EDINBURG — Cablefax, a nationally recognized trade publication, awarded Shentel its ninth annual Independent Cable Operator of the Year award.

According to a Cablefax press release, Shentel Executive Vice President Earle MacKenzie accepted the award at the Cable TV Innovation Summit at the New York Athletic Club in New York City 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 one million wireless customers in the aforementioned states, as well as Pennsylvania and Kentucky,” officials said in the release.

Shentel, which has a Farmville location, serves Southside Virginia.

According to the release, Shentel completed the upgrade of its latest cable purchase in Omar, West Virginia last month.