Item 2. Properties
ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
Our property, plant and equipment consists principally of fiber-optic and metallic cables, high-speed transport equipment, electronics, switches, routers, gateway and transmission facilities, central office equipment, land and buildings related to our operations. Our gross property, plant and equipment consisted of the following components as of the dates below:
December 31,
2025 (5)
2024
Land 1 % 1 %
Fiber, conduit and other outside plant (1)
39 % 40 %
Central office and other network electronics (2)
38 % 38 %
Support assets (3)
16 % 16 %
Construction in progress (4)
6 % 5 %
Gross property, plant and equipment 100 % 100 %
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(1) Fiber, conduit and other outside plant consists of fiber and metallic cable, conduit, poles and other supporting structures.
(2) Central office and other network electronics consists of circuit and packet switches, routers, transmission electronics and electronics providing service to customers.
(3) Support assets consist of buildings, data centers, computers and other administrative and support equipment.
(4) Construction in progress includes inventory held for construction and property of the aforementioned categories that has not been placed in service as it is still under construction.
(5) These values exclude assets classified as held for sale as of December 31, 2025.
We own a substantial portion of our telecommunications equipment essential to our operations, but, we also lease certain facilities, network capacity, and equipment from third parties under various agreements. We also own or lease administrative offices in major U.S. and international metropolitan areas. Substantially all of our network electronics equipment is housed in buildings or on land we own or lease within our local service area. Outside our local service area, our assets are generally located on real property under agreements with the property owner or another person with rights to the property. These agreements may expire, terminate, or be legally challenged, which could result in the loss of our rights.
The carrying amount of our net property, plant and equipment was approximately $19.6 billion and $20.4 billion as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively, excluding assets held for sale. Substantial portions of our property, plant and equipment are pledged to secure the long-term debt of our subsidiaries or the guarantee obligations of our subsidiary guarantors. For additional information, see Note 9 — Property, Plant and Equipment in Item 8.
We have entered into various agreements regarding our unused office and technical space to reduce our ongoing operating expenses regarding such space.
ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
The information contained under the subheadings "Principal Proceedings" and "Other Proceedings, Disputes and Contingencies" in Note 17 — Commitments, Contingencies and Other Items in Item 8 is incorporated herein by reference.
ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES
Not applicable.
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PART II