Sergey Dluzhevskiy

Sergey Dluzhevskiy with GAMCO Investors Inc. asked TDS Telecom about lessons learned from past fiber build history and best practices planned for 2026 and beyond to enhance efficiency and success, particularly given the slight miss on the 2025 target. For Array Digital Infrastructure, Dluzhevskiy inquired about initiatives successfully improving the tenancy ratio (excluding T-Mobile) and new strategies contemplated for 2026-2027 to accelerate this increase. He also sought more color on the C-band spectrum monetization timeline and whether recent third-party transactions or upcoming auctions create more urgency for a transaction.

Answer

Ken Dixon, President and CEO of TDS Telecom, highlighted the focus on execution and maintaining crew counts. He noted that historically, crews were lost in winter, but by keeping them stable in Q4 2025 and Q1 2026, TDS has a stronger start for service address delivery, giving confidence for 2026. Anthony Carlson, President and CEO of Array Digital Infrastructure, listed several initiatives for improving tenancy ratio: insourcing the sales team, the new Verizon deal, roaming replacement builds by other carriers, and focusing on non-tower carriers. Regarding C-band spectrum, Carlson noted robust demand shown by EchoStar transactions, reiterated the spectrum's high value, and stated Array is not a forced seller, but will actively pursue monetization opportunities without urgency.

Sergey Dluzhevskiy inquired about TDS Telecom's lessons learned and best practices for improving fiber build efficiency and success in 2026, especially after missing the 2025 target. He also asked about Array Digital's initiatives to improve its tenancy ratio, excluding T-Mobile, for 2026 and 2027, and sought more color on Array's C-band spectrum monetization timeline and urgency given recent third-party transactions and upcoming auctions.

Answer

Ken Dixon, President and CEO of TDS Telecom, highlighted the focus on execution, maintaining stable crew counts from Q4 2025 through Q1 2026, and strategic investments in internal construction capacity as key lessons and practices for a stronger 2026 build. Anthony Carlson, President and CEO of Array Digital Infrastructure, listed initiatives for improving tenancy ratio, including insourcing the sales team, the new Verizon deal, roaming replacement builds, and targeting non-tower carriers. He also noted that EchoStar transactions demonstrate robust demand for spectrum, and Array is not a forced seller of its C-band spectrum, as carrying costs are manageable relative to its potential value, though they continue to actively pursue monetization.

Sergey Dluzhevskiy asked about Array's tower growth strategy and underappreciated aspects of the business. He also inquired about TDS Telecom's top strategic priorities beyond fiber expansion and how TDS views the long-term strategic fit of the tower and fiber businesses under a single holding company.

Answer

Douglas Chambers, Interim President & CEO of Array, highlighted bringing the sales team in-house and strong carrier MLAs as key growth drivers. Kristina Bothfeld, VP of Finance & CFO at TDS Telecommunications, outlined top priorities as executing the build plan, driving sales and penetration, and business transformation for margin improvement. Walter Carlson, President & CEO of TDS, stated that while the businesses are different, the financial strength from the tower business is significant for the enterprise, and improved execution at both will unlock shareholder value. He noted that long-term structural changes are considered but are not an immediate priority.

Sergey Dluzhevskiy of GAMCO Investors, Inc. asked for CEO Walter Carlson's medium-term vision for TDS, UScellular's post-transaction capital allocation priorities, and TDS Telecom's plans to improve customer conversion rates.

Answer

Walter C.D. Carlson, President and CEO of TDS, outlined that the 3-5 year vision is focused on long-term growth in the towers and fiber businesses. Laurent Therivel, CEO of UScellular, noted that while specific capital allocation is premature, the remaining business will have attractive cash flows, making a return of capital to shareholders possible, pending board approval. An executive from TDS Telecom stated they are addressing lower net adds by augmenting their internal sales teams with external partners, a strategy that began showing positive results in Q4.

Sergey Dluzhevskiy inquired about the pro forma UScellular tower portfolio's strengths and marketing strategy, the key drivers behind improved postpaid phone subscriber trends, and TDS Telecom's perspective on using private equity partnerships for fiber deployments.

Answer

Laurent Therivel, President and CEO of UScellular, highlighted the tower portfolio's geographical uniqueness as a key strength and noted the primary opportunity is increasing the co-location rate. He attributed improved subscriber results to effective retention programs and aggressive promotional offers. Michelle Brukwicki, SVP of Finance and CFO at TDS Telecom, and Vicki Villacrez, EVP and CFO at TDS, explained that while they are open to various financing structures, the current focus is on funding fiber through debt and proceeds from pending divestitures, given their strong liquidity position.

Sergey Dluzhevskiy asked about UScellular's effectiveness in competing with aggressive cable wireless offerings. He also inquired about the primary objectives for the Tower business over the next few years and sought an update on competitive overbuilding in TDS Telecom's ILEC markets.

Answer

UScellular CEO LT Therivel explained their strategy to counter cable involves bundling with fixed wireless, focusing on customer retention to lower churn, and making long-term investments in network quality. For towers, the near-term goal is colocation growth, while the long-term focus is on positioning for network densification. TDS Telecom CFO Michelle Brukwicki noted that they are defending ILEC markets by preemptively deploying fiber and leveraging the enhanced A-CAM program to further fortify their footprint.

Sergey Dluzhevskiy from Gamco Investors Inc. asked TDS Telecom about lessons learned from its past fiber build history and the best practices planned for 2026 and beyond to enhance efficiency and success, especially given the 2025 target miss. For Array Digital, he inquired about successful initiatives for improving the tenancy ratio (excluding T-Mobile) in 2026 and 2027, and any new strategies being contemplated to accelerate this increase. Lastly, he sought more details on Array Digital's C-band spectrum monetization opportunities, timeline, and the urgency created by other third-party transactions or upcoming auctions.

Answer

Ken Dixon, President and CEO of TDS Telecom, highlighted the focus on maintaining stable, high crew counts through winter months and strategic investments in internal construction capacity as key lessons learned and best practices for a strong start in 2026. Anthony Carlson, President and CEO of Array Digital Infrastructure, listed several initiatives for improving tenancy ratio: insourcing the sales team, the new Verizon deal, roaming replacement builds by other carriers, and focusing on non-tower vertical tenants. Regarding C-band spectrum, he noted robust demand shown by EchoStar transactions, reiterated the spectrum's high value, and stated Array Digital is not a forced seller, but will actively pursue monetization opportunities without urgency.

Sergey Dluzhevskiy asked about TDS Telecom's lessons learned and best practices for a more efficient and successful fiber build in 2026, given the 2025 target miss. He also inquired about Array Digital Infrastructure's initiatives to improve tenancy ratio outside of T-Mobile and new contemplations for accelerating this rate in 2026-2027. Finally, he sought more color on the timeline and urgency for monetizing C-band spectrum, considering other third-party transactions and upcoming auctions.

Answer

Ken Dixon (President and CEO, TDS Telecom) highlighted the focus on execution, maintaining stable crew counts through winter, and strategic investments in internal construction capacity as key lessons for a strong start in 2026. Anthony Carlson (President and CEO, Array Digital Infrastructure) detailed initiatives to increase tenancy ratio, including insourcing the sales team, the new Verizon deal, roaming replacement builds by other carriers, and focusing on non-tower potential tenants. Regarding C-band monetization, he noted robust demand shown by other transactions, emphasized the spectrum's value, and stated Array is not a forced seller, but will continue to actively pursue monetization opportunities.

Sergey Dluzhevskiy asked about Array's tower growth strategy and efforts to accelerate colocations. He also inquired about TDS Telecom's top strategic priorities beyond fiber expansion and the long-term strategic fit of the tower and fiber businesses under the TDS holding company.

Answer

Douglas Chambers, Interim President & CEO of Array, highlighted bringing the sales team in-house and strong carrier MLAs as key growth drivers. Kristina Bothfeld, VP of Finance & CFO at TDS Telecom, outlined priorities including build execution, driving penetration, and business transformation for margin improvement. Walter Carlson, President & CEO of TDS, affirmed the businesses are different but synergistic, with the tower's financial strength supporting the enterprise, and that long-term structural options are under consideration.

Sergey Dluzhevskiy asked about the current performance and future strategy for UScellular's tower business, including drivers of colocation demand and areas for operational improvement. He also inquired about potential interim monetization strategies for retained spectrum and the criteria TDS Telecom uses for divesting non-core assets.

Answer

Laurent Therivel, President & CEO of UScellular, attributed the 6% tower revenue growth to new colocation activity driven by carriers securing coverage post-transaction, the move to an in-house sales team, and overall data demand growth. He identified the main opportunity as creating a standalone, efficient operating structure for the tower business post-close. On spectrum, Therivel stated the primary goal is an outright sale, not leasing, and they are in no rush due to long build-out timelines. Kristina Bothfeld, VP of Finance & CFO at TDS Telecom, explained that divestiture decisions are based on strategic fit—prioritizing the sale of isolated copper markets with no economic path to fiber—and financial criteria ensuring proceeds exceed the present value of future cash flows.

Sergey Dluzhevskiy of Gamco Investors, Inc. asked for Walter Carlson's 3-to-5-year vision for TDS, inquired about UScellular's post-transaction capital allocation priorities including dividends and tower build CapEx, and questioned TDS Telecom's progress on converting fiber passings to customers.

Answer

TDS CEO Walter C.D. Carlson outlined that the 2025 priorities are predicates for long-term growth in the core tower and fiber businesses. UScellular CEO Laurent Therivel explained that while it's premature for specifics, the remaining business will generate attractive cash flows, making a capital return possible, but a regular dividend is a future decision for the board. Chris Bousfield, TDS Telecom CFO, noted that augmenting their sales force with external partners in Q4 has already shown a positive ramp in net adds.

Sergey Dluzhevskiy asked about the UScellular tower business, inquiring about what is working well to drive colocation and what a realistic medium-term colocation ratio might be. He also questioned the company's latest thinking on monetizing its wireless partnership interests. For TDS Telecom, he asked for the speed-tier distribution of incoming customers and for more color on efforts to improve broadband net additions.

Answer

Laurent Therivel, President & CEO of UScellular, stated that while the current capex cycle is slow, UScellular is building strong carrier relationships and buying back ground leases to position the tower business for future growth driven by network densification. Regarding partnerships, he noted they are valuable assets but the current focus is on closing the T-Mobile and spectrum deals. Michelle Brukwicki, SVP of Finance & CFO of TDS Telecom, revealed that about 40% of incoming customers choose gig-speed service. Vicki Villacrez, EVP & CFO of TDS, added that enhancing the door-to-door sales force is a key focus to improve broadband penetration.