EDINBURG, Va., June 22, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- (NASDAQ:SHEN) — Cablefax, a nationally recognized trade publication, awarded Shenandoah Telecommunications Company (Shentel) its 9th annual Independent Cable Operator of the Year for 2017. Shentel Executive Vice President Earle MacKenzie accepted the award at the Cable TV Innovation Summit at the New York Athletic Club on June 8.

The award reflects Shentel's transformation from a legacy telephone company serving one county in Virginia to becoming a triple-play cable provider serving nearly 80,000 consumers and business customers in Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland. Shentel is also an affiliate of Sprint, with almost 1 million wireless customers in the aforementioned states, as well as Pennsylvania and Kentucky.

"Cablefax is proud to honor Shentel, with our editors impressed by its tremendous growth in the cable industry in such a short time," said Cablefax Editorial Director Amy Maclean. "As one of the first operators to offer a pay-as-you-go option for subscribers, Shentel has found creative ways to innovate in order to serve its largely rural customer base."

MacKenzie admits that this award was something he had set as a goal for Shentel. "I could not be more proud of the team we have at Shentel," he said. "This is a company that never rests on its laurels. We have reached some amazing milestones, and we continue to provide best-in-class products and services to our customers while we keep our eye on the next milestone. That is how we have operated for 115 years."

In the latest example of Shentel's commitment to bringing the same level of service to rural areas that is found anywhere in the United States, Shentel completed the upgrade of its latest cable purchase in Omar, WV last month. Similar to other areas that Shentel serves, the area is extremely mountainous and rural and had limited broadband service prior to Shentel coming to town.

For more information, visit www.shentel.com.

About Shenandoah Telecommunications

Shenandoah Telecommunications Company (Shentel) provides a broad range of diversified communications services through its high speed, state-of-the-art network to customers in the Mid-Atlantic United States.  The Company's services include: wireless voice and data; cable video, internet and voice; fiber network and services; and local and long distance telephone. Shentel is the exclusive personal communications service ("PCS") Affiliate of Sprint in portions of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. 

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SOURCE Shenandoah Telecommunications Company (Shentel)