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United States Cellular Corporation

Trade name	UScellular
Company type	Public company
Traded as	NYSE: USM Russell 2000 component
Industry	Telecommunications
Founded	1983; 41 years ago (1983)
Headquarters	Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Revenue	US$4.02 billion (2019)
Net income	US$133 million (2019)
Number of employees	4,800 (4Q 2021)
Parent	Telephone and Data Systems (84%)
Website	www.uscellular.com

United States Cellular Corporation (doing business as UScellular) is an American mobile network operator headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Formed in 1983 as a subsidiary of Telephone and Data Systems Inc. (which owns an 84% stake) it is the fourth largest full-service wireless carrier in the United States with over 4.8 million customers in 426 markets in 21 states as of the second quarter of 2022. It was previously known as United States Cellular and U.S. Cellular.

Timeline

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1980s

• In 1983, U.S. Cellular was founded.

1990s

• In 1998, U.S. Cellular launches its first website.

2000s

• 2000
  • Don Nelson, retired; Jack Rooney took over as CEO.
• 2001
  • U.S. Cellular received the prestigious Wireless Titan Award as the top wireless carrier in terms of customer service from Wireless Review magazine.
• 2002
  • U.S. Cellular purchased PrimeCo Wireless Communications and launched in Chicagoland on November 22.
  • U.S. Cellular signed Joan Cusack as national spokesperson.
• 2003
  • January: U.S. Cellular acquired naming rights to the baseball stadium used by the Chicago White Sox. Formerly known as Comiskey Park, the stadium was officially renamed U.S Cellular Field (it was renamed Guaranteed Rate Field in 2016).
  • U.S. Cellular and Cingular (now owned by AT&T Mobility) exchange wireless assets. U.S. Cellular received new spectrum in markets of 13 states that were adjacent to or overlapped existing operations in exchange for its Georgia and northern Florida licenses.
  • U.S. Cellular launched Easyedge, its suite of wireless data services.
• 2005
  • U.S. Cellular entered the St. Louis market. St. Louis becomes the second largest market U.S. Cellular serves, after Chicago.
  • U.S. Cellular introduced SpeedTalk, its walkie-talkie-like service.
• 2008
  • October 28: U.S. Cellular launched Mobile Broadband, a service enabling customers to access data on its cell phones 10 times faster than before. It brought DSL-like service and capabilities to customers through EVDO (Evolution-Data Optimized) technology, commonly referred to as 3G.As of Q2 2008, U.S. Cellular was preparing to roll out 3G/EVDO revision A to select markets.

2010s

• 2010
  • May: CEO Jack Rooney retired.
  • June: Mary N. Dillon assumed the position of CEO.
  • July: U.S. Cellular launched Nationwide 3G Data Roaming, enabling customers who are outside of its coverage area to roam on AT&T Mobility‘s network for no extra fee.
  • October: U.S. Cellular unveiled the Belief Project, an array of industry-first initiatives designed to give potential customers several compelling reasons to switch to U.S. Cellular and reward loyal customers.
• 2011
  • May: U.S. Cellular announced that it will offer 4G LTE.
  • May: U.S. Cellular launched first Android-powered device
  • June: U.S. Cellular launched the Motorola Xoom, a tablet running Android Honeycomb.
• 2012
  • November: U.S. Cellular announced the sale of several markets to Sprint Corporation. This included their home market of Chicago. The move was part of a larger strategy for the company to focus on increased growth and profitability.
• 2013
  • June: Mary Dillon departed as CEO; Kenneth R. Meyers appointed CEO.
• 2016
  • June: Google announced that they have partnered with U.S. Cellular as part of their Google Fi service. U.S. Cellular contributed its network and LTE service to the "network of networks" along with T-Mobile US and Sprint Corporation.

2020s

• 2020
  • March: U.S. Cellular debuted launch of 5G in Wisconsin and Iowa
  • June: Kenneth R. Meyers retired as CEO.
  • July: Laurent Therivel selected to succeed Kenneth R. Meyers as CEO.
  • September: U.S. Cellular rebranded as UScellular and upgraded their logo.

Network

CDMA/3G network

Originally, U.S. Cellular used analog, then Digital AMPS "TDMA" cell phones in most markets, but the company started shifting over to 1xRTT CDMA technology in 2003. After the switch, U.S. Cellular has discontinued all analog and TDMA services. Starting in 2009, U.S. Cellular converted its network to EVDO which offered 3G speeds.

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.

As of January 1, 2023, customers will only be able to make voice calls and roaming will no longer be available. The carrier plans to discontinue CDMA, but has not announced when the carrier will completely shut down that network.

4G LTE network

U.S. Cellular announced that it would start offering 4G coverage to customers beginning in the first quarter of 2012. Just like the other larger wireless competitors, the company decided to go with LTE for its 4G coverage. The rollout was 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, Bangor and Houlton, Maine; and Greenville, N.C. As of November 14, 2012, U.S. Cellular has added additional 4G LTE markets, including Southern Oregon (Roseburg, Grants Pass, and Medford areas).

U.S. Cellular's LTE network is primarily built upon two low-frequency LTE bands; 12 and 5. Through the agreement with King Street Wireless, US Cellular has access to the lower 700 MHz A, B, and C blocks across most of their operating markets. Spectrum bandwidth on LTE includes, 5*5, or 10*10 MHz on band 12 700 MHz 5*5 MHz on band 5 850 MHz 5*5, or 10*10 MHz on band 4 AWS 1. U.S. Cellular also has 5Mhz or 10Mhz of spectrum on Band 66 (AWS-3) in some markets.

Supplementary spectrum in the band 2 1900 PCS, and band 4 2100/1700 AWS 1 and 3 bands can be deployed across U.S. Cellular's LTE network for additional capacity in the future. Furthermore, additional 850 MHz Cellular spectrum could be refarmed from 1X CDMA to create a wider 10*10 MHz channel allocated for LTE.

U.S. Cellular has made plans to launch their first market with VoLTE during the first quarter of 2017. The company has begun VoLTE trials during 2016 and will continue upgrading equipment in select markets to allow the trial process to continue following the services official launch.

In December 2019, U.S. Cellular was found in an FCC investigation to have lied about its 4G LTE coverage by as much as 38%, only managing to reach the federally mandated minimum speeds 45% of the time.

Throughout the past few years, U.S. Cellular has begun deploying 5G in their markets. In most markets, this is achieved using 5Mhz or 10Mhz on band n71.

Nationwide Coverage Through Roaming

U.S. Cellular has roaming agreements with both AT&T Mobility and T-Mobile U.S. This allows customers to roam on these networks with LTE or 5G speeds with no extra charges.

5G network

UScellular announced plans to launch its first phone with 5G support, the Samsung Galaxy S20, as well as coverage maps for its first commercial 5G network in both urban and rural parts of Iowa and Wisconsin in February 2020.

Radio frequency summary

The following is a list of known CDMA, LTE, and 5G NR frequency bands which UScellular employs in the United States:

Phones

As of October 2021, the company offers phones manufactured by Alcatel, ANS, Apple, Motorola, Samsung, Sonim, and TCL.

Belief Project

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

U.S. Cellular quietly retired the "Belief Project" in September 2013.

On September 1, 2015, U.S. Cellular shuttered its rewards program.

Belief Plans

All Belief plans are nationwide with no additional roaming charges in the United States. These plans all include at no additional charge: incoming calls, nights & weekends starting at 7pm, and mobile-to-mobile calls between U.S. Cellular customers. At the beginning of the Belief Project, customers were only required to fulfill one twenty-four month agreement per line ("One-and-Done Contracts"). After the first initial contract, customers no longer had to sign contracts and could continue to buy new phones at promotional prices when eligible. However, as of Q3 2013, the "one-and-done" contract provision was discontinued on all plans, and, as of January 8, 2015, customers can no longer receive a device subsidy on most Belief Plans when eligible. Instead, they have to purchase devices at full cost without contract, or purchase devices on no-interest 24-month installment plans added to their monthly bills (see Shared Data Plans below). Customers on Belief Plans earned points each month as part of the Belief Rewards program and they could also be earned by referring customers or participating in other promotional activities. These points could be redeemed for early upgrades, free accessories, phones, overage "forgiveness" and ringtones and ringbacks. However, the Rewards Points program has been discontinued as of September 1, 2015.

Belief Plans Evolved (BPE)

As of May 1, 2012, U.S. Cellular rolled out a new set of Belief Plans. The new plans retain all of the same free calling features as the previous Belief Plans and also applies to 'connected devices' (tablets, hotspots, and data cards) offering tiered data packages. Like many carriers, U.S. Cellular charges a fee ($10 per GB) for overage on data. Like the original Belief Plans, customers can no longer receive device subsidies when eligible, instead having to opt for full-price purchases or 24-month installments added to their monthly bills. Unlike Shared Data Plans, customers on Belief Plans do not receive plan discounts for full-price or installment purchases at the time of upgrade eligibility. The only option for subsidized upgrades is for customers to migrate to Shared Data plans.

Shared Data Plans

On October 13, 2013, U.S. Cellular unveiled its take on Shared Data plans. The plans are comparable to other carriers Shared Data options, but still include all of the same free calling features. A further enhancement to the Shared Data plans was unveiled during Q2 2014, where customers could opt to purchase devices under no-interest "installment agreements" in lieu of a device subsidy. The installment plans are based on the full device cost spread out over 24 equal monthly installment payments, in addition to the cellular service cost. Customers who purchase equipment on installment plans receive discounts on their "connection charges" to their shared data plans, and pay lower activation fees on devices. There is also no penalty for early payoff for devices on installment plans. Customers who purchase devices under installment payments on shared data plans also have an "early upgrade" option to trade-in their devices after 18 payments in order to upgrade to a new device superseded by another installment agreement on the new device. In November, 2015, an enhancement was made to allow customers who purchase devices on installment plans to be able to "pay down" their devices in multiples of the device's monthly installment cost at any time. Thus, customers can now either pay off their devices in full at any time or make extra payments towards their devices.

Unlimited Evolved Plans

In November 2019, U.S. Cellular updated its price plans under the Unlimited Evolved branding. These price plans included features like HD video streaming, hotspot access, free Redbox videos and international roaming allowances.

Corporate headquarters

The company has its headquarters in almost 331,797 square feet (30,824.9 m) in the U.S. Cellular Plaza complex in O'Hare, Chicago, Illinois, near O'Hare International Airport. U.S Cellular maintains a corporate office in Madison, WI as well housing some IT, engineering and automation operations.

Corporate sponsorship

U.S. Cellular owns the naming rights to:

• U.S. Cellular Soccer Complex, in Knoxville, Tennessee

The company formerly owned the naming rights to:

• U.S. Cellular Center, an arena in Cedar Rapids, Iowa – now Alliant Energy PowerHouse
• U.S. Cellular Grandstand, at the Kansas State Fairgrounds in Hutchinson, Kansas – now Nex-Tech Wireless Grandstand
• U.S. Cellular Arena, in Milwaukee – now UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena
• U.S. Cellular Field, in Chicago – now Guaranteed Rate Field
• U.S. Cellular Center, in Asheville, North Carolina – now Harrah's Cherokee Center
• U.S. Cellular Community Park, an athletics facility in Medford, Oregon – now Lithia & Driveway Fields

Sponsorships

UScellular has served as the presenting sponsor of the 80/35 Music Festival in Des Moines, Iowa, since its inception in 2008. It also served as the title sponsor of a NASCAR Xfinity Series race until 2019, the U.S. Cellular 250, at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa.

Sound logo

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

References

1. "List of Mobile Operators in the United States (US)". 30 December 2021.
2. "U.S. Cellular Reports First Quarter 2017 Results". Retrieved May 8, 2017.
3. Kent German (July 19, 2013). "Quick guide to cell phone carriers". CNet. Archived from the original on April 23, 2014. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
4. "Comiskey Park benched by Sox". articles.chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2015-09-28.Template:SemiBareRefNeedsTitle
5. "U.S. Cellular Launches Industry-First Programs That Elevate the Wireless Customer Experience, Reward Loyalty". investors.uscellular.com. Retrieved 2022-08-31.
6. https://www.uscellular.com/about/press-room/2012/USCellular-to-Sell-Select-Midwest-Markets-to-Sprint.html U.S. Cellular 2012-7-11. Retrieved 2015-28-09.
7. "U.S. Cellular to Sell Select Midwest Markets to Sprint". investors.uscellular.com. Retrieved 2022-08-31.
8. Cellular, U. S. "U.S. Cellular And TDS Announce CEO Transition". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2022-08-31.
9. "More speed and coverage with U.S. Cellular — now part of Project Fi". googleblog.com. 2016-06-09. Retrieved 2016-06-10.
10. "New UScellular Brand and Logo Unveiled - Telecompetitor". www.telecompetitor.com. Retrieved 2021-02-24.
11. "U.S. Cellular Launches in Chicago". Phone Scoop. 2002-11-12. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
12. "3G Network Shutdown & FAQ". Retrieved 2022-09-02.
13. "U.S. Cellular Plans to Launch 4G LTE in 2012: Report".
14. "TO LAUNCH 4G LTE SERVICE AND DEVICES IN TIME FOR THE HOLIDAYS | 2011 Press Releases". U.S. Cellular. 2011-05-06. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
15. "U.S. Cellular spectrum partner bewails absence of Band 12 in Apple's iPhone".
16. "U.S. CELLULAR ANNOUNCES NEW MARKETS TO RECEIVE 4G LTE SERVICE IN 2015 | 2015 PRESS RELEASES". www.uscellular.com. Archived from the original on 2015-06-25.
17. "Spectrum Ownership Map for Cellular Companies in the US - Spectrum Omega".
18. "U.S. Cellular completes LTE buildout and begins LTE roaming, but Q4 performance below some expectations".
19. "MOBILITY FUND PHASE II COVERAGE MAPS INVESTIGATION STAFF REPORT" (PDF). docs.fcc.gov. Retrieved March 27, 2020.Template:SemiBareRefNeedsTitle
20. "5G-ready Samsung Galaxy S20 Coming to U.S. Cellular". www.businesswire.com. 2020-02-11. Retrieved 2020-02-15.
21. Fletcher, Bevin (October 4, 2021). "UScellular shuts off some 3G services as it upgrades LTE". FierceWireless. Questex. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
22. Dano, News Analysis Mike; Director, Editorial; 5G; Strategies 7/27/2020, Mobile. "U.S. Cellular firms up mmWave, CBRS deployment plans". Light Reading. Retrieved 2021-11-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
23. "FCC Announces Winning Bidders In 3.45 GHz Auction". Federal Communications Commission. 2022-01-14. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
24. Dano, News Analysis Mike; Director, Editorial; 5G; Strategies 2/25/2021, Mobile. "C-band auction maps and charts: Who won what, where and how much". Light Reading. Retrieved 2021-07-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
25. Dano, News Analysis Mike; Director, Editorial; 5G; Strategies 6/3/2019, Mobile. "Here Are the Big Winners in the FCC's 24GHz & 28GHz 5G Auctions". Light Reading. Retrieved 2021-11-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
26. "UScellular launches mmWave-based FWA in 10 cities". Fierce Wireless. 28 April 2022. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
27. "Cell Phones and Wireless Devices". UScellular. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
28. "The Belief Project FAQs | The Belief Project". U.S. Cellular. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
29. Dano, Mike (September 3, 2013). "U.S. Cellular quietly retires 'Belief Project' brand and many of the perks". FierceWireless. Questex. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
30. ^ Goldstein, Phil (March 20, 2015). "U.S. Cellular to shut down 'Rewards' program for customers on Sept. 1". FierceWireless. Questex. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
31. "Compare Phone Plans & Data Plans | UScellular".
32. "About Us." U.S. Cellular. Retrieved on January 5, 2011. "8410 W. Bryn Mawr Suite 700 Chicago, IL 60631-3486."
33. Ori, Ryan. "U.S. Cellular expanding HQ near O'Hare." Crain's Chicago Business. May 10, 2016.
34. - 80/35 music festival
35. Paul Morley (2003-10-19). "Boot me up, Dessie". The Observer. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 2009-01-17.

External links

• Official website
• 2011 Wireless Network Quality Study from J.D. Power

• Chicago
• Illinois
• Companies

• Companies based in Chicago
• Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange
• Mobile phone companies of the United States
• Telecommunications companies established in 1983
• Telecommunications companies of the United States