U.S. Cellular

United States Cellular Corporation
Type Public
Traded as NYSEUSM
Industry Telecommunications
Founded 1983
Headquarters Chicago, Illinois, USA
Products CDMA2000 1x and EV-DO (wireless voice and data services), SMS (text messaging), MMS (picture messaging), Mobile TV (EasyEdge Mobile TV), location-based services, BREW (EasyEdge), AMPS
Revenue $3.93 billion USD (2009)
Net income $216 million USD (2009)
Employees 9,000 (2011)
Parent Telephone and Data Systems (80%)
Website www.uscellular.com

United States Cellular Corporation, d.b.a. U.S. Cellular (NYSEUSM), owns and operates the sixth largest [1] wireless telecommunications network in the United States, behind Verizon Wireless, AT&T Mobility, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile USA, and Metro PCS. As of 2011, they serve about 6.1 million customers in 126 markets in 26 U.S. states.[2] The company has its headquarters in Chicago, Illinois.

Contents

Corporate information

U.S. Cellular was created in 1983 as a subsidiary of Telephone and Data Systems (TDS), Inc., which still owns an 81% stake.

U.S Cellular features free unlimited incoming calls, allowing users to receive calls without charge. In addition, they offer unlimited incoming text, picture, and video messages.[3]

As a public service, U.S. Cellular works with National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to provide free AMBER Alerts via text messaging.[4]

On October 1, 2010, U.S. Cellular became the first wireless carrier in the United States to offer plans with features such as free phone replacement, one-and-done contracts, points-based rewards for customer loyalty, monthly minute overage protection, and a monthly discount by electing to receive paperless statements and paying your bill automatically. The discount is currently 3% for payments via credit or debit card and 5% for payments made via an e-check. This program was launched as the Belief Project.[5]

Customer Satisfaction

U.S.Cellular touts its service, having one of the highest customer retention rates among its competitors, as reported by some market research firms.[6]

J. D. Power and Associates continually rates U.S. Cellular as having "Highest in Wireless Call Quality Performance" for several of its coverage regions.[7] The North Central Region (IL,IN, MI, OH, WI) has received the award from 2006-2011.[8]

Consumer Reports does an annual survey of wireless service providers. The company has the highest call quality and network satisfaction of any national carrier as stated by the survey.[9]

Network

Originally, U.S. Cellular used Digital AMPS "TDMA" cell phones in most markets, but the company has completed shifting over to 1xRTT CDMA technology. After the switch, U.S. Cellular has discontinued all analog and TDMA services. In 2009, U.S. Cellular started converting its network to EVDO which offers 3G speeds. U.S. Cellular plans to eventually use GSM based LTE for its future 4G network.[10]

The company offers national 3G coverage through roaming agreements. Native coverage is mainly in the Pacific Northwest, Midwest, parts of the East and New England. Although headquartered in Chicago, U.S. Cellular did not offer service in the Chicago metropolitan area until it acquired territories from PrimeCo Communications between 2002 and 2003, after the formation of Verizon Wireless.[11]

4G Rollout

U.S. Cellular announced that it will start offering 4G coverage to customers beginning in the first quarter of 2012. The company decided to go with LTE for its 4G coverage. The rollout is planned for selected cities in Iowa, Wisconsin, Maine, North Carolina, Texas and Oklahoma. These include some of U.S. Cellular's leading markets such as Milwaukee, Madison and Racine, Wis.; Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and Davenport, Iowa; Portland and Bangor, Maine; and Greenville, N.C.[12]

Timeline

Phones

The company offers phones manufactured by Samsung, Motorola, HTC, LG, RIM, Huawei, and Pantech.

On December 5, 2011 U.S. Cellular stated it is waiting for an LTE version of Apple's iPhone before selling the phone. [14]

Tablet PCs

U.S. Cellular launched the Samsung Galaxy i800 Tablet PC in November, 2010.

U.S. Cellular launched the Motorola Xoom Tablet PC in June, 2011.

Belief Project

On October 1, 2010 U.S. Cellular unveiled its customer reward program as "The Belief Project".[15]

Belief Plans

All Belief plans are nationwide with no additional roaming charges in the United States. These plans all feature free incoming calls, nights & weekends starting at 7pm, and mobile-to-mobile calls between U.S. Cellular customers. One of the major benefits of a Belief plan is the "One-and-Done Contracts" feature. Customer are only required to fulfill one twenty-four month agreement per line. After the first initial contract, customers no longer have to sign contracts and can continue to buy new phones at promotional prices when eligible. Also, customers on Belief plans earn points each month as part of the Belief Rewards program. Each plan earns a set number of points based on the plan and the number of lines a customer has. Customers have many opportunities to earn more points by referring friends, taking surveys, and participating in promotional events. These points can be redeemed for early upgrades, free accessories, and phones. The points never expire.

Corporate affairs

Executive leadership

Board of Directors

Corporate headquarters

The company has its headquarters in almost 140,000 square feet (13,000 m2) in the Citicorp Plaza complex in O'Hare, Chicago, Illinois, near O'Hare International Airport.[16][17] US Cellular's lease will expire in September 2011. The company stated in 2008 that it hired CB Richard Ellis to help determine whether the company should stay in its current headquarters facility, move to central Chicago, or move to the Chicago suburbs.[17]

Corporate sponsorship

U.S. Cellular owns the naming rights to:

It has opened the U.S. Cellular pavilion in Hadlock Field, home of the Portland Sea Dogs in Portland, Maine.

U.S. Cellular is the official wireless sponsor for the St. Louis Cardinals and St. Louis Rams, and was a Hall of Fame Partner of the Chicago Bears until Verizon took that over before the 2011 season.[18]

U.S. Cellular purchased the facility naming rights to U.S. Cellular Community Park in a six year, $650,000 agreement.c

U.S. Cellular is the presenting sponsor of the August 1, 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Iowa Speedway. The race was titled the U.S. Cellular 250.

U.S. Cellular has been the presenting sponsor of the 80/35 music festival in Des Moines, Iowa, since its inception in 2008. [19]

Additional corporate sponsorship includes the Calling All Communities and Calling All Teachers programs as well as the Associate Matching Gifts program.[20]

The sonic logo, tag, audio mnemonic was produced by Musikvergnuegen and written by Walter Werzowa from the Austrian 1980s sampling band Edelweiss.[21]

External links

Chicago portal
Illinois portal
Companies portal

References

  1. ^ "U.S. Cellular | Investor Relations | U.S. Cellular Investor Relations". Phx.corporate-ir.net. http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=106793&p=irol-IRHome. Retrieved 2011-10-10. 
  2. ^ February 26, 2009 — 12:08pm ET (2009-02-26). "U.S. Cellular posts $329M loss despite revenue jump". FierceWireless. http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/u-s-cellular-posts-329m-loss-despite-revenue-jump/2009-02-26?utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss&cmp-id=OTC-RSS-FW0. Retrieved 2011-10-10. 
  3. ^ "Free Incoming Calls, Texts and Pics | Features & Services". U.S. Cellular. http://www.uscellular.com/services/free-incoming-calls-text-pix.html. Retrieved 2011-10-10. 
  4. ^ "Wireless Amber Alerts". U.S. Cellular. http://www.uscellular.com/about/wireless-amber-alerts.html. Retrieved 2011-10-10. 
  5. ^ "The Belief Project". U.S. Cellular. http://www.uscellular.com/the-belief-project/index.html. Retrieved 2011-10-10. 
  6. ^ Gottesman, Ben (2010-09-07). "Readers' Choice Awards 2010 - Cellular Service Providers: Contract Providers". PCMag.com. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2368156,00.asp. Retrieved 2011-10-10. 
  7. ^ "Best Cell Phone Company | Awards Page | About Us". U.S. Cellular. 2009-05-15. http://www.uscellular.com/about/awards.html. Retrieved 2011-10-10. 
  8. ^ "Coverage Indicator | Cell Phone Coverage". U.S. Cellular. http://www.uscellular.com/coverage-map/coverage-indicator.html. Retrieved 2011-10-10. 
  9. ^ [1]
  10. ^ http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/US-Cellular-Plans-to-Launch-4G-LTE-in-2012-Report-389276/
  11. ^ "U.S. Cellular Launches in Chicago". Phone Scoop. 2002-11-12. http://www.phonescoop.com/news/item.php?n=-386. Retrieved 2011-10-10. 
  12. ^ "TO LAUNCH 4G LTE SERVICE AND DEVICES IN TIME FOR THE HOLIDAYS | 2011 Press Releases". U.S. Cellular. 2011-05-06. http://www.uscellular.com/about/press-room/2011/USCELLULAR-TO-LAUNCH-4G-LTE-SERVICE-AND-DEVICES-IN-TIME-FOR-THE-HOLIDAYS.html. Retrieved 2011-10-10. 
  13. ^ "U.S. Cellular - Welcome". Uscc.com. http://www.uscc.com/uscellular/SilverStream/Pages/x_page_popup.html?p=mbb_popup. Retrieved 2011-10-10. 
  14. ^ http://gigaom.com/broadband/u-s-cellular-well-take-the-iphone-when-apple-gives-us-lte/
  15. ^ "The Belief Project FAQs | The Belief Project". U.S. Cellular. http://www.uscellular.com/the-belief-project/faqs.html. Retrieved 2011-10-10. 
  16. ^ "About Us." U.S. Cellular. Retrieved on January 5, 2011. "8410 W. Bryn Mawr Suite 700 Chicago, IL 60631-3486."
  17. ^ a b Baeb, Eddie. "U.S. Cellular to explore HQ move." Crain's Chicago Business. April 23, 2008. Retrieved on January 10, 2010.
  18. ^ Partner List - Chicago Bears
  19. ^ - 80/35 music festival
  20. ^ Community Involvement
  21. ^ Paul Morley (2003-10-19). "Boot me up, Dessie". The Observer (Guardian Media Group). http://observer.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,4774366-111639,00.html. Retrieved 2009-01-17.