CHICAGO, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- United States
Cellular Corporation (NYSE: USM) successfully bid for spectrum
licenses in the recent Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
C-Band Auction 107 and purchased 254 licenses covering 94 percent
of its subscribers for an estimated total cost of $1.46 billion, including gross bids as well as
estimated relocation costs and accelerated relocation incentive
payments. Combined with prior mid-band purchases of CBRS spectrum
in Auction 105, UScellular will have mid-band spectrum in nearly
all of its operating footprint.
"All spectrum bands will play an important role in our 5G
network strategy," said Laurent
Therivel, UScellular president and CEO. "We are currently
deploying 5G on 600 MHz spectrum and we have planned all along to
augment it with mid and high band spectrum. We are pleased
with our success in the C-Band auction, acquiring 60 MHz in
the majority of our key markets, in places like Wisconsin and Iowa.
Therivel continued, "We applaud the FCC for conducting this
auction. We are also hopeful that the administration will
focus on bridging the digital divide by making more spectrum
available for network deployment and ensuring all Americans have
access to high-quality and affordable broadband
services."
"Network quality has always been the foundation of our
strategy," said Michael S. Irizarry,
Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer-Engineering
and Information Services. "As we continue our multi-year
network modernization and 5G deployment, we are delivering an
outstanding customer experience while ramping up business
opportunities that utilize 5G and IoT. We are also conducting
customer pilots using millimeter wave spectrum for a high-speed
internet product to test market demand."
About UScellular
United States Cellular Corporation
provides a comprehensive range of wireless products and services,
excellent customer support, and a high-quality network to customers
with 5.0 million connections in 21 states. The Chicago-based company had 5,300 full- and
part-time associates as of December 31,
2020. At the end of the fourth quarter of 2020, Telephone
and Data Systems, Inc. owned 82 percent of UScellular. For more
information about UScellular, visit uscellular.com.
Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995: All information set forth in
this news release, except historical and factual information,
represents forward-looking statements. This includes all statements
about the company's plans, beliefs, estimates, and expectations.
These statements are based on current estimates, projections, and
assumptions, which involve certain risks and uncertainties that
could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the
forward-looking statements. Important factors that may affect these
forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: intense
competition; the ability to obtain or maintain roaming arrangements
with other carriers on acceptable terms; the ability to obtain
access to adequate radio spectrum to meet current or anticipated
future needs, including participation in FCC auctions; the ability
to attract people of outstanding talent throughout all levels of
the organization; UScellular's smaller scale relative to larger
competitors; changes in demand, consumer preferences and
perceptions, price competition, or churn rates; advances in
technology; impacts of costs, integration problems or other factors
associated with acquisitions, divestitures or exchanges of
properties or wireless spectrum licenses and/or expansion of
UScellular's businesses; the ability of the company to successfully
construct and manage its networks; difficulties involving third
parties; uncertainties in UScellular's future cash flows and
liquidity and access to the capital markets; the ability to make
payments on UScellular indebtedness or comply with the terms of
debt covenants; conditions in the U.S. telecommunications industry;
the value of assets and investments; the state and federal
regulatory environment; pending and future litigation; potential
conflicts of interests between TDS and UScellular; cyber-attacks or
other breaches of network or information technology security;
disruption in credit or other financial markets; deterioration of
U.S. or global economic conditions; the impact, duration and
severity of public health emergencies, such as the COVID-19
pandemic. Investors are encouraged to consider these and other
risks and uncertainties that are more fully described under "Risk
Factors" in the most recent filing of UScellular's Form 10-K.
For more information about UScellular, visit:
www.uscellular.com
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SOURCE United States Cellular Corporation