As I noted, total operating revenues declined 11%. However with lower device sales, lower promotional costs, lower bad debt expense and a steadfast focus on controlling costs, cash expenses decreased and this decline more than offset the decline in revenue. System operations expense declined 6% due primarily due to the previously mentioned decrease in off-net roaming expense. In 2024, we will begin to realize net savings associated with the shutdown of our CDMA network that LT previously mentioned, offset partially by decommissioning costs. Starting in 2025, we expect annual runrate savings of approximately $30 million related to the CDMA shutdown. These expected savings will help mitigate expense increases associated with our ongoing 5G mid band deployment.
Loss on equipment or equipment sales less cost of equipment sold, decreased $25 million as a result of lower device sales and promotional costs. As previously mentioned, we ran an aggressive new and existing promotion for the entire duration of the third quarter of 2022 and did not execute this level of promotional intensity in 2023. Selling, general and administrative expenses decreased 10% driven primarily by decreases in bad debts expense, and the favorable impact for the reduction in workforce that was executed in the second quarter of 2023. As we indicated last quarter, we estimate full year runrate savings related to the reduction in workforce of approximately $45 million, which we expect to fully realize in 2024. Wrapping up the slide adjusted operating income increased 35% and adjusted EBITDA, which incorporates the earnings for equity method investments, along with interest in dividend income increased 28%.
Both of these amounts have been adjusted to exclude the $3 million of expenses incurred in the third quarter related to our strategic alternatives review. Capital expenditures decreased 18%, mainly driven by the timing of expenditures in 2023, relative to the prior year. Free cash flow was $237 million for nine months ended September 30 2023. And we expect healthy positive free cash flow for the full year 2023 as we continue to invest in our multi-year 5G mid band deployment while prudently managing our free cash flow. As shown in Slide 12, service revenue and capital expenditure guidance remains unchanged. Further, we have retained the midpoints of our adjusted operating income and adjusted EBITDA guidance and tightened the ranges of these measures reflecting reducing uncertainty given we are in the later stages of the year.
I will now turn the call over to Michelle Brukwicki. Michelle?
Michelle Brukwicki : Thank you, Doug, and good morning, everyone. Turning to Slide 14, I’ll share third quarter highlights for TDS Telecom. Our team delivered 61,000 fiber service addresses in the quarter, our highest quarter-to-date, bringing our year-to-date total to 127,000 at the end of September. Given where we are in the year and the strong momentum we’ve had, we are raising our 2023 goal to 200,000 fiber service addresses, up from 175,000. Another important milestone for our fiber program is that we expect all of our expansion markets will be launched by the end of 2023. These markets are primarily in Wisconsin and the Pacific Northwest. And a few of our recently announced markets are Missoula, Butte, Helena and Great Falls, Montana, Twin Falls and Caldwell, Idaho and Fond du Lac and Sheboygan, Wisconsin.
Another important highlight this quarter is that TDS Telecom elected to participate in the federal enhanced ACAM program in 24 states. This program will provide us with revenue support through 2038 in return for us delivering increased speeds of 100 megabits down and 20 up to about 270,000 locations. As a reminder, the existing ACAM program provided $82 million a year through 2028. The new program increases the revenue amount to approximately $90 million per year beginning in 2024 and extends to 2038. Therefore, we expect to receive a total of about $1.3 billion of E-ACAM revenue support over the next 15 years. We anticipate this program will help to accelerate the delivery of higher speed broadband to various rural high-cost areas that we serve.
This is a fantastic outcome for TDS Telecom and our customers. Now let’s jump into our quarterly results starting on Slide 15. As you just heard with our successful fiber service address results, we have increased our fiber service address goal to 200,000 this year. We are really proud that we have developed a strong competency in managing builds and navigating challenges. Longer term you can see where we are and our scorecard. We are targeting 1.2 million marketable fiber service addresses by 2026. We ended the quarter with 709,000. So we’re making good progress. We are also targeting 60% of our total service addresses to be served by fiber by 2026. We ended the quarter with 44%. This reflects progress in growing fiber through our expansion markets, as well as fibering up our incumbent markets.
