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    Sergey Dluzhevskiy • GAMCO Investors

    Sergey Dluzhevskiy's questions to United States Cellular Corp (USM) leadership

    Sergey Dluzhevskiy's questions to United States Cellular Corp (USM) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    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.

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    Sergey Dluzhevskiy's questions to United States Cellular Corp (USM) leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    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.

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    Sergey Dluzhevskiy's questions to United States Cellular Corp (USM) leadership • Q4 2024

    Question

    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.

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    Sergey Dluzhevskiy's questions to United States Cellular Corp (USM) leadership • Q3 2024

    Question

    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.

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    Sergey Dluzhevskiy's questions to Telephone and Data Systems Inc (TDS) leadership

    Sergey Dluzhevskiy's questions to Telephone and Data Systems Inc (TDS) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    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.

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    Sergey Dluzhevskiy's questions to Telephone and Data Systems Inc (TDS) leadership • Q4 2024

    Question

    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.

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    Sergey Dluzhevskiy's questions to Telephone and Data Systems Inc (TDS) leadership • Q2 2024

    Question

    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.

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    Sergey Dluzhevskiy's questions to Telephone and Data Systems Inc (TDS) leadership • Q1 2024

    Question

    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.

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