U.S. Cellular

United States Cellular Corporation d.b.a. U.S. Cellular
Public
Traded as NYSE: USM
Industry Telecommunications
Founded 1983 (1983)
Headquarters Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Products CDMA2000 1x, EV-DO and LTE (wireless voice and data services), SMS (text messaging), MMS (picture messaging), Mobile TV (EasyEdge Mobile TV), location-based services, BREW (EasyEdge)
Revenue Decrease$3.89 billion USD (2014)
Decrease$-47 million USD (2014)
Number of employees
 6,700 (2014)
Parent Telephone and Data Systems (84%)
Slogan "In the Middle of Anywhere"
Website www.uscellular.com

United States Cellular Corporation, d.b.a. U.S. Cellular, is a regional carrier[1] which owns and operates the fifth-largest wireless telecommunications network in the United States, serving 4.8 million customers in 426 markets in 23 U.S. states as of the third quarter of 2015.[2] The company has its headquarters in Chicago, Illinois.

Corporate information

U.S. Cellular was formed in 1983 as a subsidiary of Telephone and Data Systems (TDS), Inc., which still owns an 84 percent stake.

In compliance with federal law, U.S. Cellular works with National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to provide free AMBER Alerts via text messaging.[3]

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.[4]

J. D. Power and Associates continually rates U.S. Cellular as having "Highest in Wireless Call Quality Performance" for several of its coverage regions.[5] The North Central Region (IL, IN, MI, OH, WI) has received the award from 2006-2011.[6]

In 2012, U.S. Cellular launched an ad campaign centered around sales associate Abigail Rutt.

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.[7]

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. In 2009, U.S. Cellular started converting its network to EVDO which offers 3G speeds. U.S. Cellular is currently implementing use of LTE for its 4G network.[8]

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.[9]

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.[10] As of November 14, 2012, U.S. Cellular has added additional 4G LTE markets, including Southern Oregon (Roseburg, Grants Pass, and Medford areas).

US Cellular's LTE network is primary built upon two low frequency LTE bands; 12 and 5.[11] Through the agreement with Kingstreet Wireless,[12] 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, and 5*5;MHz on band 5 850;MHz.

Timeline

Phones

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

On December 5, 2011 U.S. Cellular stated it is waiting for an LTE version of Apple's iPhone before selling the phone.[16] It was announced on May 3, 2013 that U.S. Cellular would offer the iPhone sometime during the year.

On July 12, 2012, U.S. Cellular began shipping preorders of the Samsung Galaxy S III.[17]

On October 23, 2013, U.S. Cellular's web site began advertising that the iPhone 5s will be "Available November 8th", 2013.

On November 8, 2013, U.S. Cellular began offering Apple iPhone 5s, 5c, and 4s.

On September 19, 2014 U.S. Cellular was a Tier 1 provider of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

On September 25, 2015 U.S. Cellular was a Tier 1 provider of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.[18]

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.

U.S. Cellular launched the Apple iPad Air and iPad mini on November 8, 2013.

Belief Project

On October 1, 2010 U.S. Cellular unveiled its customer reward program as "The Belief Project".[19]

On September 1, 2015 U.S. Cellular shuttered the rewards program.[20]

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.

Corporate headquarters

The company has its headquarters in almost 140,000 square feet (13,000 m2) in the U.S. Cellular Plaza complex in O'Hare, Chicago, Illinois, near O'Hare International Airport.[21][22] U.S. 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.[22] The current address is 8410 W. Bryn Mawr Suite 700 Chicago, IL 60631-3486.[23] The headquarters can be reached by phone at 773-399-8900. [24]

Corporate sponsorship

U.S. Cellular owns the naming rights to:

NASCAR

U.S. Cellular serves as the title sponsor of a NASCAR Nationwide Series race, the U.S. Cellular 250, at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. It has also served as the presenting sponsor of the 80/35 Music Festival in Des Moines, Iowa, since its inception in 2008.[25]

Sound logo

The sonic logo, tag, audio mnemonic was produced by Musikvergnuegen and written by Walter Werzowa from the Austrian 1980s sampling band Edelweiss.[26]

References

  1. ↑ Archived April 23, 2014, at the Wayback Machine.
  2. ↑ "U.S. Cellular reports third quarter 2015 results". Retrieved November 3, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Wireless Amber Alerts". U.S. Cellular. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
  4. ↑ Gottesman, Ben (2010-09-07). "Readers' Choice Awards 2010 - Cellular Service Providers: Contract Providers". PCMag.com. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
  5. ↑ "Best Cell Phone Company | Awards Page | About Us". U.S. Cellular. 2009-05-15. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
  6. ↑ "Coverage Indicator | Cell Phone Coverage". U.S. Cellular. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
  7. ↑ Archived December 20, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
  8. ↑ U.S. Cellular Plans to Launch 4G LTE in 2012: Report
  9. ↑ "U.S. Cellular Launches in Chicago". Phone Scoop. 2002-11-12. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
  10. ↑ "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.
  11. ↑ http://www.fiercewireless.com/tech/story/us-cellular-spectrum-partner-bewails-absence-band-12-apples-iphone/2013-05-30
  12. ↑ http://www.uscellular.com/about/press-room/2015/USCELLULAR-ANNOUNCES-NEW-MARKETS-TO-RECEIVE-4G-LTE-SERVICE-IN-2015.html
  13. ↑ http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2003-02-01/news/0302010294_1_comiskey-ii-comiskey-park-cellular-field | Retrieved 2015-28-09
  14. ↑ "U.S. Cellular - Welcome". Uscc.com. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
  15. ↑ http://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.
  16. ↑ U.S. Cellular: We’ll take the iPhone when Apple gives us LTE — Tech News and Analysis
  17. ↑ Samsung Galaxy S3 now on sale on U.S. Cellular website, coming to stores this week
  18. ↑ "U.S. Cellular to Offer iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus on Friday, Sept. 25 | Press Room | 2015 Company News Releases | U.S. Cellular". www.uscellular.com. Retrieved 2015-10-27.
  19. ↑ "The Belief Project FAQs | The Belief Project". U.S. Cellular. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
  20. ↑ "http://www.uscellular.com/uscellular/common/digitalLandingTemplate.jsp?id=m&page=sec-prj.html". www.uscellular.com. Retrieved 2015-10-27. External link in |title= (help)
  21. ↑ "About Us." U.S. Cellular. Retrieved on January 5, 2011. "8410 W. Bryn Mawr Suite 700 Chicago, IL 60631-3486."
  22. 1 2 Baeb, Eddie. "U.S. Cellular to explore HQ move." Crain's Chicago Business. April 23, 2008. Retrieved on January 10, 2010.
  23. ↑ http://www.uscellular.com/about/index.html
  24. ↑ http://www.uscellular.com/about/index.html
  25. ↑ - 80/35 music festival
  26. ↑ Paul Morley (2003-10-19). "Boot me up, Dessie". The Observer (Guardian Media Group). Retrieved 2009-01-17.

External links

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