disclosures, from those disclosed in the Company's 2016 Annual Report on Form 10-K, that would be expected to impact the Company except for the following:

In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") No. 2014-09, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers”, which requires an entity to recognize the amount of revenue to which it expects to be entitled for the transfer of promised goods or services to customers. The ASU will replace most existing revenue recognition guidance in U.S. GAAP when it becomes effective. In August 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-14, delaying the effective date of ASU 2014-09. Three other amendments have been issued during 2016 modifying the original ASU. As amended, the new standard is effective for the Company on January 1, 2018, using either a retrospective basis or a modified retrospective basis with early adoption permitted. The Company plans to adopt the standard effective January 1, 2018 using the modified retrospective transition approach; under this approach prior periods will not be retrospectively adjusted.
The Company is continuing to assess all potential impacts of the standard, including the impact to the pattern with which revenue and direct and contract fulfillment costs are recognized, the impact of the standard on current accounting policies, practices and system of internal controls, in order to identify material differences, if any that would result from applying the new requirements. 
The Company is in the process of establishing new policies and processes, and is implementing necessary changes to data and procedures necessary to comply with the new requirements.
While continuing to assess all potential impacts of the standard, the Company believes the adoption will not have a significant effect on earnings however, the presentation of certain costs may change and disclosures will be impacted. The Company is still in the process of evaluating the impacts and the initial assessment may change.
In January 2016, the FASB issuedASU 2016-01, “Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities”In addition to the presentation and disclosure requirements for financial instruments, ASU 2016-01 requires entities to measure equity investments, other than those accounted for under the equity method, at fair value and recognize changes in fair value in net income. Entities will no longer be able to use the cost method of accounting for equity securities. However, for equity investments without readily determinable fair values that do not qualify for the practical expedient to estimate fair value using net asset value per share, entities may elect a measurement alternative that will allow those investments to be recorded at cost, less impairment, and adjusted for subsequent observable price changes. Entities must record
Index

a cumulative-effect adjustment to the balance sheet as of the beginning of the first reporting period in which the standard is adopted, except for equity investments without readily determinable fair values, for which the guidance will be applied prospectively. The guidance under ASU 2016-01 is effective for annual and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2017.  The Company has not yet completed its assessment of the impact of the new standard on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, “Leases”, which requires the recognition of lease assets and lease liabilities by lessees for those leases classified as operating leases under previous generally accepted accounting principles.  The ASU is effective for us on January 1, 2019, and early application is permitted.  Modified retrospective application is required.  The Company plans to adopt this standard when it becomes effective for the Company beginning January 1, 2019, and expects the adoption of this standard will result in the recognition of right of use assets and lease liabilities that have not previously been recorded, which will have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments. ASU 2016-15 is intended to reduce diversity in practice in how certain cash receipts and cash payments are presented and classified in the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows by providing guidance on eight specific cash flow issues. The Company intends to adopt the standard retrospectively on the effective date of January 1, 2018 and does not expect the adoption of the ASU to have a material effect on cash flows.

In March 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-07, "Improving the Presentation of Net Periodic Pension Cost and Net Periodic Postretirement Benefit Cost". The update requires employers to present the service cost component of the net periodic benefit cost in the same income statement line item as other employee compensation costs arising from services rendered during the period. The other components of net benefit cost, including interest cost, expected return on plan assets, amortization of prior service cost/credit and actuarial gain/loss, and settlement and curtailment effects, are to be presented outside of any subtotal of operating income. Employers will have to disclose the line(s) used to present the other components of net periodic benefit cost, if the components are not presented separately in the income statementASU 2017-07 is effective for fiscal years and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2017, and early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently assessing the impact that adopting this new accounting standard will have on its consolidated financial statements. The Company does not expect the adoption of ASU 2017-07 to have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements, nor does the Company expect to early adopt ASU 2017-07.

In August 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-12, "Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities". This update is intended to simplify hedge accounting by better aligning an entity’s financial reporting for hedging relationships with its risk management activities. The ASU also simplifies the application of the hedge accounting guidance. ASU 2017-12 is effective on January 1, 2019, with early adoption permitted. For cash flow hedges existing at the adoption date, the standard requires adoption on a modified retrospective basis with a cumulative-effect adjustment to the Consolidated Balance Sheet as of the beginning of the year of adoption, to the extent any ineffectiveness was previously recognized. The amendments to presentation guidance and disclosure requirements under this update are required to be adopted prospectively. The Company has not yet determined the effect of the ASU on our results of operations, financial condition or cash flows, nor has transition date been determined.

In September 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-13, "Revenue Recognition (Topic 605), Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606), Leases (Topic 840), and Leases (Topic 842)", which provided additional implementation guidance on the previously issued topics. The Company has not yet completed its assessment of the impact of the new standard on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.














Index

2.Acquisition of NTELOS Holdings Corp. and Exchange with SprintAcquisitions

Acquisition of NTELOS Holdings Corp. and Exchange with Sprint

On May 6, 2016, (the "acquisition date"), the Company completed its previously announced acquisition of NTELOS Holdings Corp. (“nTelos”) for $667.8 million, net(nTelos).  nTelos, was a regional provider of cash acquired.  The acquisitionwireless telecommunications solutions and was entered intoacquired to improve shareholder value through the expansion ofexpand the Company's Wirelesswireless service area and customersubscriber base, whilethus strengthening ourthe Company's relationship with Sprint Corporation ("Sprint"(Sprint).

Pursuant to the terms of the Agreement and Plan of Merger between the Company and nTelos (the "Merger Agreement")., nTelos became a direct wholly owned subsidiary of the Company. Pursuant to the terms of the Merger Agreement, the Company acquired all of the issued and outstanding capital stock of nTelos for an aggregate purchase price of $667.8 million. The purchase price was financed by a credit facility arranged by CoBank, ACB, Royal Bank of Canada, Fifth Third Bank, Bank of America, N.A., Capital One, National Association, Citizens Bank N.A., and Toronto Dominion (Texas) LLC. 

Transaction costs in connection with the acquisition were expensed as incurred and are included in integration and acquisition expenses in the condensed consolidated statement of operations. The results of operations related to nTelos are included in our consolidated statements of operations beginning from the date of acquisition.

The Company has accounted for the acquisition of nTelos under the acquisition method of accounting, in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”)FASB's Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 805, “Business Combinations”, and has accounted for measurement period adjustments under Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”)ASU 2015-16, “Simplifying the Accounting for Measurement Period Adjustments”.  UnderEstimates of fair value included in the consolidated financial statements, in conformity with ASC 820, "Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures", represent the Company's best estimates and valuations. In accordance with ASC 805, "Business Combinations", the allocation of the consideration value was subject to adjustment until the Company completed its analysis, in a period of time, but not to exceed one year after the date of acquisition, methodor May 6, 2017, in order to provide the Company with the time to complete the valuation of accounting,its assets and liabilities. The Company has completed and finalized its analysis and allocation of the totalconsideration value to assets acquired and liabilities assumed.































Index

The following table summarizes the final purchase price is allocatedallocation to the tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed, in connection with the acquisition based on their estimated fair values.including measurement period adjustments:
 Initial Estimate Measurement Period Adjustments Purchase Price Allocation
Accounts receivable$48,476
 $(1,242) 47,234
Inventory3,810
 762
 4,572
Restricted cash2,167
 
 2,167
Investments1,501
 
 1,501
Prepaid expenses and other assets14,835
 
 14,835
Building held for sale4,950
 
 4,950
Property, plant and equipment223,900
 3,347
 227,247
Spectrum licenses (1), (2)198,200
 
 198,200
Acquired subscribers - wireless (1), (2)198,200
 7,746
 205,946
Favorable lease intangible assets (2)11,000
 6,029
 17,029
Goodwill (3)151,627
 (5,244) 146,383
Other long term assets10,288
 555
 10,843
Total assets acquired$868,954
 $11,953
 $880,907
  
  
  
Accounts payable8,648
 (105) 8,543
Advanced billings and customer deposits12,477
 
 12,477
Accrued expenses25,230
 (2,089) 23,141
Capital lease liability418
 
 418
Deferred tax liabilities124,964
 4,327
 129,291
Retirement benefits19,461
 (263) 19,198
Other long-term liabilities14,056
 6,029
 20,085
Total liabilities assumed$205,254
 $7,899
 $213,153
  
  
  
Net assets acquired$663,700
 $4,054
 $667,754

The preliminary allocation
(1)Concurrently with acquiring nTelos, the Company completed its previously announced transaction with SprintCom, Inc., a subsidiary of Sprint.  Pursuant to this transaction, among other things,  the Company exchanged spectrum licenses, valued at $198.2 million and acquired subscribers - wireless, valued at $206.0 million, acquired from nTelos with Sprint, and received an expansion of its affiliate service territory to include most of the service area served by nTelos, valued at $283.3 million, as well as additional acquired subscribers - wireless, valued at $120.9 million, relating to nTelos’ and Sprint’s legacy customers in the Company’s affiliate service territory. These exchanges were accounted for in accordance with ASC 845, “Nonmonetary Transactions”. The transfer of spectrum to Sprint resulted in a taxable gain to the Company which will be recognized as the Company recognizes the cash benefit of the waived management fees over the remaining approximately five years.
(2)Identifiable intangible assets were measured using a combination of an income approach and a market approach. 
(3)Goodwill is the excess of the consideration transferred over the net assets recognized and represents the future economic benefits, primarily as a result of other assets acquired that could not be individually identified and separately recognized. The Company has recorded goodwill in its Wireless segment as a result of the nTelos acquisition.  Goodwill is not amortized. The goodwill that arose from the acquisition of nTelos is not deductible for tax purposes.

In addition to the purchase price was based upon management’s preliminary valuation ofchanges in the fair value of tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed of nTelos, with the excess recorded as goodwill. During the first quarter of 2017,balances reflected above, the Company made adjustmentsrevised provisional estimated useful lives of certain assets and recorded an adjustment to the preliminary estimatesamortization expense of fair value resulting in immaterial changes to previously estimated fair values of fixed assets, asset retirement obligation liabilities, accounts receivable and deferred taxes. These adjustments resulted in a $1.3$0.1 million reduction to goodwill as shown in the table below. The Company continues to review certain tax positions acquired in the nTelos acquisition.

Changes in the carrying amount of goodwill during the three months ended March 31,June 30, 2017, are shown below (in thousands):and recorded an adjustment during 2016 of $4.6 million to depreciation expense relating to the three months ended June 30, 2016.
Acquisition-related costs primarily related to legal services, professional services, and severance accruals, were expensed as incurred. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016, the Company incurred acquisition-related costs of $0.8 million and $15.9 million, respectively.
 December 31,
2016
Purchase Accounting AdjustmentsMarch 31,
2017
Goodwill - Wireline segment$10
$
$10
Goodwill - Cable segment104

104
Goodwill - Wireless segment145,142
(1,255)143,887
Goodwill as of March 31, 2017$145,256
$(1,255)$144,001
Index

FollowingThe amounts of operating revenue and income or loss before income taxes related to the former nTelos entity are not readily determinable due to intercompany transactions, allocations and integration activities that have occurred in connection with the unauditedoperations of the combined company.
The following table presents pro forma results ofinformation, based on estimates and assumptions that the Company believes to be reasonable, for the period ended March 31, 2016,Company as if the acquisition of nTelos had occurred at the beginning of the period.2016: (in thousands)

millions)
 March 31,
2016
Three Months Ended
September 30, 2016
 Nine Months Ended
September 30, 2016
Operating revenues $173,248
$157.8
 $492.1
Income before income taxes $16,905
Income (loss) before income taxes$(13.4) $(4.0)

The pro forma information provided in the table above is not necessarily indicative of the consolidated results of operations for future periods or the results that actually would have been realized had the acquisition been completed at the beginning of the periods presented.

The pro forma information provided in the table above is based upon estimated valuations of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed as well as estimates of depreciation and amortization charges thereon. Other estimated pro forma adjustments include the following:
changes in nTelos' reported revenues from cancelling nTelos' wholesale contract with Sprint;
the incorporation of the Sprint-homed customers formerly serviced under the wholesale agreement into the Company’s affiliate service territory under the Company’s affiliate agreement with Sprint;
the effect of other changes to revenues and expenses due to various provisions of the affiliate agreement, including fees charged under the affiliate agreement on revenues from former nTelos customers, a reduction of the net service fee charged by Sprint, the straight-line impact of the waived management fee, and the amortization of the affiliate agreement expansion intangible asset; and the elimination of non-recurring transaction related expenses incurred by the Company and nTelos;
the elimination of certain nTelos operating costs associated with billing and care that are covered under the fees charged by Sprint under the affiliate agreement;
historical depreciation expense was reduced for the fair value adjustment decreasing the basis of property, plant and equipment; this decrease was offset by a shorter estimated useful life to conform to the Company’s standard policy and the acceleration of depreciation on certain equipment; and
incremental amortization due to the Acquired subscribers - wireless intangible asset.

In connection with these transactions,the acquisition of nTelos, the Company incurs costs which include the nTelos back office staff and support functions until the nTelos legacy customers are migrated to the Sprint billing platform; costs of the handsets to be provided to
Index

nTelos legacy customers as they migrate to the Sprint billing platform; severance costs for back office and other former nTelos employees who will not be retained permanently; and costs to shut down certain cell sites and related backhaul contracts. We haveThe Company has incurred $7.1these costs as follows:
 Three Months Ended
September 30,
 Nine Months Ended
September 30,
Statement of Operations location:2017 2016 2017 2016
Cost of goods and services0.1
 0.7
 0.3
 1.0
Selling, general and administrative1.1
 4.2
 5.2
 7.1
Integration and acquisition1.7
 15.3
 9.9
 35.8
Total2.9
 20.2
 15.4
 43.9

The value of the affiliate agreement expansion discussed above is based on changes to the amended affiliate agreement that include:
an increase in the price to be paid by Sprint from 80% to 90% of the entire business value if the affiliate agreement is not renewed;
extension of the affiliate agreement with Sprint by five years to 2029;
expanded territory in the nTelos service area;
rights to serve all future Sprint customers in the affiliate service territory;
the Company's commitment to upgrade certain coverage and capacity in its newly acquired service area; and
Index

a reduction of the management fee charged by Sprint under the amended affiliate agreement; not to exceed $4.2 million in an individual month until the total waived fee equals $251.8 million, as well as an additional waiver of the management fee charged with respect to the former nTelos customers until the earlier of migration to the Sprint back-office billing and related systems or six months following the acquisition; not to exceed $5.0 million.

Intangible assets resulting from the acquisition of nTelos and the Sprint exchange, both described above, are noted below (in thousands):
 Useful Life Basis
Affiliate contract expansion14 years $283,302
Acquired subscribers - wireless4-10 years $120,855
Favorable lease intangible assets10 years $17,029

The affiliate contract expansion intangible asset is amortized on a straight-line basis and recorded as a contra-revenue over the remaining 14 year initial contract term.  The Acquired subscribers rights - wireless intangible is amortized over the life of the customers, gradually decreasing over the expected life of this asset, and recorded through amortization expense. The favorable lease intangible assets are amortized on a straight-line basis and recorded through rent expense.  The value of these costsintangible assets includes measurement period adjustments.

Acquisition of Expansion Area

On April 6, 2017, the Company expanded its affiliate service territory, under its agreements with Sprint, to include certain areas in North Carolina, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio and West Virginia.  The expanded territory includes the Parkersburg, WV, Huntington, WV, and Cumberland, MD, basic trading areas. Approximately 25,000 Sprint retail and former nTelos postpaid and prepaid subscribers in the three months ended March 31, 2017, including $0.1 million reflected in cost of goods and services and $2.5 million reflected in selling, general and administrative costs innew basic trading areas became Sprint-branded affiliate customers managed by the three months ended March 31, 2017.Company.


3.    Property, Plant and Equipment
3.Property, Plant and Equipment

Property, plant and equipment consisted of the following (in thousands):

 March 31,
2017
 December 31,
2016
 September 30,
2017
 December 31,
2016
Plant in service $1,124,446
 $1,085,318
 $1,187,799
 $1,085,318
Plant under construction 61,980
 73,759
 67,099
 73,759
 1,186,426
 1,159,077
 1,254,898
 1,159,077
Less accumulated amortization and depreciation 496,478
 460,955
 571,543
 460,955
Net property, plant and equipment $689,948
 $698,122
 $683,355
 $698,122

4.Earnings (loss) per share ("EPS")

Basic net income (loss) per share was computed onby dividing net income or loss by the weighted average number of shares outstanding.of common stock outstanding during the period.  Diluted net income (loss) per share was computed under the treasury stock method, assuming the conversion as of the beginning of the period, for all dilutive stock options. Of 913 thousandDiluted EPS was computed by dividing net income by the sum of the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding and 991 thousandpotentially dilutive securities outstanding during the period under the treasury stock method. Potentially dilutive securities include stock options and restricted stock units and shares that the Company is contractually obligated to issue in the future.

Index

  Three Months Ended
September 30,
 Nine Months Ended
September 30,
(in thousands, except per share amounts) 2017 2016 2017 2016
Basic income (loss) per share        
Net income (loss) $3,534
 $(7,596) $5,795
 $(711)
Basic weighted average shares outstanding 49,133
 48,909
 49,100
 48,768
Basic income (loss) per share $0.07
 $(0.16) $0.12
 $(0.01)
         
Effect of stock options and awards outstanding:        
Basic weighted average shares outstanding 49,133
 48,909
 49,100
 48,768
Effect from dilutive shares and options outstanding 826
 
 769
 
Diluted weighted average shares 49,959
 48,909
 49,869
 48,768
Diluted income (loss) per share $0.07
 $(0.16) $0.12
 $(0.01)

Due to the net loss for the three and options outstanding at March 31, 2017 andnine months ended September 30, 2016, respectively, 125 thousand and 136 thousand were anti-dilutive, respectively.  Theseno adjustment was made to basic shares, and optionsas such an adjustment would have been excluded from the computationsanti-dilutive.

The computation of diluted earnings per share forEPS does not include certain unvested awards, on a weighted average basis, because their respective period. There were no adjustments to net income for either period.inclusion would have an anti-dilutive effect on EPS. The awards excluded because of their anti-dilutive effect are as follows:

  Three Months Ended
September 30,
 Nine Months Ended
September 30,
(in thousands) 2017 2016 2017 2016
Awards excluded from the computation of diluted net income per share because their inclusion would have been anti-dilutive 
 893
 94
 778
5.Investments

Investments include $3.1$3.3 million and $2.9 million of investments carried at fair value as of March 31,September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively, consisting of equity, bond and money market mutual funds.  Investments carried at fair value were acquired under a rabbi trust arrangement related to the Company’s nonqualified Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan (the “SERP”). The Company purchases investments in the trust to mirror the investment elections of participants in the SERP; gains and losses on the investments in the trust are reflected as increases or decreases in the liability owed to the participants. During the threenine months ended March 31,September 30, 2017, the Company recognized $32$59 thousand in dividend and interest income from investments, and recorded net unrealized gains of $120$308 thousand on these investments. Fair values for these investments held under the rabbi trust were determined by Level 1 quoted market prices for the underlying mutual funds. Changes in carrying value of investments are recorded within gain on investments, net on the Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss).







At March 31,September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, other investments, comprised of equity securities which do not have readily determinable fair values, consist of the following:following (in thousands):
Index

3/31/2017 12/31/2016September 30,
2017
 December 31,
2016
Cost method:(in thousands) 
CoBank$6,296
 $6,177
$6,644
 $6,177
Other – Equity in other telecommunications partners740
 742
812
 742
7,036
 6,919
7,456
 6,919
Equity method:      
Other513
 450
592
 450
Total other investments$7,549
 $7,369
$8,048
 $7,369


Index

6.Financial Instruments

Financial instruments on the condensed consolidated balance sheets that approximate fair value include:  cash and cash equivalents, receivables, investments carried at fair value, payables, accrued liabilities, interest rate swaps and variable rate long-term debt.

The Company has certain non-marketable long-term investments for which it is not practicable to estimate fair value with a total carrying value of $8.0 million and $7.4 million as of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively, of which $6.6 million and $6.2 million, respectively, represents the Company’s investment in CoBank. This investment is primarily related to patronage distributions of restricted equity and is a required investment related to the portion of the Credit Facility held by CoBank. This investment is carried under the cost method.

7.
Derivative Instruments, Hedging Activitiesand Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income

The Company’s objectives in using interest rate derivatives are to add stability to cash flows and to manage its exposure to interest rate movements. To accomplish these objectives, the Company primarily uses interest rate swaps as part of its interest rate risk management strategy. Interest rate swaps (both those designated as cash flow hedges as well as those not designated as cash flow hedges) involve the receipt of variable-rate amounts from a counterparty in exchange for the Company making fixed-rate payments over the life of the agreements without exchange of the underlying notional amount.

The Company entered into a pay-fixed, receive-variable interest rate swap of $174.6 million of notional principal in September 2012.  This interest rate swap was designated as a cash flow hedge. The outstanding notional amount of this cash flow hedge was $131.0$122.2 million as of March 31,September 30, 2017. The outstanding notional amount decreases based upon scheduled principal payments on the 2012 debt.

In May 2016, the Company entered into a pay-fixed, receive-variable interest rate swap of $256.6 million of notional principal with three counterparties. This interest rate swap was designated as a cash flow hedge. The outstanding notional amount of this cash flow hedge was $302.4$303.8 million as of March 31,September 30, 2017. The outstanding notional amount increases based upon draws expected to be made under a portion of the Company's Term Loan A-2 debt and as the 2012 interest rate swap's notional principal decreases, and the outstanding notional amount will decrease as the Company makes scheduled principal payments on the 2016 debt.  In combination with the swap entered into in 2012 described above, the Company is hedging approximately 50% of the expected outstanding debt.

The effective portion of changes in the fair value of interest rate swaps designated and that qualify as cash flow hedges is recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income and is subsequently reclassified into earnings in the period that the hedged forecasted transaction affects earnings. The Company uses its derivatives to hedge the variable cash flows associated with existing variable-rate debt. The ineffective portion of the change in fair value of the derivative is recognized directly in earnings through interest expense. No hedge ineffectiveness was recognized during any of the periods presented.

Amounts reported in accumulated other comprehensive income related to the interest rate swaps designated and qualified as a cash flow hedge, are reclassified to interest expense as interest payments are made on the Company’s variable-rate debt. As of March 31,September 30, 2017, the Company estimates that $237 thousand$1.1 million will be reclassified as a reduction of interest expense during the next twelve months.

Index

The table below presents the fair value of the Company’s derivative financial instrument as well as its classification on the condensed consolidated balance sheet as of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016 (in thousands): 
   Derivatives
  Fair Value as of
  
Balance Sheet
Location
 March 31,
2017
 December 31,
2016
Derivatives designated as hedging instruments:      
Interest rate swap    
  
  Prepaid expenses and other $237
 $
  Deferred charges and other assets, net 11,958
 12,118
  Accrued liabilities and other 
 (895)
Total derivatives designated as hedging instruments   $12,195
 $11,223
  September 30,
2017
 December 31,
2016
Balance Sheet Location:  
  
Prepaid expenses and other $1,124
 $
Deferred charges and other assets, net 8,848
 12,118
Accrued liabilities and other 
 (895)
Total derivatives designated as hedging instruments $9,972
 $11,223

The fair value of interest rate swaps is determined using a pricing model with inputs that are observable in the market (level 2 fair value inputs).

Index

The table below presents change in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) by component for the threenine months ended March 31,September 30, 2017 (in thousands):

  
Gains on
Cash Flow
 Hedges
 
Income
Tax
 Expense
 
Accumulated
Other
Comprehensive
Income
Balance as of December 31, 2016 $11,223
 $(4,435) $6,788
Other comprehensive income before reclassifications 541
 (208) 333
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income (to interest expense) 431
 (165) 266
Net current period other comprehensive income 972
 (373) 599
Balance as of March 31, 2017 $12,195
 $(4,808) $7,387
  Gains (Losses) on Cash Flow Hedges 
Income
Tax
 Expense
 
Accumulated
Other
Comprehensive
Income (Loss), net of taxes
Balance as of December 31, 2016 $11,223
 $(4,435) $6,788
Net change in unrealized gain (loss) (1,789) 698
 (1,091)
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) to interest expense 538
 (217) 321
Net current period accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) (1,251) 481
 (770)
Balance as of September 30, 2017 $9,972
 $(3,954) $6,018

8. Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

8. Intangible Assets, NetChanges in the carrying amount of goodwill during the nine months ended September 30, 2017 are shown below (in thousands):
 December 31,
2016
 Measurement Period Adjustments September 30,
2017
Goodwill - Wireline segment$10
 $
 $10
Goodwill - Cable segment104
 
 104
Goodwill - Wireless segment145,142
 1,241
 146,383
Goodwill as of September 30, 2017$145,256
 $1,241
 $146,497

Index


Intangible assets consist of the following at March 31,September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016:
March 31, 2017 December 31, 2016September 30, 2017 December 31, 2016
Gross
Carrying
Amount
 
Accumulated
Amortization
 Net 
Gross
Carrying
Amount
 
Accumulated
Amortization
 Net
Gross
Carrying
Amount
 
Accumulated
Amortization
 Net 
Gross
Carrying
Amount
 
Accumulated
Amortization
 Net
Non-amortizing intangibles:Non-amortizing intangibles:                 
Cable franchise rights$64,334
 $
 $64,334
 $64,334
 $
 $64,334
$64,335
 $
 $64,335
 $64,334
 $
 $64,334
Railroad crossing rights97
 
 97
 97
 
 97
140
 
 140
 97
 
 97
64,431
 
 64,431
 64,431
 
 64,431
64,475
 
 64,475
 64,431
 
 64,431
                      
Finite-lived intangibles:
Affiliate contract expansion284,102
 (19,008) 265,094
 284,102
 (14,030) 270,072
287,052
 (29,593) 257,459
 284,102
 (14,030) 270,072
Acquired subscribers – wireless120,855
 (25,387) 95,468
 120,855
 (18,738) 102,117
123,105
 (36,871) 86,234
 120,855
 (18,738) 102,117
Favorable leases - wireless16,950
 (1,531) 15,419
 16,950
 (1,130) 15,820
16,950
 (3,985) 12,965
 16,950
 (1,130) 15,820
Acquired subscribers – cable25,265
 (24,802) 463
 25,265
 (24,631) 634
25,265
 (25,059) 206
 25,265
 (24,631) 634
Other intangibles3,230
 (797) 2,433
 2,212
 (754) 1,458
563
 (230) 333
 2,212
 (754) 1,458
Total finite-lived intangibles450,402
 (71,525) 378,877
 449,384
 (59,283) 390,101
452,935
 (95,738) 357,197
 449,384
 (59,283) 390,101
Total intangible assets$514,833
 $(71,525) $443,308
 $513,815
 $(59,283) $454,532
$517,410
 $(95,738) $421,672
 $513,815
 $(59,283) $454,532


9.Accrued and Other liabilities

Accrued liabilities and other includesinclude the following (in thousands):

 
March 31,
2017
 
December 31,
2016
 September 30, 2017 December 31, 2016
Sales and property taxes payable $4,742
 $6,628
 $4,409
 $6,628
Severance accrual, current portion 3,553
 4,267
Severance accrual 1,889
 4,267
Asset retirement obligations, current portion 884
 5,841
 823
 5,841
Accrued programming costs 2,856
 2,939
Other current liabilities 8,995
 12,349
 5,300
 9,410
Accrued liabilities and other $18,174
 $29,085
 $15,277
 $29,085


Other liabilities include the following (in thousands):

 March 31,
2017
 December 31,
2016
 September 30, 2017 December 31, 2016
Non-current portion of deferred revenues $7,735
 $8,933
 $14,111
 $8,933
Straight-line management fee waiver 16,180
 11,974
 24,934
 11,974
Other 2,142
 2,836
 1,135
 2,836
Other liabilities $26,057
 $23,743
 $40,180
 $23,743

Index

10. Long-Term Debt and Revolving Lines of Credit

Total debt at March 31,September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016 consists of the following:
(In thousands) March 31, 2017 December 31, 2016 September 30, 2017 December 31, 2016
Term loan A-1 $466,813
 $472,875
 $448,625
 $472,875
Term loan A-2 400,000
 375,000
 400,000
 375,000
 866,813
 847,875
 848,625
 847,875
Less: unamortized loan fees 17,816
 18,610
 15,623
 18,610
Total debt, net of unamortized loan fees $848,997
 $829,265
 $833,002
 $829,265
        
Current maturities of long term debt, net of unamortized loan fees $38,124
 $32,041
 $54,316
 $32,041
Long-term debt, less current maturities, net of unamortized loan fees $810,873
 $797,224
 $778,686
 $797,224

As of March 31,September 30, 2017, our indebtedness totaled $866.8$848.6 million in term loans with an annualized effective interest rate of approximately 3.91%4.07% after considering the impact of the interest rate swap contract and unamortized loan costs.  The balance consists of the $466.8$448.6 million Term Loan A-1 at a variable rate (3.73%(3.99% as of March 31,September 30, 2017) that resets monthly based on one month LIBOR plus a margin of 2.75%, and the $400$400.0 million Term Loan A-2 at a variable rate (3.98%(4.24% as of March 31,September 30, 2017) that resets monthly based on one month LIBOR plus a margin of 3.00%.  The Term Loan A-1 requires quarterly principal repayments of $6.1 million through June 30, 2017, then increasing to $12.1 million quarterly through June 30, 2020, with further increases at that time through maturity in June 30, 2021.  The Term Loan A-2 requires quarterly principal repayments of $10.0 million beginning on September 30, 2018 through March 31, 2023, with the remaining balance due June 30, 2023.

The Company is subject to certain financial covenants to be measured on a trailing twelve month basis each calendar quarter unless otherwise specified.  These covenants include:

a limitation on the Company’s total leverage ratio, defined as indebtedness divided by earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, of less than or equal to 3.75 to 1.00 from the closing date through December 30, 2018, then 3.25 to 1.00 through December 30, 2019, and 3.00 to 1.00 thereafter;
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a minimum debt service coverage ratio, defined as EBITDA minus certain cash taxes divided by the sum of all scheduled principal payments on the Term Loans and scheduled principal payments on other indebtedness plus cash interest expense, greater than 2.00 to 1.00;
the Company must maintain a minimum liquidity balance, defined as availability under the revolver facility plus unrestricted cash and cash equivalents on deposit in a deposit account for which a control agreement has been delivered to the administrative agent under the 2016 credit agreement, of greater than $25 million at all times.

These ratios are generally less restrictive than the covenant ratios the Company had been required to comply with under its previously existing debt arrangements.  As shown below, as of March 31,September 30, 2017, the Company was in compliance with the financial covenants in its credit agreements.
     
ActualCovenant Requirement
Total Leverage Ratio2.883.75 or Lower
Debt Service Coverage Ratio4.562.00 or Higher
Minimum Liquidity Balance$113 million$25 million or Higher
 Actual Covenant Requirement
Total Leverage Ratio2.93
 3.75 or Lower
Debt Service Coverage Ratio3.88
 2.00 or Higher
Minimum Liquidity Balance$149,228
 $25 million or Higher

11.Segment Information

Operating segments are defined as components of an enterprise about which separate financial information is available that is evaluated regularly by the chief operating decision maker.  The Company has three reportable segments, which the Company operates and manages as strategic business units organized by lines of business: (1) Wireless, (2) Cable, and (3) Wireline.   A fourth segment, Other, primarily includes Shenandoah Telecommunications Company, the parent holding company.

Prior to the recent acquisition of nTelos, theThe Wireless segment had providedprovides digital wireless service as a PCS affiliate to a portion of a four-state area covering the region from Harrisburg, York and Altoona, Pennsylvania, along Interstate 81 to Harrisonburg, Virginia, as a Sprint PCS Affiliate. With the recent acquisition, the Company's wireless service has expanded to include south-central and western Virginia, West Virginia, and small portions of North Carolina, Kentucky, Maryland and Ohio. ThisThe Wireless segment also owns cell site towers built on leased land, and leases space on these towers to both affiliates and non-affiliated service providers.

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The Cable segment provides video, internet and voice services in Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland, and leases fiber optic facilities throughout southern Virginia and West Virginia. It does not include video, internet and voice services provided to customers in Shenandoah County, Virginia.

The Wireline segment provides regulated and unregulated voice services, DSL internet access, and long distance access services throughout Shenandoah County and portions of Rockingham, Frederick, Warren and Augusta counties, Virginia. The segment also provides video and cable modem services in portions of Shenandoah County, and leases fiber optic facilities throughout the northern Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, northern Virginia and adjacent areas along the Interstate 81 corridor through West Virginia, Maryland and portions of central and southern Pennsylvania.

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Three months ended March 31,Months Ended September 30, 2017 
(in thousands)
 Wireless Cable Wireline Other Eliminations 
Consolidated
Totals
 Wireless Cable Wireline Other Eliminations 
Consolidated
Totals
External revenues                        
Service revenues $108,186
 $26,411
 $5,048
 $
 $
 $139,645
 $107,395
 $26,934
 $5,126
 $
 $
 $139,455
Other 6,042
 2,035
 6,158
 
 
 14,235
 3,871
 2,156
 6,300
 
 
 12,327
Total external revenues 114,228
 28,446
 11,206
 
 
 153,880
 111,266
 29,090
 11,426
 
 
 151,782
Internal revenues 1,235
 567
 7,948
 
 (9,750) 
 1,239
 999
 8,425
 
 (10,663) 
Total operating revenues 115,463
 29,013
 19,154
 
 (9,750) 153,880
 112,505
 30,089
 19,851
 
 (10,663) 151,782
                        
Operating expenses  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Costs of goods and services, exclusive of depreciation and amortization shown separately below 38,318
 15,228
 9,273
 
 (9,058) 53,761
 41,041
 14,913
 9,807
 
 (9,927) 55,834
Selling, general and administrative, exclusive of depreciation and amortization shown separately below 28,464
 4,858
 1,676
 5,847
 (692) 40,153
 30,099
 5,358
 1,706
 5,772
 (736) 42,199
Integration and acquisition expenses 3,792
 
 
 697
 
 4,489
 1,691
 
 
 15
 
 1,706
Depreciation and amortization 35,752
 5,788
 3,132
 132
 
 44,804
 32,929
 6,192
 3,249
 198
 
 42,568
Total operating expenses 106,326
 25,874
 14,081
 6,676
 (9,750) 143,207
 105,760
 26,463
 14,762
 5,985
 (10,663) 142,307
Operating income (loss) $9,137
 $3,139
 $5,073
 $(6,676) $
 $10,673
 $6,745
 $3,626
 $5,089
 $(5,985) $
 $9,475

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Three months ended March 31,Months Ended September 30, 2016
 (in thousands)
 Wireless Cable Wireline Other Eliminations 
Consolidated
Totals
 Wireless Cable Wireline Other Eliminations 
Consolidated
Totals
External revenues                        
Service revenues $52,179
 $24,340
 $4,960
 $
 $
 $81,479
 $111,001
 $24,948
 $4,948
 $
 $
 $140,897
Other 3,203
 1,846
 6,043
 
 

 11,092
 7,978
 2,031
 5,930
 
 
 15,939
Total external revenues 55,382
 26,186
 11,003
 
 
 92,571
 118,979
 26,979
 10,878
 
 
 156,836
Internal revenues 1,136
 260
 7,376
 

 (8,772) 
 1,140
 587
 7,854
 
 (9,581) 
Total operating revenues 56,518
 26,446
 18,379
 
 (8,772) 92,571
 120,119
 27,566
 18,732
 
 (9,581) 156,836
                        
Operating expenses  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Costs of goods and services, exclusive of depreciation and amortization shown separately below 16,578
 14,647
 8,643
 
 (8,106) 31,762
 43,097
 14,654
 9,442
 
 (8,876) 58,317
Selling, general and administrative, exclusive of depreciation and amortization shown separately below 11,514
 5,108
 1,605
 3,865
 (666) 21,426
 29,892
 4,770
 1,676
 4,736
 (705) 40,369
Integration and acquisition expenses 
 
 
 332
 
 332
 14,499
 
 
 773
 
 15,272
Depreciation and amortization 8,494
 6,095
 3,033
 117
 
 17,739
 38,038
 5,860
 2,822
 87
 
 46,807
Total operating expenses 36,586
 25,850
 13,281
 4,314
 (8,772) 71,259
 125,526
 25,284
 13,940
 5,596
 (9,581) 160,765
Operating income (loss) $19,932
 $596
 $5,098
 $(4,314) $
 $21,312
 $(5,407) $2,282
 $4,792
 $(5,596) $
 $(3,929)


Nine Months Ended September 30, 2017
(in thousands)
  Wireless Cable Wireline Other Eliminations 
Consolidated
Totals
External revenues            
Service revenues $323,262
 $80,229
 $15,301
 $
 $
 $418,792
Other 15,133
 6,283
 18,712
 
 
 40,128
Total external revenues 338,395
 86,512
 34,013
 
 
 458,920
Internal revenues 3,707
 2,153
 24,568
   (30,428) 
Total operating revenues 342,102
 88,665
 58,581
 
 (30,428) 458,920
             
Operating expenses  
  
  
  
  
  
Costs of goods and services, exclusive of depreciation and amortization shown separately below 117,829
 45,052
 28,409
 
 (28,314) 162,976
Selling, general and administrative, exclusive of depreciation and amortization shown separately below 88,201
 15,083
 5,065
 19,139
 (2,114) 125,374
Integration and acquisition expenses 9,607
 
 
 266
 
 9,873
Depreciation and amortization 104,231
 18,070
 9,536
 460
 
 132,297
Total operating expenses 319,868
 78,205
 43,010
 19,865
 (30,428) 430,520
Operating income (loss) $22,234
 $10,460
 $15,571
 $(19,865) $
 $28,400

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Nine Months Ended September 30, 2016
(in thousands)
  Wireless Cable Wireline Other Eliminations 
Consolidated
Totals
External revenues            
Service revenues $250,053
 $73,455
 $14,727
 $
 $
 $338,235
Other 17,461
 5,799
 18,221
 
 
 41,481
Total external revenues 267,514
 79,254
 32,948
 
 
 379,716
Internal revenues 3,417
 1,159
 22,754
 
 (27,330) 
Total operating revenues 270,931
 80,413
 55,702
 
 (27,330) 379,716
             
Operating expenses  
  
  
  
  
  
Costs of goods and services, exclusive of depreciation and amortization shown separately below 94,892
 43,864
 26,892
 
 (25,294) 140,354
Selling, general and administrative, exclusive of depreciation and amortization shown separately below 65,219
 14,672
 4,951
 13,457
 (2,036) 96,263
Integration and acquisition expenses 19,889
 
 
 15,912
 
 35,801
Depreciation and amortization 70,026
 17,834
 8,789
 312
 
 96,961
Total operating expenses 250,026
 76,370
 40,632
 29,681
 (27,330) 369,379
Operating income (loss) $20,905
 $4,043
 $15,070
 $(29,681) $
 $10,337

A reconciliation of the total of the reportable segments’ operating income (loss) to consolidated income (loss) before taxes is as follows:
 Three Months Ended
March 31,
 Three Months Ended
September 30,
 Nine Months Ended
September 30,
(in thousands) 2017 2016 2017 2016 2017 2016
Total consolidated operating income $10,673
 $21,312
Total consolidated operating income (loss) $9,475
 $(3,929) $28,400
 $10,337
Interest expense (9,100) (1,619) (9,823) (8,845) (28,312) (16,369)
Non-operating income, net 1,375
 556
 1,205
 1,527
 3,877
 3,147
Income before income taxes $2,948
 $20,249
Income (loss) before income taxes $857
 $(11,247) $3,965
 $(2,885)

The Company’s assets by segment are as follows:
 
(in thousands)
 March 31,
2017
 December 31,
2016
Wireless $1,039,211
 $1,101,716
Cable 220,519
 218,471
Wireline 116,390
 115,282
Other 1,070,204
 1,059,898
Combined totals 2,446,324
 2,495,367
Inter-segment eliminations (993,335) (1,010,960)
Consolidated totals $1,452,989
 $1,484,407

12.Income Taxes

The Company files U.S. federal income tax returns and various state and local income tax returns.  With few exceptions, years prior to 2013 are no longer subject to examination; net operating losses acquired in the nTelos acquisition are open to examination from 2002 forward. The Company is not subject to any state or federal income tax audits as of March 31,September 30, 2017.

The effective tax rate has fluctuated in recent periods due to the minimal base of pre-tax earnings or losses and has been further impacted by the impact of share based compensation tax benefits which are recognized as incurred under the provisions of ASC 740, "Income Taxes".

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13.Adoption of New Accounting Principles

During the first quarter13.  Related Party Transactions

ValleyNet, an equity method investee of 2017, the Company, adopted one new accounting principle: Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") No. 2015-11, "Inventory: Simplifyingresells capacity on the Measurement of Inventory". This ASU changesCompany’s fiber network under an operating lease agreement.  Additionally, the measurement principle for inventoryCompany's PCS operating subsidiary leases capacity through ValleyNet.
The following tables summarize the financial statement impact from the lower of cost or market to lower of cost and net realizable value. The ASU also eliminates the requirement for entities to consider replacement cost or net realizable value less an approximately normal profit margin when measuring inventory. The adoption of this ASU did not have a significant impact on our financial statements.related party transactions with ValleyNet (in thousands):

  Three Months Ended September 30, Nine Months Ended September 30,
Statement of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss) 2017 2016 2017 2016
   Facility Lease Revenue $506
 $560
 $1,664
 $1,809
   Costs of Goods and Services 951
 858
 2,699
 2,162
         
  September 30,
2017
 December 31,
2016
    
Consolidated Balance Sheet        
   Accounts Receivable related to ValleyNet $181
 $191
    
   Accounts Payable related to ValleyNet 301
 448
    
14.  Subsequent Events

On March 9,October 24. 2017, the Company and Sprint entered into Addendum XXCompany’s Board of Directors approved a dividend of $0.26 per common share to the Sprint PCS Management Agreement. Addendum XX provides for (i) an expansionbe paid December 1, 2017 to shareholders of record as of the Company’s “Service Area” (as defined inclose of business on November 3, 2017. Before dividend reinvestments, the Sprint PCS Management Agreement)total payout is expected to include certain areas in Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio and West Virginia (the “Expansion Area”), (ii) certain network build out requirements in the Expansion Area over the next three years, (iii) the Company’s provision of prepaid field sales support to Sprint and its affiliates in the Service Area, (iv) Sprint’s provision of spectrum use to the Company in the Expansion Area, (v) the addition of Horizon Personal Communications, LLC, as a party to the Sprint PCS Management Agreement and the Sprint PCS Services Agreement (collectively, the “Affiliate Agreements”) and (vi) certain other amendments to the Affiliate Agreements.be approximately $12.8 million.
In connection with the execution of Addendum XX, on March 9, 2017, the Company and certain affiliates of Sprint entered into an agreement to, among other things, transfer to Sprint certain customers in the Expansion Area and the underlying customer agreements, and to transition the provision of network coverage in the Expansion Area from Sprint to the Company. The expanded territory includes approximately 500 thousand market POPs and approximately 21 thousand Sprint customers.
The Company and Sprint closed on this transaction on April 6, 2017.
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ITEM 2.MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

This management’s discussion and analysis includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.  When used in this report, the words “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan” and similar expressions as they relate to Shenandoah Telecommunications Company or its management are intended to identify these forward-looking statements.  All statements regarding Shenandoah Telecommunications Company’s expected future financial position and operating results, business strategy, financing plans, forecasted trends relating to the markets in which Shenandoah Telecommunications Company operates and similar matters are forward-looking statements.  We cannot assure you that the Company’s expectations expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements will turn out to be correct.  The Company’s actual results could be materially different from its expectations because of various factors, including those discussed below and under the caption “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for its fiscal year ended December 31, 2016.  The following management’s discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for its fiscal year ended December 31, 2016, including the financial statements and related notes included therein.

General

Overview: Shenandoah Telecommunications Company is a diversified telecommunications company providing both regulated and unregulated telecommunications services through its wholly owned subsidiaries.  These subsidiaries provide wireless personal communications services (as a Sprint PCS affiliate), local exchange telephone services, video, internet and data services, long distance services, fiber optics facilities, and leased tower facilities. We have three reportable segments, which we operate and manage as strategic business units organized by lines of business: (1) Wireless, (2) Cable, and (3) Wireline.

*The Wireless segment has historically providedprovides digital wireless service as a Sprint PCS Affiliateaffiliate to a portion of a four-state area covering the region from Harrisburg, York and Altoona, Pennsylvania, along Interstate 81 to Harrisonburg, Virginia.  Following the acquisition of nTelos on May 6, 2016, the Company’s wireless service area expanded to includeVirginia, south-central and western Virginia, West Virginia, and small portions of North Carolina, Kentucky, Maryland and Ohio. In these areas, we are the exclusive provider of Sprint-branded wireless mobility communications network products and services on the 800 MHz, 1900 MHz and 2.5 GHz bands.  This segment also owns cell site towers built on leased land, and leases space on these towers to both affiliates and non-affiliated service providers.
*The Cable segment provides video, internet and voice services in franchise areas in portions of Virginia, West Virginia and western Maryland, and leases fiber optic facilities throughout its service area. It does not include video, internet and voice services provided to customers in Shenandoah County, Virginia.
*The Wireline segment provides regulated and unregulated voice services, DSL internet access, and long distance access services throughout Shenandoah County and portions of Rockingham, Frederick, Warren and Augusta counties, Virginia. The segment also provides video and cable modem internet access services in portions of Shenandoah County, and leases fiber optic facilities throughout the northern Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, northern Virginia and adjacent areas along the Interstate 81 corridor through West Virginia, Maryland and portions of central and southern Pennsylvania.

A fourth segment, Other, primarily includes Shenandoah Telecommunications Company, the parent holding company, and includes corporate costs of executive management, information technology, legal, finance, and human resources.resources and investor relations. This segment also includes certain acquisition and integration costs primarily consisting of severance accruals for short-term nTelos employees to be separated as integration activities wind down and transaction related expenses such as investment advisor, legal and other professional fees. The segment results provided below are presented without giving effect to the elimination of transactions between segments to provide a view of our results without inter-segment eliminations and corporate items.

Recent Developments

Acquisition of nTelos and Exchange with Sprint: On May 6, 2016, we completed our previously announced acquisition of NTELOS Holdings Corp. (“nTelos”) for $667.8 million, net of cash acquired.  The purchase price was financed by a credit facility arranged by CoBank, ACB.  We have included the operations of nTelos for financial reporting purposes for periods subsequent to the acquisition.

The Company expectsWe expect to incur approximately $23$16.7 million of integration and acquisition expenses associated with this transaction in 2017, in addition to the $54.7 million of such costs incurred during 2016.  We have incurred $7.1$2.9 million and $15.4 million of these costs in the three and nine months ended March 31,September 30, 2017, respectively. These costs include $0.1 million reflected in
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cost of goods and services, $1.1 million reflected in selling, general and administrative costs and $1.7 million reflected in integration and acquisition in the three month period ended September 30, 2017. These costs include $0.1$0.3 million reflected in cost of goods and services, and $2.5$5.2 million reflected in selling, general and administrative and $9.9 million reflected in integration and acquisition costs in the threenine month period ended March 31,September 30, 2017. In addition to the approximately $78$71.4 million of incurred and expected expenses described above, the Companywe also incurred
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approximately $23$28 million of debt issuance, legal and other costs in 2015 and 2016 relating to this transaction, for a total expected cost of $101$100 million.

Acquisition of Expansion Area: On April 6, 2017, we expanded our affiliate service territory, under our agreements with Sprint, to include certain areas in North Carolina, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio and West Virginia.  The expanded territory covers the Parkersburg, WV, Huntington, WV and Cumberland, MD basic trading areas.  Approximately 25,000 Sprint retail and former nTelos postpaid and prepaid subscribers in the new basic trading areas will become Sprint-branded affiliate customers managed by us.  We have authorization to serve over 6 million POPs in the mid-Atlantic region as a Sprint PCS Affiliate following this expansion. We plan to invest approximately $32 million over the next three years to upgrade and expand the existing wireless network coverage in those regions.  Once the network expansion is complete, our plan is to open multiple Sprint-branded retail locations in the new area.


Results of Operations

Three Months Ended March 31,September 30, 2017 Compared with the Three Months Ended March 31,September 30, 2016

Our consolidated results for the firstthird quarter of 2017 and 2016 are summarized as follows:

  Three Months Ended
March 31,
 Change
(in thousands) 2017 2016 $ %
Operating revenues $153,880
 $92,571
 $61,309
 66.2
Operating expenses 143,207
 71,259
 71,948
 101.0
Operating income 10,673
 21,312
 (10,639) (49.9)
         
Interest expense (9,100) (1,619) (7,481) 462.1
Other income, net 1,375
 556
 819
 147.3
Income before taxes 2,948
 20,249
 (17,301) (85.4)
Income tax expense 607
 6,368
 (5,761) (90.5)
Net income $2,341
 $13,881
 $(11,540) (83.1)
  Three Months Ended
September 30,
 Change
(in thousands) 2017 2016 $ %
Operating revenues $151,782
 $156,836
 $(5,054) (3.2)
Operating expenses 142,307
 160,765
 (18,458) (11.5)
Operating income (loss) 9,475
 (3,929) 13,404
 (341.2)
         
Interest expense (9,823) (8,845) (978) 11.1
Other income (expense), net 1,205
 1,527
 (322) (21.1)
Income (loss) before taxes 857
 (11,247) 12,104
 (107.6)
Income tax expense (benefit) (2,677) (3,651) 974
 (26.7)
Net income (loss) $3,534
 $(7,596) $11,130
 (146.5)

Operating revenues

For the three months ended March 31,September 30, 2017, operating revenues increased $61.3decreased $5.1 million, or 66.2%.3.2% to $151.8 million. Wireless segment revenues increased $58.9decreased $7.6 million compared towith the firstthird quarter of 2016; nearly all2016, primarily driven by lower service revenue and the reduction of this increase was a result of the acquisition of nTelos on May 6, 2016.subsidized handset sales. Cable segment revenues grew $2.6$2.5 million primarily as a result of 2.2%0.8% growth in average subscriber counts and an increase in revenue per subscriber.  Wireline segment revenues increased $0.8$1.1 million, primarily due to increases in fiber sales.revenue.

Operating expenses

Total operating expenses were $143.2decreased $18.5 million or 11.5% to $142.3 million in the first quarter ofthree months ended September 30, 2017 compared to $71.3with $160.8 million in the prior year period.  OperatingThe decrease in operating expenses in the first quarterwas primarily driven by a reduction of 2017 included $4.5approximately $17.3 million of integration and acquisition costs associated withrelated to the completion of the transformation of the nTelos network during 2017 and the remainder is primarily attributable to improved operating efficiencies in network operations.

Integration and acquisition including $3.8 million oncosts incurred in the Wireless segment and $0.7 million in the Other segment.  Selling, general and administrative expenses and cost of goods and services in the Wireless segment included an additional $2.6 million of nTelos-related customer care and other back office costs related to supporting the nTelos legacy customers until the migration of these customers is completed. Wireless segment operating expenses increased $63.3 million (excluding the $6.4 million of customer care, integration and acquisition expenses described above), primarily due to on-going costs associated with the acquired nTelos operations including $27.3 million of incremental depreciation and amortization expenses.  All other operating expenses increased $2.2 million, net of eliminations of intersegment activities.

Acquisition and integration costs on the Other segment primarily consistedconsist of transaction related expenses such as legal and other professional fees.  On the Wireless segment, such costs included handsets provided to nTelos subscribers who neededrequired a new phone to transition to the Sprint billing platform, costs associated with terminating duplicative cell site leases and backhaul circuits, and personnel costs associated with short-term nTelos employees retained on a short-term basis who were necessary in the efforts required to migrate former nTelos customers to the Sprint back-office.back-office billing platform. Acquisition and integration costs were $2.9 million for the three months ended
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September 30, 2017, and were comprised of $0.1 million classified as cost of goods and services, $1.1 million classified as selling, general and administrative, and $1.7 million classified as integration and acquisition; whereas acquisition and integration costs for the three months ended September 30, 2016 were $20.2 million, and were comprised of $0.7 million classified as cost of goods and services, $4.2 million classified as selling, general and administrative, and $15.3 million classified as integration and acquisition. We expect integration and acquisition costs related to the nTelos acquisition to continue to decrease as integration activities wind down.

For the three months ended September 30, 2017 compared with the three months ended September 30, 2016, excluding integration and acquisition costs, operating expenses decreased $1.2 million primarily related to the completion of the transformation of the nTelos network during 2017 and improved operating efficiencies in network operations.

Interest expense

Interest expense has increased primarily as a result of the incremental borrowings associated with closing the nTelos acquisition and the effect of two interest rate increases implemented byin the Federal ReserveLondon Interbank Offered Rate ("LIBOR") in late 2016 and earlyduring 2017. The impact of the interest rate increases has been partially offset by an interest rate swap, which is classified as a swapcash flow hedge that covers approximately 50% of the outstanding principal under the new debt. Credit Facilities.

Other changes includeincome, net

Other income, net has decreased $0.3 million primarily as a result of lower interest income derived from our investments.

Income tax

During the three months ended September 30, 2017, income tax benefits were approximately $2.7 million, compared with benefits of $3.7 million for the three months ended September 30, 2016. Excluding approximately $2.8 million of excess tax benefits recognized during 2017 that are derived from exercises of stock options and vesting of restricted stock, our income tax expense increased debt cost amortization reflecting$3.8 million consistent with the incremental costsgrowth that we have experienced in our increase in income before taxes.

Nine Months Ended September 30, 2017 Compared with the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2016

Our consolidated results for the first nine months of entering into2017 and 2016 are summarized as follows:

  Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 Change
(in thousands) 2017 2016 $ %
Operating revenues $458,920
 $379,716
 $79,204
 20.9
Operating expenses 430,520
 369,379
 61,141
 16.6
Operating income (loss) 28,400
 10,337
 18,063
 174.7
         
Interest expense (28,312) (16,369) (11,943) 73.0
Other income (expense), net 3,877
 3,147
 730
 23.2
Income (loss) before taxes 3,965
 (2,885) 6,850
 (237.4)
Income tax expense (benefit) (1,830) (2,174) 344
 (15.8)
Net income (loss) $5,795
 $(711) $6,506
 (915.0)

Operating revenues

For the new debt, partially offset bynine months ended September 30, 2017, operating revenues increased capitalization$79.2 million, or 20.9%. Wireless segment revenues increased $71.2 million compared to the first nine months of interest2016. Nearly all of this increase was a result of the acquisition of nTelos on May 6, 2016 as 2017 included nine months of nTelos revenue whereas the comparable 2016 period included approximately five months of nTelos revenue. Cable segment revenues grew $8.3 million primarily as a result of 0.8% growth in high speed data and voice subscribers and an increase in average revenue per subscriber. Wireline segment revenues increased $2.9 million primarily due to capital projects.increases in fiber sales.

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Income tax
Operating expenses

Total operating expenses increased $61.1 million or 16.6% to $430.5 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2017 compared with $369.4 million in the prior year period. Nearly all of this increase was a result of the acquisition of nTelos on May 6, 2016 as 2017 included nine months of nTelos operating expenses whereas the comparable 2016 period included approximately five months of nTelos operating expenses.  The increase in operating expenses was consistent with the growth that occurred in operating revenues, and was partially offset by a decrease of approximately $28.5 million in integration and acquisition costs related to the transformation of nTelos.

Integration and acquisition costs were $15.4 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2017, and were primarily comprised of $0.3 million classified as cost of goods and services, $5.2 million classified as selling, general and administrative, and $9.9 million classified as integration and acquisition; whereas acquisition and integration costs for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 were $43.9 million, and were comprised of $1.0 million classified as cost of goods and services, $7.1 million classified as selling, general and administrative, and $35.8 million classified as integration and acquisition. We expect integration and acquisition costs related to the nTelos acquisition to decrease as integration activities wind down.

Excluding integration and acquisition costs, operating expenses increased $89.6 million, nearly all of this increase was a result of the acquisition of nTelos on May 6, 2016 as 2017 included nine months of nTelos operating expenses whereas the comparable 2016 period included approximately five months of nTelos operating expenses. The increase was consistent with the growth in operating revenues related to the acquisition of nTelos in 2016 and acquisition of the Expansion Area during 2017.

Interest expense

The Company's actual effective income tax rate decreased from 31.4% for the three months ended March 31, 2016 to 20.6% for the three months ended March 31, 2017.  The difference for both periods between the actual effective income tax rate and the statutory income tax rate resultsInterest expense has increased primarily from excess tax deductions on share grant vestings and certain stock option exercises, which are recognized as incurred. The Company recognized $1.7 million in excess deductions in the three months ended March 2017 compared to $4.5 million in excess deductions in the same period of 2016; however, the March 31, 2017 excess deductions represented a larger share of pre-tax income, reducing the effective rate more in in the three months ended March 31, 2017 than the three months ended March 31, 2016.

Net income

For the three months ended March 31, 2017, net income decreased $11.5 million, or 83.1% over March 31, 2016, primarily reflecting increased depreciation and amortization, straight-lining of certain Sprint fee credits, and higher interest on the increased balance of outstanding debt as a result of the borrowings under our Credit Agreement, associated with closing the nTelos acquisition during May 2016, and the effect of increases in the London Interbank Offered Rate ("LIBOR") that have occurred since. As a result, the nine months ended September 30, 2016 include interest expense under our borrowings for approximately five months, whereas the nine months ended September 30, 2017 include interest expense for nine months. The impact of the interest rate increases has been partially offset by an interest rate swap, which is classified as a cash flow hedge that covers approximately 50% of the outstanding principal under the Credit Facilities.

Other income, net

Other income, net has increased $0.7 million primarily as a result of lower interest income derived from our investments.

Income tax

During the nine months ended September 30, 2017, income tax expense increased by approximately $0.3 million, compared with the nine months ended September 30, 2016. Excluding approximately $1.8 million of incremental excess tax benefits recognized during 2017 that are derived from exercises of stock options and vesting of restricted stock, our income tax expense increased $2.1 million consistent with the growth that we have experienced in our increase in income before taxes.


Wireless Segment

Our Wireless segment historically providedprovides digital wireless service as a Sprint PCS affiliate to a portion of a four-statemulti-state area covering the region from Harrisburg, York and Altoona, Pennsylvania, along Interstate 81 to Harrisonburg, Virginia, through Shenandoah Personal Communications, LLC (“PCS”), a Sprint PCS Affiliate.  Following the acquisition of nTelos in May 2016, our wireless service territory expanded to include south-central and western Virginia, West Virginia, and small portions of Maryland, North Carolina, Kentucky, Maryland and Ohio. Through Shenandoah Mobile, LLC (“Mobile”), thisThis segment also leases land on which it builds Company-owned cell towers, which it leases to affiliates and non-affiliated wireless service providers, throughout the same multi-state area described above.

PCS receivesWe earn revenues from Sprint for subscribers that obtain service in PCS’s network coverage area.  PCS relies on Sprintproviding access to provide timely, accurate and complete information to record the appropriate revenue for each financial period.our network.  Postpaid revenues received from Sprint are recorded net of certain fees retained by Sprint.  Since January 1, 2016, the fees retained by Sprint are 16.6%, and certain revenue and expense items previously included in these fees became separately settled.

We also offer prepaid wireless products and services in our PCS network coverage area.  Sprint retains a Management Fee equal to 6% of prepaid customer billings.  Prepaid revenues received from Sprint are reported net of the cost of this fee.  Other fees charged on a per unit basis are separately recorded as expenses according to the nature of the expense.  We pay handset
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subsidies to Sprint for the difference between the selling price of prepaid handsets and their cost, recorded as a net cost in cost of goods sold.

Lifeline Subscribers: The revenue and expense componentsCompany is no longer including Lifeline subscribers in the customer counts to be consistent with Sprint.While the Lifeline subscribers will continue to be supported through the Assurance Wireless prepaid brand, we have excluded these subscribers from the reported to us by Sprint are based on Sprint’s national averagesprepaid customer base for prepaid services, rather than being specifically determined by customers assigned to our geographic service areas.all periods presented.

The following tables show selected operating statistics of the Wireless segment, as of the dates shown:

including Sprint's subscribers:
 March 31,
2017
 
December 31,
2016
 March 31, 2016 
December 31,
2015
 September 30,
2017
 December 31,
2016
 September 30,
2016
 December 31, 2015
Retail PCS Subscribers – Postpaid 717,150
 722,562
 315,231
 312,512
 727,954
 722,562
 718,785
 312,512
Retail PCS Subscribers – Prepaid(1) 243,557
 236,138
 142,539
 142,840
 224,609
 206,672
 245,046
 129,855
PCS Market POPS (000) (1)(2) 5,536
 5,536
 2,437
 2,433
 6,047
 5,536
 5,536
 2,433
PCS Covered POPS (000) (1)(2) 4,836
 4,807
 2,230
 2,224
 5,157
 4,807
 4,715
 2,224
CDMA Base Stations (sites) 1,476
 1,467
 556
 552
 1,544
 1,467
 1,425
 552
Towers Owned 196
 196
 157
 158
 201
 196
 181
 158
Non-affiliate Cell Site Leases 206
 202
 202
 202
 192
 202
 186
 202

1)Prepaid subscribers reported in the December 2016 and subsequent periods include the impact of a change in the Company's policy as to how long an inactive customer is included in the customer counts. This policy change, implemented in December 2016, effectively reduced prepaid customers by approximately 24 thousand. As of September 2017, The Company is no longer including Lifeline subscribers to be consistent with Sprint's policy. Historical customer counts have been adjusted accordingly.
2)POPS refers to the estimated population of a given geographic area and is based on information purchased from third party sources.  Market POPS are those within a market area which we are authorized to serve under our Sprint PCS affiliate agreements, and Covered POPS are those covered by our network.
   Three Months Ended
September 30,
 Nine Months Ended
September 30,
  2017 2016 2017 2016
Gross PCS Subscriber Additions – Postpaid 43,320
 41,563
 122,429
 85,104
Net PCS Subscriber Additions (Losses) – Postpaid (4,710) 1,222
 (13,675) 1,829
Gross PCS Subscriber Additions – Prepaid (1) 37,653
 32,315
 112,201
 77,010
Net PCS Subscriber Additions (Losses) – Prepaid (1) 2,571
 (13,856) 13,259
 (21,557)
PCS Average Monthly Retail Churn % - Postpaid (2) 2.19% 2.01% 2.08% 1.71%
PCS Average Monthly Retail Churn % - Prepaid(1) (2) 5.25% 6.09% 5.06% 5.67%

1)The Company is no longer including Lifeline subscribers to be consistent with Sprint's policy. Historical customer counts have been adjusted accordingly.
2)PCS Average Monthly Retail Churn is the average of the monthly subscriber turnover, or churn, calculations for the period. Excluding losses associated with the migration of nTelos subscribers to the Sprint network and platform, churn for the three months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, was 1.85% and 1.64%, respectively.


The changes from March 31, 2016 to December 31, 2016 shown above include the effects of the nTelos acquisition and the exchange with Sprint on May 6, 2016.













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The numbers shown above include the following:
   Three Months Ended
March 31,
 
  2017 2016 
Gross PCS Subscriber Additions – Postpaid 38,701
 17,356
 
Net PCS Subscriber Additions (Losses) – Postpaid (5,412) 2,719
 
Gross PCS Subscriber Additions – Prepaid 42,168
 21,231
 
Net PCS Subscriber Additions (Losses) – Prepaid 7,419
 (301) 
PCS Average Monthly Retail Churn % - Postpaid (2) 2.05% 1.56% 
PCS Average Monthly Retail Churn % - Prepaid (2) 4.86% 5.05% 
 April 6, 2017 May 6, 2016
 Expansion Area nTelos Area
Acquired PCS Subscribers - Postpaid19,067
 404,444
Acquired PCS Subscribers - Prepaid5,962
 154,944
Acquired PCS Market POPS (000) (1)511
 3,099
Acquired PCS Covered POPS (000) (1)244
 2,298
Acquired CDMA Base Stations (sites) (2)
 868
Towers
 20
Non-affiliate Cell Site Leases
 10

1)POPS refers to the estimated population of a given geographic area and is based on information purchased from third party sources.  Market POPS are those within a market area which we are authorized to serve under our Sprint PCS affiliate agreements, and Covered POPS are those covered by our network.
2)PCS Average Monthly Retail Churn is the average
As of the monthly subscriber turnover, or churn, calculations for the period.September 30, 2017 we have shut down 107 overlap sites.


Three Months Ended March 31,September 30, 2017 Compared with the Three Months Ended March 31,September 30, 2016
(in thousands)
 
 Three Months Ended
September 30,
 Change
  2017 2016 $ %
Segment operating revenues        
Wireless service revenue $107,395
 $111,001
 $(3,606) (3.2)
Tower lease revenue 2,933
 2,909
 24
 0.8
Equipment revenue 1,742
 3,539
 (1,797) (50.8)
Other revenue 435
 2,670
 (2,235) (83.7)
Total segment operating revenues 112,505
 120,119
 (7,614) (6.3)
Segment operating expenses  
  
  
  
Cost of goods and services, exclusive of depreciation and amortization shown separately below 41,041
 43,097
 (2,056) (4.8)
Selling, general and administrative, exclusive of depreciation and amortization shown separately below 30,099
 29,892
 207
 0.7
Integration and acquisition expenses 1,691
 14,499
 (12,808) (88.3)
Depreciation and amortization 32,929
 38,038
 (5,109) (13.4)
Total segment operating expenses 105,760
 125,526
 (19,766) (15.7)
Segment operating income (loss) $6,745
 $(5,407) $12,152
 (224.7)

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Service Revenues

Wireless service revenue decreased $3.6 million, or 3.2%, for the three months ended September 30, 2017, compared with the September 30, 2016, period. The table below provides additional detail in the settlement with Sprint impacting service revenue.
(in thousands)
 
 Three Months Ended
September 30,
 Change
Service Revenues 2017 2016 $ %
Postpaid net billings (1)
 $94,013
 $97,470
 $(3,457) (3.5)
Sprint management fee (7,460) (7,919) 459
 (5.8)
Sprint net service fee (7,872) (6,745) (1,127) 16.7
Waiver of management fee 7,440
 7,996
 (556) (7.0)
  86,121
 90,802
 (4,681) (5.2)
Prepaid net billings  
  
  
  
Gross billings (2)
 24,155
 24,323
 (168) (0.7)
Sprint management fee (1,502) (1,521) 19
 (1.2)
Waiver of management fee 1,521
 1,521
 
 
  24,174
 24,323
 (149) (0.6)
         
Travel and other revenues (2)
 6,662
 6,109
 553
 9.1
Amortization of expanded affiliate agreement (5,242) (5,593) 351
 (6.3)
Straight-line adjustment - management fee waiver (4,320) (4,640) 320
 (6.9)
Total Service Revenues $107,395
 $111,001
 $(3,606) (3.2)

1) Postpaid net billings are defined under the terms of the affiliate contract with Sprint to be the gross billings to customers within our service territory less billing credits and adjustments and allocated write-offs of uncollectible accounts.
2)The Company is no longer including Lifeline subscribers to be consistent with Sprint. The above table reflects the reclassification of the related Assurance Wireless prepaid revenue within the Wireless segment from Prepaid gross billings to travel and other revenues.

Operating revenues

Wireless service revenue decreased $3.6 million, or 3.2% in the third quarter of 2017. The decline in postpaid service revenue was the result of a reduction in Sprint's average revenue per postpaid customer as a higher percentage of Sprint's postpaid customer base moved from higher revenue subsidized phone price plans to lower phone price plans associated with leased and installment sales. Additionally, we were impacted by an increase of approximately $1.1 million in net service fees during the third quarter as a result of the migration of former nTelos subscribers to the Sprint platform. This decline was partially offset by an increase in postpaid subscribers of approximately 9 thousand. The decline in prepaid service revenues was the result of the resolution of $1.1 million related to a previously settled prepaid amount with Sprint, which reduced revenue for the three months ended September 30, 2017. This was partially offset by an increase in average revenue per prepaid customer.

Equipment revenue decreased $1.8 million, or 50.8%, in the third quarter of 2017 driven by a decline in handset sales as more subscribers are leasing their handsets, directly from Sprint, and the reduction of accessory sales in our national retailer channel.

Other revenue decreased $2.2 million, or 83.7%, in the third quarter of 2017. During the prior year period the Company recognized approximately $2.4 million of revenue related to regulatory and handset insurance billings for subscribers on the nTelos platform. Regulatory and handset insurance billings have steadily declined as former nTelos subscribers migrate to the the Sprint network and platform.

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Cost of goods and services

Cost of goods and services decreased $2.1 million, or 4.8%, in the third quarter of 2017 compared with the third quarter of 2016. The decrease results primarily from a decline in handset costs as customers increasingly acquire handsets under Sprint leasing and installment sales programs, the reduction in network line costs as we optimize the network, and the reduction in regulatory fees related to the migration of nTelos customers. These decreases were offset by an increase in rent expense to support our network expansion and accelerated amortization of off-market lease intangibles associated with decommissioned cell sites in our overlap territory. 

Selling, general and administrative

Selling, general and administrative costs increased $0.2 million, or 0.7%, in the third quarter of 2017 from the comparable 2016 period, primarily due to increases in commissions and subscriber acquisition costs associated with higher gross additions in the current period that were offset by reductions in back office staff and support functions attributable to the completion of the migration of the former nTelos subscribers to the Sprint network.

Integration and acquisition

Integration and acquisition expenses of $1.7 million in the third quarter of 2017 were primarily attributable to the cost of replacement handsets provided to former nTelos subscribers related to the completion of the migration of the subscribers to the Sprint platform. Integration and acquisitions expenses have decreased approximately $12.8 million compared with the three months ended September 30, 2016 primarily as a result of the completion of migration and and integration activities related to the acquisition of nTelos.

Depreciation and amortization

Depreciation and amortization decreased $5.1 million, or 13.4%, in the third quarter of 2017 over the comparable 2016 period, due primarily to a $5.6 million decline in depreciation resulting from the retirement of certain network related assets that occurred during 2016, which was partially offset by an increase of $0.5 million in amortization of customer based intangibles recorded in the acquisition.

Nine Months Ended September 30, 2017 Compared with the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2016

(in thousands)
 Three Months Ended
March 31,
 Change Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 Change
 2017 2016 $ % 2017 2016 $ %
Segment operating revenues        
        
Wireless service revenue $108,186
 $52,179
 $56,007
 107.3
 $323,262
 $250,053
 $73,209
 29.3
Tower lease revenue 2,882
 2,750
 132
 4.8
 8,676
 8,471
 205
 2.4
Equipment revenue 3,145
 1,454
 1,691
 116.3
 7,666
 7,771
 (105) (1.4)
Other revenue 1,250
 135
 1,115
 NM
 2,498
 4,636
 (2,138) (46.1)
Total segment operating revenues 115,463
 56,518
 58,945
 104.3
 342,102
 270,931
 71,171
 26.3
Segment operating expenses  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Cost of goods and services, exclusive of depreciation and amortization shown separately below 38,318
 16,578
 21,740
 131.1
 117,829
 94,892
 22,937
 24.2
Selling, general and administrative, exclusive of depreciation and amortization shown separately below 28,464
 11,514
 16,950
 147.2
 88,201
 65,219
 22,982
 35.2
Integration and acquisition expenses 3,792
 
 3,792
 NM
 9,607
 19,889
 (10,282) (51.7)
Depreciation and amortization 35,752
 8,494
 27,258
 320.9
 104,231
 70,026
 34,205
 48.8
Total segment operating expenses 106,326
 36,586
 69,740
 190.6
 319,868
 250,026
 69,842
 27.9
Segment operating income $9,137
 $19,932
 $(10,795) (54.2)
Segment operating income (loss) $22,234
 $20,905
 $1,329
 6.4

Index

Service Revenues

Wireless service revenue increased $56.0$73.2 million, or 107.3%29.3%, for the threenine months ended March 31,September 30, 2017, compared to the March 31,nine months ended September 30, 2016, period. See table below.

detailed as follows:
(in thousands)
 Three Months Ended
March 31,
 Change Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 Change
Service Revenues 2017 2016 $ % 2017 2016 $ %
Postpaid net billings (1)
 $92,989
 $45,638
 $47,351
 103.8
 $280,724
 $218,327
 $62,397
 28.6
Sprint fees      
  
Management fee (7,383) (3,651) (3,732) 102.2
Net service fee (7,200) (3,934) (3,266) 83.0
Sprint management fee (22,465) (17,914) (4,551) 25.4
Sprint net service fee (22,852) (15,986) (6,866) 43.0
Waiver of management fee 7,383
 
 7,383
 NM
 22,426
 13,126
 9,300
 70.9
 (7,200) (7,585) 385
 (5.1) 257,833
 197,553
 60,280
 30.5
Prepaid net billings  
  
  
  
  
    
  
Gross billings 25,945
 13,083
 12,862
 98.3
Gross billings (2)
 74,609
 56,955
 17,654
 31.0
Sprint management fee (1,557) (785) (772) 98.3
 (4,622) (3,524) (1,098) 31.2
Waiver of management fee 1,557
 
 1,557
 NM
 4,642
 2,486
 2,156
 86.7
 25,945
 12,298
 13,647
 111.0
 74,629
 55,917
 18,712
 33.5
       
Travel and other revenues(2) 5,636
 1,828
 3,808
 208.3
 19,323
 13,153
 6,170
 46.9
Accounting adjustments      
  
Amortization of expanded affiliate agreement (4,978) 
 (4,978) NM
 (15,563) (8,883) (6,680) 75.2
Straight-line adjustment - management fee waiver (4,206) 
 (4,206) NM
 (12,960) (7,687) (5,273) 68.6
 (9,184) 
 (9,184) NM
Total Service Revenues $108,186
 $52,179
 $56,007
 107.3
 $323,262
 $250,053
 $73,209
 29.3


(1)1) Postpaid net billings are defined under the terms of the affiliate contract with Sprint to be the gross billings to customers within our service territory less billing credits and adjustments and allocated write-offs of uncollectible accounts.
2)The Company is no longer including Lifeline subscribers to be consistent with Sprint. The above table reflects the reclassification of the related Assurance Wireless prepaid revenue within the Wireless segment from Prepaid gross billings to travel and other revenues.

Operating revenues

The changes in Wireless segment service revenues shownincreased $73.2 million, or 29.3%, in the table above are almost exclusively a result of the nTelos acquisition in May 2016. Postpaid subscribers have increased by 402 thousand2017 from March 31, 2016 to March 31, 2017 with 387 thousand of them in the former nTelos service area as of March 31, 2017. Prepaid subscribers have increased by 101 thousand over the same time period. There were 110 thousand prepaid subscribersperiod in the former nTelos service area as of March 31, 2017.

In addition to the subscribers acquired2016 as a result of the acquisition of nTelos. Effective May 6, 2016, we recorded an asset relatedacquired the right to provide network access to approximately 404 thousand postpaid and 155 thousand prepaid Sprint subscribers through our acquisition of nTelos and obtaining the Sprint customers in the former nTelos service area. As a result, 2017 results included nine months of nTelos revenue whereas the comparable 2016 period included approximately five months of nTelos revenue.

Other revenues decreased $2.1 million, or 46.1%, in 2017 compared to the changessame period in 2016 primarily due to a decline in regulatory recovery revenues. The decline primarily resulted from the completion of the migration of the former nTelos subscribers to the Sprint affiliate agreement, includingnetwork and subscriber billing platform. Prior to the right to serve new subscribers inmigration of the nTelos footprint, as previously described.  That asset is being amortized through the expiration of the current initial term of that contract in 2029 and, as a result, we recorded $5.0 million in amortization in the first quarter of 2017.   Sprint agreed to waive certain management fees that they would otherwise be entitled to under the affiliate agreement in exchange for our commitment to buy nTelos, upgrade its network and support the former nTelos and Sprint customers.  The fees waived are being recognized on a straight-line basis over the remainder of the initial term of the contract through 2029 and, as a result, we recorded an adjustment of $4.2 million in the first quarter of 2017.

Other operating revenues

The increases in equipment revenue and other revenue also resulted primarily from the nTelos acquisition, with the increase in other revenue primarily representing regulatory recovery revenues related to billings to customers before migrationsubscribers to the Sprint billing system, whereas Sprint retainsplatform we billed the billingsubscribers from the former nTelos platform and related expenses and liabilities under our affiliate agreement.

Index
retained the the regulatory recovery revenues.

Cost of goods and services

Cost of goods and services increased $21.7$22.9 million, or 131.1%24.2%, in 2017 from the first quarternine months of 2016. 2017 included nine months of nTelos cost of goods and services whereas the comparable 2016 period included approximately five months of nTelos cost of goods and services. The increase results primarily from increases in cell site rent power, maintenance and backhaul costs for the incremental 868 cell sites acquired in the nTelos territory, of $19.3 million, as well as the related growth in the cost of network techniciansservice agreements to service and maintain these sites, of $1.1 million.   Cost of goodspartially offset by declines in handset costs as customers increasingly acquire handsets under Sprint's leasing and services also included $0.1 million of costs to support nTelos legacy billing operations until customers migrate to Sprint’s back office systems.installment sales programs.






Index

Selling, general and administrative

Selling, general and administrative costs increased $16.9$23.0 million, or 147.2%35.2%, in the first quarter ofnine months ended September 30, 2017 from the comparable 2016 period, again primarily due to the acquisitionperiod. 2017 included nine months of nTelos in May 2016.  Increases include $3.2 millionselling, general and administrative expenses whereas the comparable 2016 period included approximately five months of these expenses for the incremental separately settled national channelacquired customers. This increase was driven by third-party sales commissions, $4.7 million related to incremental stores acquired as a result of the nTelos acquisition, $0.9 million in incremental sales and marketing effortscampaigns to communicate withsupport our expanded territory, and migrateprepaid acquisition costs. The increases described above were partially offset by the remainingreduction in back office staff and support functions attributable to the completion of the migration of the former nTelos legacy customers oversubscribers to the Sprint platforms, and $1.3 million in other administrative costs related to the acquired operations. Costs associated with prepaid wireless offerings increased $4.3 million.  Selling, general and administrative costs also included $2.5 million of costs to support nTelos legacy billing operations until customers migrate to Sprint’s back office systems.platform.

Integration and acquisition

Integration and acquisition expenses of $3.8$9.6 million inincurred during the first quarter ofnine months ended September 30, 2017, include approximately $3.7$9.0 million for replacement handsets issued to former nTelos subscribers migratedwhen migrating to the Sprint billing platform and $0.7$0.6 million in other expenses. Integration and acquisitions expenses partially offset by $0.6have decreased approximately $10.3 million in reductionscompared with the nine months ended September 30, 2016 primarily as a result of previously estimated coststhe completion of migration and integration activities related to terminate duplicative cell site leases and backhaul contracts.the acquisition of nTelos.

Depreciation and amortization

Depreciation and amortization increased $27.3$34.2 million, or 321%48.8%, in the first quarter ofnine months ended September 30, 2017 overas compared with the comparable 2016 period due primarily to $20.0 million in incremental depreciation largelyas the result of the May 6, 2016 acquisition of nTelos. Depreciation on the acquired fixed assets and $6.7increased $28.0 million inand amortization of customer based intangibles recorded in the acquisition. increased $6.2 million. Customer based intangibles are being amortized over accelerated lives, based on a pattern of benefits.




































Index

Cable Segment

The Cable segment provides video, internet and voice services in franchise areas in portions of Virginia, West Virginia and western Maryland, and leases fiber optic facilities throughout its service area. It does not include video, internet and voice services provided to customers in Shenandoah County, Virginia, which are included in the Wireline segment. Increases in homes passed, available homes and video customers between December 31, 2015 and March 31,September 30, 2016, resulted from the Colane acquisition on January 1, 2016.

 March 31,
2017
 
December 31,
2016
 March 31, 2016 
December 31,
2015
 September 30,
2017
 December 31,
2016
 September 30,
2016
 December 31, 2015
Homes Passed (1) 184,819
 184,710
 181,375
 172,538
 184,881
 184,710
 184,698
 172,538
Customer Relationships (2)        
        
Video customers 47,160
 48,512
 50,195
 48,184
 45,290
 48,512
 48,924
 48,184
Non-video customers 30,765
 28,854
 26,895
 24,550
 32,663
 28,854
 28,469
 24,550
Total customer relationships 77,925
 77,366
 77,090
 72,734
 77,953
 77,366
 77,393
 72,734
Video        
        
Customers (3) 49,384
 50,618
 52,468
 50,215
 47,379
 50,618
 51,379
 50,215
Penetration (4) 26.7% 27.4% 28.9% 29.1% 25.6% 27.4% 27.8% 29.1%
Digital video penetration (5) 77.1% 77.4% 74.8% 77.9% 76.0% 77.4% 76.3% 77.9%
High-speed Internet        
        
Available Homes (6) 183,935
 183,826
 180,814
 172,538
 184,881
 183,826
 183,814
 172,538
Customers (3) 61,815
 60,495
 58,273
 55,131
 63,442
 60,495
 59,852
 55,131
Penetration (4) 33.6% 32.9% 32.2% 32.0% 34.3% 32.9% 32.6% 32.0%
Voice        
        
Available Homes (6) 181,198
 181,089
 178,077
 169,801
 182,350
 181,089
 181,077
 169,801
Customers (3) 21,647
 21,352
 20,786
 20,166
 22,419
 21,352
 21,199
 20,166
Penetration (4) 11.9% 11.8% 11.7% 11.9% 12.3% 11.8% 11.7% 11.9%
Total Revenue Generating Units (7) 132,846
 132,465
 131,527
 125,512
 133,240
 132,465
 132,430
 125,512
Fiber Route Miles 3,233
 3,137
 2,955
 2,844
 3,340
 3,137
 3,124
 2,844
Total Fiber Miles (8) 100,799
 92,615
 80,727
 76,949
 121,331
 92,615
 84,945
 76,949
Average Revenue Generating Units 132,419
 131,218
 129,604
 124,054
 132,704
 131,218
 131,707
 124,054

1)Homes and businesses are considered passed (“homes passed”) if we can connect them to our distribution system without further extending the transmission lines.  Homes passed is an estimate based upon the best available information.
2)Customer relationships represent the number of customers who receive at least one of our services.
3)Generally, a dwelling or commercial unit with one or more television sets connected to our distribution system counts as one video customer.  Where services are provided on a bulk basis, such as to hotels and some multi-dwelling units, the revenue charged to the customer is divided by the rate for comparable service in the local market to determine the number of customer equivalents included in the customer counts shown above. 
4)Penetration is calculated by dividing the number of customers by the number of homes passed or available homes, as appropriate.
5)Digital video penetration is calculated by dividing the number of digital video customers by total video customers.  Digital video customers are video customers who receive any level of video service via digital transmission.  A dwelling with one or more digital set-top boxes or digital adapters counts as one digital video customer.
6)Homes and businesses are considered available (“available homes”) if we can connect them to our distribution system without further extending the transmission lines and if we offer the service in that area.
7)Revenue generating units are the sum of video, voice and high-speed internet customers.
8)Fiber miles are measured by taking the number of fiber strands in a cable and multiplying that number by the route distance.  For example, a 10 mile route with 144 fiber strands would equal 1,440 fiber miles.

Index

Three Months Ended March 31,September 30, 2017 Compared with the Three Months Ended March 31,September 30, 2016

(in thousands) Three Months Ended
March 31,
 Change Three Months Ended
September 30,
 Change
 2017 2016 $ % 2017 2016 $ %
Segment operating revenues                  
Service revenue $26,411
 $24,340
 $2,071
 8.5
 $26,934
 $24,948
 $1,986
 8.0
Other revenue 2,602
 2,106
 496
 23.6
 3,155
 2,618
 537
 20.5
Total segment operating revenues 29,013
 26,446
 2,567
 9.7
 30,089
 27,566
 2,523
 9.2
Segment operating expenses  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Cost of goods and services, exclusive of depreciation and amortization shown separately below 15,228
 14,647
 581
 4.0
 14,913
 14,654
 259
 1.8
Selling, general, and administrative, exclusive of depreciation and amortization shown separately below 4,858
 5,108
 (250) (4.9) 5,358
 4,770
 588
 12.3
Depreciation and amortization 5,788
 6,095
 (307) (5.0) 6,192
 5,860
 332
 5.7
Total segment operating expenses 25,874
 25,850
 24
 0.1
 26,463
 25,284
 1,179
 4.7
Segment operating income $3,139
 $596
 $2,543
 426.7
Segment operating income (loss) $3,626
 $2,282
 $1,344
 58.9

Operating revenues

Cable segment service revenues increased $2.1$2.0 million, or 8.5%8.0%, primarily due to a 2.2% increaseincreases in average revenue generating units,high speed data and voice subscribers, video rate increases in January 2017 tothat offset increases in programming costs, and new and existing customers selecting or upgrading to higher-speed data (HSD) access packages.

Other revenue grew $0.5 million, primarily due to new fiber contracts to towers, schools and libraries.

Operating expenses

Cable segment cost of goods and services increased $0.6$0.3 million, or 4.0%1.8%, in the firstthird quarter of 2017 over the comparable 2016 period. The increase resulted from higher network and maintenance costs.

Selling, general and administrative expenses decreased $0.3increased $0.6 million against the prior year quarter due to lower advertisinghigher commission and marketing costs.


Nine Months Ended September 30, 2017 Compared with the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2016



















(in thousands) Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 Change
  2017 2016 $ %
Segment operating revenues         
Service revenue $80,229
 $73,455
 $6,774
 9.2
Other revenue 8,436
 6,958
 1,478
 21.2
Total segment operating revenues 88,665
 80,413
 8,252
 10.3
Segment operating expenses  
  
  
  
Cost of goods and services, exclusive of depreciation and amortization shown separately below 45,052
 43,864
 1,188
 2.7
Selling, general, and administrative, exclusive of depreciation and amortization shown separately below 15,083
 14,672
 411
 2.8
Depreciation and amortization 18,070
 17,834
 236
 1.3
Total segment operating expenses 78,205
 76,370
 1,835
 2.4
Segment operating income (loss) $10,460
 $4,043
 $6,417
 158.7

Index

Operating revenues

Cable segment service revenues increased $6.8 million, or 9.2%, primarily due to increases in high-speed data and voice subscribers, video rate increases in January 2017 that offset increases in programming costs, customers selecting or upgrading to higher-speed data access packages.

Other revenue grew $1.5 million, primarily due to new fiber contracts to towers, schools and libraries.

Operating expenses

Cable segment cost of goods and services increased $1.2 million, or 2.7%, in the nine months ended September 30, 2017 over the comparable 2016 period. The increase resulted from higher network and maintenance costs.

Wireline Segment

The Wireline segment provides regulated and unregulated voice services, DSL internet access, and long distance access services throughout Shenandoah County and portions of Rockingham, Frederick, Warren and Augusta counties, Virginia. The segment also provides video and cable modem internet access services in portions of Shenandoah County, and leases fiber optic facilities throughout the northern Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, northern Virginia and adjacent areas along the Interstate 81 corridor through West Virginia, Maryland and portions of Pennsylvania.

 March 31,
2017
 
Dec. 31,
2016
 March 31, 2016 
Dec. 31,
2015
 September 30,
2017
 December 31,
2016
 September 30,
2016
 December 31, 2015
Telephone Access Lines (1) 18,160
 18,443
 19,682
 20,252
 18,006
 18,443
 18,737
 20,252
Long Distance Subscribers 9,134
 9,149
 9,377
 9,476
 9,107
 9,149
 9,186
 9,476
Video Customers (2) 5,201
 5,264
 5,232
 5,356
 5,110
 5,264
 5,285
 5,356
DSL and Cable Modem Subscribers (1) 14,527
 14,314
 14,200
 13,890
 14,605
 14,314
 14,195
 13,890
Fiber Route Miles 1,997
 1,971
 1,744
 1,736
 2,040
 1,971
 1,916
 1,736
Total Fiber Miles (3) 145,060
 142,230
 125,559
 123,891
 149,944
 142,230
 133,903
 123,891

1)
Effective October 1, 2015, we launched cable modem services on our cable plant, and ceased the requirement that a customer have a telephone access line to purchase internet service. As of March 31,September 30, 2017, 1,2261,578 customers have purchased cable modem service received via the coaxial cable network.
2)
The Wireline segment’s video service passes approximately 16,500 homes.
3)Fiber miles are measured by taking the number of fiber strands in a cable and multiplying that number by the route distance.  For example, a 10 mile route with 144 fiber strands would equal 1,440 fiber miles.


Index

Three Months Ended March 31,September 30, 2017 Compared with the Three Months Ended March 31,September 30, 2016

 Three Months Ended
March 31,
 Change Three Months Ended
September 30,
 Change
(in thousands) 2017 2016 $ % 2017 2016 $ %
Segment operating revenues        
        
Service revenue $5,602
 $5,537
 $65
 1.2
 $5,724
 $5,516
 $208
 3.8
Carrier access and fiber revenues 12,665
 11,969
 696
 5.8
 13,217
 12,365
 852
 6.9
Other revenue 887
 873
 14
 1.6
 910
 851
 59
 6.9
Total segment operating revenues 19,154
 18,379
 775
 4.2
 19,851
 18,732
 1,119
 6.0
               
Segment operating expenses  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Cost of goods and services, exclusive of depreciation and amortization shown separately below 9,273
 8,643
 630
 7.3
 9,807
 9,442
 365
 3.9
Selling, general and administrative, exclusive of depreciation and amortization shown separately below 1,676
 1,605
 71
 4.4
 1,706
 1,676
 30
 1.8
Depreciation and amortization 3,132
 3,033
 99
 3.3
 3,249
 2,822
 427
 15.1
Total segment operating expenses 14,081
 13,281
 800
 6.0
 14,762
 13,940
 822
 5.9
Segment operating income $5,073
 $5,098
 $(25) (0.5)
Segment operating income (loss) $5,089
 $4,792
 $297
 6.2

Operating revenues

Total operating revenues in the quarter ended March 31,September 30, 2017 increased $0.8$1.1 million, or 4.2%6.0%, against the comparable 2016 period, primarily as a result of increases in fiber and access contracts.



Index

Operating expenses

Operating expenses overall increased $0.8 million, or 6.0%5.9%, in the quarter ended March 31,September 30, 2017, compared to the 2016 quarter. The $0.6$0.4 million increase in cost of goods and services primarily resulted from costs to support the increase in carrier access and fiber revenues shown above. The $0.4 million increase in depreciation and amortization primarily resulted from the expansion of the underlying network assets necessary to support the growth in fiber revenue.

Nine Months Ended September 30, 2017 Compared with the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2016

  Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 Change
(in thousands) 2017 2016 $ %
Segment operating revenues        
Service revenue $17,002
 $16,433
 $569
 3.5
Carrier access and fiber revenues 38,920
 36,628
 2,292
 6.3
Other revenue 2,659
 2,641
 18
 0.7
Total segment operating revenues 58,581
 55,702
 2,879
 5.2
         
Segment operating expenses  
  
  
  
Cost of goods and services, exclusive of depreciation and amortization shown separately below 28,409
 26,892
 1,517
 5.6
Selling, general and administrative, exclusive of depreciation and amortization shown separately below 5,065
 4,951
 114
 2.3
Depreciation and amortization 9,536
 8,789
 747
 8.5
Total segment operating expenses 43,010
 40,632
 2,378
 5.9
Segment operating income (loss) $15,571
 $15,070
 $501
 3.3
Index


Operating revenues

Total operating revenues in the nine months ended September 30, 2017 increased $2.9 million, or 5.2%, against the comparable 2016 period. Carrier access and fiber revenues increased $2.3 million due to increases in fiber and access contracts. The increase in service revenues primarily results from higher revenues for high-speed data services.

Operating expenses

Operating expenses overall increased $2.4 million, or 5.9%, in the nine months ended September 30, 2017, compared to the 2016 period. The $1.5 million increase in cost of goods and services primarily resulted from costs to support the increase in carrier access and fiber revenues shown above. The $0.7 million increase in depreciation and amortization primarily resulted from the expansion of the underlying network assets necessary to support the growth in fiber revenue.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In managing our business and assessing our financial performance, management supplements the information provided by financial statement measures prepared in accordance with GAAP with Adjusted OIBDA and Continuing OIBDA, which are considered “non-GAAP financial measures” under SEC rules.

Adjusted OIBDA is defined by us as operating income (loss) before depreciation and amortization, adjusted to exclude the effects of:  certain non-recurring transactions, impairment of assets, gains and losses on asset sales, straight-line adjustments for the waived management fee by Sprint, amortization of the affiliate contract expansion intangible reflected as a contra revenue, actuarial gains and losses on pension and other post-retirement benefit plans, and share-based compensation expense.  Adjusted OIBDA should not be construed as an alternative to operating income as determined in accordance with GAAP as a measure of operating performance.  Continuing OIBDA is defined by us as Adjusted OIBDA, less the benefit received from the waived management fee by Sprint overfee. The waiver will end when the nextcumulative amount waived reaches approximately six-year period, showing Sprint's support for our acquisition and our commitments$256 million, which we expect to enhance the network.occur in five years.

In a capital-intensive industry such as telecommunications, management believes that Adjusted OIBDA and Continuing OIBDA and the associated percentage margin calculations are meaningful measures of our operating performance.  We use Adjusted OIBDA and Continuing OIBDA as supplemental performance measures because management believes they facilitate comparisons of our operating performance from period to period and comparisons of our operating performance to that of other companies by excluding potential differences caused by the age and book depreciation of fixed assets (affecting relative depreciation expenses) as well as the other items described above for which additional adjustments were made.  In the future, management expects that the Companywe may again report Adjusted and Continuing OIBDA excluding these items and may incur expenses similar to these excluded items.  Accordingly, the exclusion of these and other similar items from our non-GAAP presentation should not be interpreted as implying these items are non-recurring, infrequent or unusual.

While depreciation and amortization are considered operating costs under generally accepted accounting principles, these expenses primarily represent the current period allocation of costs associated with long-lived assets acquired or constructed in prior periods, and accordingly may obscure underlying operating trends for some purposes.  By isolating the effects of these expenses and other items that vary from period to period without any correlation to our underlying performance, or that vary widely among similar companies, management believes Adjusted and Continuing OIBDA facilitates internal comparisons of our historical operating performance, which are used by management for business planning purposes, and also facilitates comparisons of our performance relative to that of our competitors.  In addition, we believe that Adjusted and Continuing OIBDA and similar measures are widely used by investors and financial analysts as measures of our financial performance over time, and to compare our financial performance with that of other companies in our industry.

Adjusted and Continuing OIBDA have limitations as an analytical tool, and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP.  These limitations include the following:

they do not reflect capital expenditures;
many of the assets being depreciated and amortized will have to be replaced in the future and Adjusted and Continuing OIBDA do not reflect cash requirements for such replacements;
they do not reflect costs associated with share-based awards exchanged for employee services;
they do not reflect interest expense necessary to service interest or principal payments on indebtedness;
they do not reflect gains, losses or dividends on investments;
they do not reflect expenses incurred for the payment of income taxes; and
Index

other companies, including companies in our industry, may calculate Adjusted and Continuing OIBDA differently than we do, limiting its usefulness as a comparative measure.

In light of these limitations, management considers Adjusted OIBDA and Continuing OIBDA as a financial performance measure that supplements but does not replace the information reflected in our GAAP results.

The following table shows Adjusted OIBDA and Continuing OIBDA for the three and nine months ended March 31,September 30, 2017 and 2016.
Index


 Three Months Ended
March 31,
 Three Months Ended
September 30,
 Nine Months Ended
September 30,
(in thousands) 2017 2016 2017 2016 2017 2016
Adjusted OIBDA $73,541
 $40,416
 $66,904
 $73,746
 $209,895
 $170,166
Continuing OIBDA $64,601
 $40,416
 $57,943
 $64,228
 $182,827
 $154,554

The following table reconciles Adjusted OIBDA and Continuing OIBDA to operating income, which we consider to be the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, for the three and nine months ended March 31,September 30, 2017 and 2016:

Consolidated:
 Three Months Ended
March 31,
 Three Months Ended
September 30,
 Nine Months Ended
September 30,
(in thousands) 2017 2016 2017 2016 2017 2016
Operating income $10,673
 $21,312
Operating income (loss) $9,475
 $(3,929) $28,400
 $10,337
Plus depreciation and amortization 44,804
 17,739
 42,568
 46,807
 132,297
 96,961
Plus (gain) loss on asset sales (28) (15) 164
 (81) 80
 (144)
Plus share based compensation expense 1,566
 1,048
 640
 496
 3,053
 2,570
Plus straight line adjustment to management fee waiver 4,206
 
 4,320
 4,640
 12,960
 7,687
Plus amortization of intangible netted in revenue 4,978
 
 5,242
 5,593
 15,563
 8,883
Plus amortization of intangible netted in rent expense 258
 
 1,580
 
 2,173
 
Plus temporary back office costs to support the billing operations through migration (1)
 2,595
 
 1,209
 4,948
 5,496
 8,071
Plus integration and acquisition related expenses 4,489
 332
 1,706
 15,272
 9,873
 35,801
Adjusted OIBDA $73,541
 $40,416
 $66,904
 $73,746
 $209,895
 $170,166
Less waived management fee (8,940) 
 (8,961) (9,518) (27,068) (15,612)
Continuing OIBDA $64,601
 $40,416
 $57,943
 $64,228
 $182,827
 $154,554

(1) Once former nTelos customers migrate to the Sprint back office, the Company incurs certain postpaid fees retained by Sprint that would offset a portion of these savings. For the three and nine months ended March 31,September 30, 2017, these offsets were estimated at $0.8 million.$0.1 million and $1.4 million, respectively.
Index


The following tables reconcile adjusted OIBDA and Continuing OIBDA to operating income by major segment for the three and nine months ended March 31,September 30, 2017 and 2016:
Wireless Segment:
 Three Months Ended
March 31,
 Three Months Ended
September 30,
 Nine Months Ended
September 30,
(in thousands) 2017 2016 2017 2016 2017 2016
Operating income $9,137
 $19,932
Operating income (loss) $6,745
 $(5,407) $22,234
 $20,905
Plus depreciation and amortization 35,752
 8,494
 32,929
 38,038
 104,231
 70,026
Plus (gain) loss on asset sales (24) 13
 193
 (45) 208
 (84)
Plus share based compensation expense 725
 271
 277
 246
 1,354
 1,058
Plus straight line adjustment to management fee waiver(1) 4,206
 
 4,320
 4,640
 12,960
 7,687
Plus amortization of intangible netted in revenue 4,978
 
 5,242
 5,593
 15,563
 8,883
Plus amortization of intangible netted in rent expense 258
 
 1,580
 
 2,173
 
Plus temporary back office costs to support the billing operations through migration 2,593
 
Plus temporary back office costs to support the billing operations 1,209
 4,945
 5,495
 8,067
Plus integration and acquisition related expenses(2) 3,792
 
 1,691
 14,499
 9,607
 19,889
Adjusted OIBDA $61,417
 $28,710
 $54,186
 $62,509
 $173,825
 $136,431
Less waived management fee(3) (8,940) 
 (8,961) (9,518) (27,068) (15,612)
Continuing OIBDA $52,477
 $28,710
 $45,225
 $52,991
 $146,757
 $120,819

(1) Pursuant to the intangible asset exchange with Sprint, we recognized an intangible asset for the affiliate contract expansion received. Consistent with the presentation of related service fees charged by Sprint, we recognize the amortization of this intangible as a contra-revenue over the remaining contract term that concludes November 2029.
(2) Integration and acquisition costs consist of severance accruals for short-term nTelos personnel to be separated as integration activities wind down, transaction related expenses, device costs to support the transition to Sprint billing platforms, and other transition costs to support the migration to Sprint back-office functions. Once former nTelos customers migrate to the Sprint back office, the Company incurs certain postpaid fees retained by Sprint and prepaid costs passed to us by Sprint that would offset a portion of these savings.
(3) As part of our amended affiliate agreement, Sprint agreed to waive the management fee, which is historically presented as a contra-revenue, for a period of approximately six years. The impact of Sprint’s waiver of the management fee over the approximate six-year period is reflected as an increase in revenue, offset by the non-cash adjustment to recognize this impact on a straight-line basis over the remaining contract term that concludes November 2029.

Cable Segment:
 
 Three Months Ended
September 30,
 Nine Months Ended
September 30,
(in thousands) 2017 2016 2017 2016
Operating income (loss) $3,626
 $2,282
 $10,460
 $4,043
Plus depreciation and amortization 6,192
 5,860
 18,070
 17,834
Less gain on asset sales (19) (19) (115) (53)
Plus share based compensation expense 172
 108
 766
 673
Adjusted OIBDA and Continuing OIBDA $9,971
 $8,231
 $29,181
 $22,497
Wireline Segment: 
 Three Months Ended
September 30,
 Nine Months Ended
September 30,
(in thousands) 2017 2016 2017 2016
Operating income (loss) $5,089
 $4,792
 $15,571
 $15,070
Plus depreciation and amortization 3,249
 2,822
 9,536
 8,789
Plus (gain) loss on asset sales 
 
 27
 40
Plus share based compensation expense 73
 49
 319
 284
Adjusted OIBDA and Continuing OIBDA $8,411
 $7,663
 $25,453
 $24,183


Index

Cable Segment:
 
 Three Months Ended
March 31,
(in thousands) 2017 2016
Operating income $3,139
 $597
Plus depreciation and amortization 5,788
 6,095
Less gain on asset sales (23) (13)
Plus share based compensation expense 364
 358
Adjusted OIBDA and Continuing OIBDA $9,268
 $7,037
Wireline Segment: 
 Three Months Ended
March 31,
(in thousands) 2017 2016
Operating income $5,073
 $5,098
Plus depreciation and amortization 3,132
 3,033
Plus loss on asset sales 30
 
Plus share based compensation expense 146
 169
Adjusted OIBDA and Continuing OIBDA $8,381
 $8,300

Liquidity and Capital Resources

We have three principal sources of funds available to meet the financing needs of our operations, capital projects, debt service, and potential dividends.  These sources include cash flows from operations, existing balances of cash and cash equivalents, the liquidation of investments, and borrowings.  Management routinely considers the alternatives available to determine what mix of sources are best suited for the long-term benefit of the Company.

Sources and Uses of Cash.Cash. We generated $24.5$158.7 million of net cash from operations in the first threenine months of 2017, compared to $43.2with $95.4 million in the first threenine months of 2016. The primary change included the timing of cash disbursements in early 2017 for inventories acquired in late 2016.

Indebtedness.  As of March 31,September 30, 2017, our indebtedness totaled $866.8$848.6 million in term loans with an annualized effective interest rate of approximately 3.91%4.07% after considering the impact of the interest rate swap contractcontracts and unamortized loan costs.  The balance consists of the $466.8$448.6 million million Term Loan A-1 at a variable rate (3.73%(3.99% as of March 31,September 30, 2017) that resets monthly based on one month LIBOR plus a margin of 2.75%, and the $400$400.0 million Term Loan A-2 at a variable rate (3.98%(4.24% as of March 31,September 30, 2017) that resets monthly based on one month LIBOR plus a margin of 3.00%.  The Term Loan A-1 requires quarterly principal repayments of $6.1 million through June 30, 2017, then increasing to $12.1 million quarterly through June 30, 2020, with further increases at that time through maturity in June 30, 2021.  The Term Loan A-2 requires quarterly principal repayments of $10.0 million beginning on September 30, 2018 through March 31, 2023, with the remaining balance due June 30, 2023.
 
We are bound by certain financial covenants under the 2016 credit agreement. Noncompliance with any one or more of the debt covenants may have an adverse effect on our financial condition or liquidity in the event such noncompliance cannot be cured or should we be unable to obtain a waiver from the lenders. As of March 31,September 30, 2017, we were in compliance with all debt covenants, and ratios at March 31,September 30, 2017 were as follows:

  Actual 
Covenant Requirement at
March 31, 2017
September 30,2017
Total Leverage Ratio 2.882.93
 3.75 or Lower
Debt Service Coverage Ratio 4.563.88
 2.00 or Higher
Minimum Liquidity Balance (000) $113 million
149,228
 $25 million or Higher

In accordance with the Credit Agreement, the total leverage and debt service coverage ratios noted above are based on consolidated EBITDA, cash taxes, scheduled principal payments and cash interest expense for the nine month periodtwelve months ending
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March 31, September 30, 2017, divided by three and multiplied by four, all as defined under the Credit Agreement. In addition to the covenants above, we are required to supply the lenders with quarterly financial statements and other reports as defined by the 2016 credit agreement. We were in compliance with all reporting requirements at March 31,September 30, 2017.

We had no off-balance sheet arrangements (other than operating leases) and have not entered into any transactions involving unconsolidated, limited purpose entities or commodity contracts.

Capital Commitments. The Company We budgeted $152.3$155.2 million in capital expenditures for 2017, including $86.4 million in the Wireless segment for upgrades and expansion of the nTelos wireless network;network, $2.9 million for upgrades in the Wireless segment Expansion Area; $28.1 million for network expansion including new fiber routes, new cell towers, and cable market expansion; $27.0 million for additional network capacity; and $10.8 million for information technology upgrades, new and renovated buildings and other projects.  As of September 30, 2017, expectations for 2017 total capital spending have been revised downward to $140.8 million, a decrease of $14.4 million. Of the decrease, $11.8 million is from the Wireless segment.

For the first threenine months of 2017, we spent $38.6$109.4 million on capital projects, compared to $20.5$102.9 million in the comparable 2016 period.  Spending related to Wireless projects accounted for $25.3$54.1 million in the first threenine months of 2017, primarily for upgrades of former nTelos sites and additional cell sites to expand coverage in the former nTelos territory. Cable capital spending of $5.2$20.8 million related to network and cable market expansion. Wireline capital projects cost $7.6$13.5 million, driven primarily by fiber builds.  Other projects totaled $0.5 million,The remaining balance of capital expenditures is largely related to information technology projects.

We believe that cash on hand, cash flow from operations and borrowings expected to be available under our existing credit facilities will provide sufficient cash to enable us to fund planned capital expenditures, make scheduled principal and interest payments, meet our other cash requirements and maintain compliance with the terms of our financing agreements for at least the next twelve months.  Thereafter, capital expenditures will likely continue to be required to continue planned capital upgrades to the acquired wireless network and provide increased capacity to meet our expected growth in demand for our
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products and services. The actual amount and timing of our future capital requirements may differ materially from our estimate depending on the demand for our products and new market developments and opportunities.

Our cash flows from operations could be adversely affected by events outside our control, including, without limitation, changes in overall economic conditions, regulatory requirements, changes in technologies, demand for our products, availability of labor resources and capital, changes in our relationship with Sprint, and other conditions.  The Wireless segment’s operations are dependent upon Sprint’s ability to execute certain functions such as billing, customer care, and collections; our ability to develop and implement successful marketing programs and new products and services; and our ability to effectively and economically manage other operating activities under our agreements with Sprint.  Our ability to attract and maintain a sufficient customer base particularly in the acquired cable markets, is also critical to our ability to maintain a positive cash flow from operations.  The foregoing events individually or collectively could affect our results.

Recently Issued Accounting Standards

In May 2014, the FASBFinancial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued ASUAccounting Standards Update ("ASU") No. 2014-09, “RevenueRevenue from Contracts with Customers”Customers, also known as Topic 606, which requires an entity to recognize the amount of revenue to which it expects to be entitled for the transfer of promised goods or services to customers. The ASU will replace most existing revenue recognition guidance in U.S. GAAP when it becomes effective. In August 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-14, delaying the effective date of ASU 2014-09. Three other amendments have been issued during 2016 modifying the original ASU. As amended, the new standard is effective for the Company on January 1, 2018, using either a retrospective basis or a modified retrospective basis with early adoption permitted, but not earlier than the original effective date beginning after December 15, 2016. We have formed a project team to evaluate and implement the new standard. As part of our work to date, we have begun documentation and are nearing completion of contract review. We currently planpermitted. The Company plans to adopt this guidancethe standard effective January 1, 2018 using the modified retrospective transition approach; under this approach prior periods will not be retrospectively adjusted.
The Company is continuing to assess all potential impacts of the standard, including the impact to the pattern with which revenue and direct and contract fulfillment costs are recognized, the impact of the standard on current accounting policies, practices and system of internal controls, in order to identify material differences, if any that would result from applying the new requirements. 
The Company is in an adjustmentthe process of establishing new policies and processes, and is implementing necessary changes to retained earnings fordata and procedures necessary to comply with the cumulative effect, if any, of applying this standard. Additionally, this guidance requires usnew requirements.
While continuing to provide additional disclosuresassess all potential impacts of the amount by which each financial statement line itemstandard, the Company believes the adoption will not have a significant effect on earnings however, the presentation of certain costs may change and disclosures will be impacted. The Company is affectedstill in the current reporting period during 2018 as compared toprocess of evaluating the guidance that was in effect beforeimpacts and the initial assessment may change. We continue to assess the impact this new standard will have on our financial position, results of operations and cash flows.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, “Leases”Leases, also known as Topic 842, which requires the recognition of lease assets and lease liabilities by lessees for those leases classified as operating leases under previous generally accepted accounting principles.  This change will result in an increase to recorded assets and liabilities on lessees’ financial statements, as well as changes in the categorization of rental costs, from rent expense to interest and depreciation expense.  Other effects may occur depending on the types of leases and the specific terms of them utilized by particular lessees.  The ASU is effective for us on January 1, 2019, and early application is permitted.  Modified retrospective application is required.  We are currently evaluatingThe Company plans to adopt this standard when it becomes effective for the ASU, but expectCompany beginning January 1, 2019, and expects the adoption of this standard will result in the recognition of right of use assets and lease liabilities that ithave not previously been recorded, which will have a material impact on ourthe Company’s consolidated financial statements.

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ITEM 3.QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK

The Company’s market risks relate primarily to changes in interest rates on instruments held for other than trading purposes.  The Company’s interest rate risk generally involves three components.  The first component is outstanding debt with variable rates.  As of March 31,September 30, 2017, the Company had $866.8$848.6 million of variable rate debt outstanding (excluding unamortized loan fees and costs of $17.8$15.6 million), bearing interest at a weighted average rate of 3.85%4.10% as determined on a monthly basis. An increase in market interest rates of 1.00% would add approximately $8.7$8.3 million to annual interest expense, excluding the effect of the interest rate swap.  In May 2016, the Company entered into a pay-fixed, receive-variable interest rate swap with three counterparties totaling $256.6 of notional principal (subject to change based upon expected draws under the delayed draw term loan and principal payments due under our debt agreements).  This swap, combined with the swap purchased in 2012, covercovers notional principal equal to approximately 50% of the expected outstanding variable rate debt through maturity in 2023. The Company is required to pay a combined fixed rate of approximately 1.16% and receive a variable rate based on one month LIBOR (0.98%(1.235% as of March 31,September 30, 2017), to manage a portion of its interest rate risk. Changes in the net interest paid or received under the swaps would offset approximately 50% of the change in interest expense on the variable rate debt outstanding. The swap agreements currently add approximately $0.8 million toreduce annual interest expense by approximately $1.1 million, based on the spread between the fixed rate and the variable rate currently in effect on our debt.

The second component of interest rate risk consists of temporary excess cash, which can be invested in various short-term investment vehicles such as overnight repurchase agreements and Treasury bills with a maturity of less than 90 days. As of March 31,September 30, 2017, the cash is invested in a commercial checking account that has limited interest rate risk. Management continually evaluates the most beneficial use of these funds.

The third component of interest rate risk is marked increases in interest rates that may adversely affect the rate at which the Company may borrow funds for growth in the future.  If the Company should borrow additional funds under any Incremental Term Loan Facility to fund its capital investment needs, repayment provisions would be agreed to at the time of each draw under the Incremental Term Loan Facility.  If the interest rate margin on any draw exceeds by more than 0.25% the applicable interest rate margin on the Term Loan Facility, the applicable interest rate margin on the Term Loan Facility shall be increased to equal the interest rate margin on the Incremental Term Loan Facility.  If interest rates increase generally, or if the rate applied under the Company’s Incremental Term Loan Facility causes the Company’s outstanding debt to be repriced, the Company’s future interest costs could increase.

Management views market risk as having a potentially significant impact on the Company's results of operations, as future results could be adversely affected if interest rates were to increase significantly for an extended period, or if the Company’s need for additional external financing resulted in increases to the interest rates applied to all of its new and existing debt.  As of March 31,September 30, 2017, the Company has $433.4$424.3 million of variable rate debt with no interest rate protection.  The Company’s investments in publicly traded stock and bond mutual funds under the rabbi trust, which are subject to market risks and could experience significant swings in market values, are offset by corresponding changes in the liabilities owed to participants in the Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan.  General economic conditions affected by regulatory changes, competition or other external influences may pose a higher risk to the Company’s overall results.

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ITEM 4.CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Management, with the participation of our President and Chief Executive Officer, who is the principal executive officer, and the Vice President - Finance and Chief Financial Officer, who is the principal financial officer, conducted an evaluation of our disclosure controls and procedures, as(as defined by Rule 13a-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.1934), as of the end of the period covered by this Quarterly report on Form 10-Q.
As disclosed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for our fiscal year ended December 31, 2016, we identified material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting. The material weaknesses will not be considered remediated until the applicable remedialenhanced controls operate for a sufficient period of time and management has concluded, through testing, that these controls are operating effectively. As remediation has not yet been completed, our President and Chief Executive Officer and our Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures continued to be ineffective as of March 31,September 30, 2017.
Notwithstanding the material weaknesses, management has concluded that the condensed consolidated financial statements included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q fairly state, in all material respects, our financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the periods presented.
Remediation Efforts
In response to the material weaknesses identified in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for our fiscal year ended December 31, 2016, we expect to:
Seek, train and retain individuals that have the appropriate skills and experience related to financial reporting and internal control related to (i) complex, significant non-routine transactions; (ii) the preparation of the consolidated statements of cash flows; and (iii) the Company’s internal audit function.
Evaluate and develop where necessary policies and procedures to ensure our personnel are sufficiently knowledgeable about the design, operation and documentation of internal controls over financial reporting related to (i) complex, significant non-routine transactions; (ii) accounting for income taxes; and (iii) the preparation of the consolidated statements of cash flows.
Enhance the design of existing control activities and implement additional control activities to ensure management review controls and other controls (including controls that validate the completeness and accuracy of information, data and assumptions) related to complex, significant non-routine transactions and accounting for income taxes, are properly designed and documented.
Evaluate and enhance the Company’s policies, procedures and control activities over communicating with the Company’s third party experts to ensure complete and accurate information is communicated.
Evaluate and enhance the Company’s monitoring activities to ensure the components of internal control are present and functioning related to (i) complex, significant non-routine transactions; (ii) accounting for income taxes; and (iii) the preparation of the consolidated statements of cash flows.

Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
The acquisition of nTelos was completed on May 6, 2016. Our Company’s management has extended its oversight and monitoring processes that support internal control over financial reporting to include the operations of nTelos.nTelos and consideration for such has been included in our evaluation of disclosure controls and procedures. Our management is continuing to integrate the acquired operations into our overall internal control financial reporting process, expected to be complete in 2017.
Except as noted above, there hasThere have been no changechanges in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act)  as of March 31,September 30, 2017, that hashave materially affected or isare reasonably likely to material affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.
Remediation Efforts
Management is continuing to implement the remediation plans as disclosed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for our fiscal year ended December 31, 2016. We believe that these actions and the improvements we expect to achieve will effectively remediate the material weaknesses. However, these material weaknesses will not be considered remediated until the enhanced controls operate for a sufficient period of time and management has concluded that these controls are operating effectively.
Other Matters Relating to Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Under the Company’s agreements with Sprint, Sprint provides the Company with billing, collections, customer care, certain network operations and other back-office services for the PCS operation. As a result, Sprint remits to the Company a substantial portion of the Company’s total operating revenues, which will increase as legacy nTelos subscribers migrate to the Sprint billing platform in the future. Due to this relationship, the Company necessarily relies on Sprint to provide accurate, timely and sufficient data and information to properly record the Company’s revenues and accounts receivable, which underlie a substantial portion of the Company’s periodic financial statements and other financial disclosures.
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Information provided by Sprint includes reports regarding the subscriber accounts receivable in the Company’s markets. Sprint provides the Company with monthly accounts receivable, billing and cash receipts, average national costs to acquire and support a prepaid customer, certain national channel commission and handset subsidy costs, and travel revenue information on a market level, rather than a subscriber level. The Company reviews these various reports to identify discrepancies or errors. Under the Company’s agreements with Sprint, the Company is entitled to only a portion of the receipts, net of items such as taxes, government surcharges, certain allocable write-offs and the 16.6% of postpaid and 6% of prepaid revenue currently retained by Sprint (before the effect of fee waivers). Sprint reports directly billed costs and revenues to the Company. Because of the Company’s reliance on Sprint for financial information, the Company must depend on Sprint to design adequate internal controls with respect to the processes established to provide this data and information to the Company and Sprint’s other Sprint PCS affiliate network partners. To address this issue, Sprint engages an independent registered public accounting firm to perform a periodic evaluation of these controls and to provide a “Report on Controls Placed in Operation and Tests of Operating Effectiveness” under guidance provided in Statements on Standards for Attestation Engagements No. 16 (“SSAE 16”). The report is provided to the Company on an annual basis and covers a nine-month period. The most recent report covered the period from January 1, 2016 to September 30, 2016. The most recent report indicated there were no material issues
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which would adversely affect the information used to support the recording of the revenues provided by Sprint related to the Company’s relationship with them.

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PART II.OTHER INFORMATION

ITEM 1A.Risk Factors

We discuss in our Annual Report on Form 10-K various risks that may materially affect our business. We use this section to update this discussion to reflect material developments since our Form 10-K was filed. As of March 31,September 30, 2017, the Company has not identified any needed updates to the risk factors included in our most recent Form 10-K.



ITEM 2.Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

The Company maintains a dividend reinvestment plan (the “DRIP”) for the benefit of its shareholders.  When shareholders remove shares from the DRIP, the Company issues a certificate for whole shares, pays out cash for any fractional shares, and cancels the fractional shares purchased.  In conjunction with exercises of stock options and distributions of vested share awards, the Company periodically repurchases shares from recipients to satisfy some of the exercise price of the options being exercised or taxes payable associated with the distribution of shares.  The following table provides information about the Company’s repurchases of shares during the three months ended March 31,September 30, 2017:

  
Number of Shares
Purchased
 
Average Price
Paid per Share
January 1 to January 31 43,044
 $28.48
February 1 to February 28 
 $
March 1 to March 31 
 $
     
Total 43,044
 $28.48
  
Number of Shares
Purchased
 
Average Price
Paid per Share
July 1 to July 31 
 $
August 1 to August 31 
 $
September 1 to September 30 140,328
 $38.85
    

Total 140,328
 $38.85



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ITEM 6. Exhibits

(a)The following exhibits are filed with this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q:
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10.54
Addendum XX to Sprint PCS Management Agreement, dated as of March 9, 2017, by and among Shenandoah Personal Communications, LLC, Sprint Spectrum L.P., Sprint Communications Company, L.P., SprintCom, Inc. and Horizon Personal Communications, LLC, filed as Exhibit 10.1 to the Company's Current Report on Form 8-K filed
March 15, 2017.
 
 
31.131.1*
Certification of President and Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
 
 
31.231.2*
Certification of Vice President - Finance and Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
 
 
3232**
Certifications pursuant to Rule 13a-14(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and 18 U.S.C. § 1350.
 
 
(101)(101)Formatted in XBRL (Extensible Business Reporting Language)
   
 101.INS101.INS*XBRL Instance Document
   
 101.SCH101.SCH*XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document
   
 101.CAL101.CAL*XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document
   
 101.DEF101.DEF*XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document
   
 101.LAB101.LAB*XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document
   
 101.PRE101.PRE*XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document

*    Filed herewith
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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

**SHENANDOAH TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANY
(Registrant)This certification is deemed not filed for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (Exchange Act), or otherwise subject to the liability of that section, nor shall it be deemed incorporated by reference into any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (Securities Act), or the Exchange Act.

/s/Adele M. Skolits
Adele M. Skolits
Vice President - Finance and Chief Financial Officer
Date: May 4, 2017

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EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit No.Exhibit
  
Addendum XX to Sprint PCS Management Agreement, dated as of March 9, 2017, by and among Shenandoah Personal Communications, LLC, Sprint Spectrum L.P., Sprint Communications Company, L.P., SprintCom, Inc. and Horizon Personal Communications, LLC, filed as Exhibit 10.1 to the Company's Current Report on Form 8-K filed March 15, 2017.
  
Certification of President and Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
  
Certification of Vice President - Finance and Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
  
32**
Certifications pursuant to Rule 13a-14(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and 18 U.S.C. § 1350.
  
(101)Formatted in XBRL (Extensible Business Reporting Language)
   
 101.INSXBRL Instance Document
   
 101.SCHXBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document
   
 101.CALXBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document
   
 101.DEFXBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document
   
 101.LABXBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document
   
 101.PREXBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document
*    Filed herewith
**This certification is deemed not filed for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (Exchange Act), or otherwise subject to the liability of that section, nor shall it be deemed incorporated by reference into any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (Securities Act), or the Exchange Act.


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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

SHENANDOAH TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANY

/s/ Adele M. Skolits
Adele M. Skolits
Vice President - Finance and Chief Financial Officer
Date: November 2, 2017


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