U.S. Cellular
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| U.S. Cellular | |
| Public | |
| Traded as | : USM |
| Industry | Telecommunications |
| Founded | 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 |
 $4.00 billion USD (2015) |
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$247 million USD (2015) |
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Number of employees
|
6,700 (2014) |
| Parent | Telephone and Data Systems (84%) |
| Website | www |
United States Cellular Corporation, doing business as U.S. Cellular, is a regional carrier which owns and operates the fifth-largest wireless telecommunications network in the United States, serving 4.9 million customers in 426 markets in 23 U.S. states as of the first quarter of 2016. The company has its headquarters in Chicago, Illinois.
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.
PC Magazine awarded U.S. Cellular, along with Verizon Wireless, a "Reader's Choice" for cellular service provider award in 2010, stating that it score highest in the customer service category.
J. D. Power and Associates rated U.S. Cellular as having "Highest in Wireless Call Quality Performance". The North Central Region (IL, IN, MI, OH, WI) has received the award from 2006-2011.
In Consumer Reports 2010 annual survey of wireless service providers, the company received the best score out of all of the national carriers.
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.
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.
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Wikipedia