United States Cellular Corporation (
doing business as
A trade name, trading name, or business name, is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is a "fictitious" business name. Registering the fictitious name w ...
UScellular) is an American
mobile network operator. It is a subsidiary of
Telephone and Data Systems Inc. (which owns an 84% stake). The company was formed in 1983 and is headquartered in
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, subdivision_name ...
. UScellular is the fourth-largest wireless carrier in the United States, with 4,755,000 customers in 426 markets in 23
states as of the third quarter of 2022. It was previously known as United States Cellular and U.S. Cellular.
Timeline
1980s & 1990s
United States Cellular was founded as a subsidiary of Telephone and Data Systems Inc. (TDS) and incorporated on December 23, 1983. In 1985, the company began operations in Knoxville, Tennessee (June), and Tulsa, Oklahoma (August). Don Nelson was named the first president in 1987 and TDS took the company public in 1988 where United States Cellular adopted USM as its ticker symbol on the American Stock Exchange. In 1999, United States Cellular relaunched under the “U.S. Cellular” brand name and image across all markets nationwide.
2000s
Don Nelson retired and Jack Rooney took over as CEO. In 2001, U.S. Cellular received the Wireless Titan Award as the top wireless carrier in terms of customer service from Wireless Review magazine. The company purchased PrimeCo Wireless Communications in 2002 and launched in Chicagoland on November 22. It built on this growth by signing famed Chicagoan
Joan Cusack
Joan Mary Cusack (; born October 11, 1962) is an American actress. She received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her roles in the comedy-drama '' Working Girl'' (1988) and the romantic comedy '' In & Out'' (1997 ...
as national spokesperson. In January 2003, U.S. Cellular acquired naming rights to the baseball stadium used by the
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...
. Formerly known as Comiskey Park, the stadium was officially renamed U.S Cellular Field (it was renamed
Guaranteed Rate Field in 2016). That same year, U.S. Cellular and
Cingular
AT&T Mobility LLC, also known as AT&T Wireless and marketed as simply AT&T, is an American telecommunications company. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T Inc. and provides wireless services in the United States. AT&T Mobility is the th ...
(now owned by
AT&T Mobility) exchanged wireless assets and 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 also launched Easyedge, its suite of wireless data services. In 2005, U.S. Cellular entered the
St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
market, making it the second largest market U.S. Cellular served, after Chicago. In October of 2008, 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
Digital subscriber line (DSL; originally digital subscriber loop) is a family of technologies that are used to transmit digital data over telephone lines. In telecommunications marketing, the term DSL is widely understood to mean asymmetric dig ...
-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
In 2010 CEO Jack Rooney retired and
Mary N. Dillon assumed the position of
CEO. In May of 2011, U.S. Cellular announced that it will offer
4G LTE. In a surprising move, U.S. Cellular announced the sale of several markets to
Sprint Corporation
Sprint Corporation was an American telecommunications company. Before it merged with T-Mobile US on April 1, 2020, it was the fourth-largest mobile network operator in the United States, serving 54.3 million customers as of June 30, 2019. The ...
including Chicago. Mary Dillon departed as CEO in 2013 and Kenneth R. Meyers took over. June of 2016,
Google
Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...
announced that it partnered with U.S. Cellular as part of its
Google Fi
Google Fi (pronounced ), formerly Project Fi, is an MVNO telecommunications service by Google that provides telephone calls, SMS, and mobile broadband using cellular networks and Wi-Fi. Google Fi uses networks operated by T-Mobile and U.S. Cel ...
service. U.S. Cellular contributed its network and LTE service to the "network of networks" along with
T-Mobile US
T-Mobile US, Inc. is an American wireless network operator headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas and Bellevue, Washington, U.S. Its largest shareholder is a multinational telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom AG, which , holds 48.4 pe ...
and
Sprint Corporation
Sprint Corporation was an American telecommunications company. Before it merged with T-Mobile US on April 1, 2020, it was the fourth-largest mobile network operator in the United States, serving 54.3 million customers as of June 30, 2019. The ...
.
2020s
In March of 2020, U.S. Cellular debuted launch of 5G in Wisconsin and Iowa and Laurent Therivel was selected to succeed retiring Kenneth R. Meyers as
CEO in June. At the end of the third quarter, U.S. Cellular rebranded as UScellular and upgraded its 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 to 1xRTT
CDMA
Code-division multiple access (CDMA) is a channel access method used by various radio communication technologies. CDMA is an example of multiple access, where several transmitters can send information simultaneously over a single communicatio ...
technology in 2003. After the switch, U.S. Cellular discontinued all analog and TDMA services. Starting in 2009, U.S. Cellular converted its network to
EVDO, which offered
3G speeds.
4G LTE network
U.S. Cellular began offering
4G LTE coverage to customers in the first quarter of 2012. The rollout started in cities in
Iowa
Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...
,
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
,
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...
,
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
and
Oklahoma. In 2012, U.S. Cellular added 4G LTE in additional markets throughout the country.
Its LTE network was primarily built upon two low-frequency LTE bands; 12 and 5. Through an agreement with King Street Wireless, U.S. Cellular has access to the lower 700 MHz A, B, and C blocks across most of its markets. Spectrum bandwidth 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.
The company began VoLTE trials during 2016, launched its first market with
VoLTE
Voice over LTE (VoLTE) is an LTE high-speed wireless communication standard for mobile phones and data terminals, including Internet of things (IoT) devices and wearables. VoLTE has up to three times more voice and data capacity than older 3G ...
during the first quarter of 2017.
In December 2019, the FCC found U.S. Cellular shared misinformation about its 4G LTE coverage by as much as 38%, only managing to reach the federally mandated minimum speeds 45% of the time.
5G network
In June 2019, U.S. Cellular successfully bid for high frequency spectrum in the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Millimeter Wave Spectrum Auctions and purchased licenses covering 98 percent of its subscribers for $256.0 million or 1.7 cents per MHz pop. This laid the foundation for October 2019, when U.S. Cellular officially announced plans to launch its
5G service. The company launched its first phone with support, the
Samsung Galaxy S20
The Samsung Galaxy S20 is a series of Android-based smartphones designed, developed, marketed, and manufactured by Samsung Electronics as part of its Galaxy S series. They collectively serve as the successor to the Galaxy S10 series. The first ...
, as well as coverage maps for its first commercial 5G network in both urban and rural parts of Iowa and Wisconsin in February 2020.
Nationwide Coverage Through Roaming
UScellular has roaming agreements with AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile U.S. and Verizon. This allows customers to roam on these networks with LTE or 5G speeds with no extra charges.
Radio frequency summary
The following is a list of known CDMA, LTE, and 5G NR frequency bands which UScellular employs in the United States:
Community Involvement
Since 2009, UScellular has donated nearly $22.6 million along with countless experiences and technology items to nonprofit organizations across the country in three areas:
STEM Learning, Bridging the Digital Divide and Celebrating Associate Passions/Local Communities.
STEM Learning
In March of 2021, UScellular donated $150,000 to
Girls Who Code
Girls Who Code (also known as GWC) is an international nonprofit organization that aims to support and increase the number of women in computer science. The organization works toward closing the gender employment difference in computing. They h ...
to open five new Girls Who Code clubs in Kansas, Oklahoma, Virginia and Maine to help increase access to future opportunities, especially among young women.
The company made a $100,000 DonorsChoose donation in 2021 for to provide STEM learning support for 500 teachers and 50,000 students.
Bridging the Digital Divide
In 2021, USCellular launched the After School Access Project with a pledge to provide up to $13 million in hotspots and service in 2022 to help up to 50,000 youth get connected.
In August 2022, the company is donated $4.7 million in wireless hotspots and service to 17
YWCA
The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries.
The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...
locations and 16,000 YWCA members across the country to help youth access the connectivity they need outside of the classroom.
Celebrating Associate Passions/Local Communities
UScellular associates participated in 3,800 volunteer experiences and the company matched $296,000 in personal donations for 2021.
In 2021, UScellular donated $40,000 to
Red Cross
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and ...
disaster support, recycled and repurposed 187,000 devices and avoided 238 million gallons of water pollution.
USCellular has donated $1 million annually to the
Boys & Girls Clubs of America
Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) is a national organization of local chapters which provide voluntary after-school programs for young people. The organization, which holds a congressional charter under Title 36 of the United States Code, h ...
since 2016.
* Annual Black History Month Art Contest with Boys & Girls Clubs:
** Since 2008, UScellular has sponsored the Black History Month Art Contest. The contest started with Boys & Girls Clubs of Southwest Virginia in 2008 and has grown over the years to include 30 Clubs across the country in 2022.
* Annual Hispanic Heritage Month Art Contest with Boys & Girls Clubs
** In 2021, UScellular, with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America debuted the Hispanic Heritage Month Art Contest. The top three vote-getters from each Boys & Girls Club receive prizes that include $250 for first place, $150 for second and $100 for third.
Corporate sponsorship
UScellular owns the
naming rights
Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization whereby a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event, typically for a defined period of t ...
to:
* UScellular Soccer Complex, in
Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state' ...
* UScellular Connection Stage at
Summerfest
Summerfest is an annual music festival held in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. First held in 1968, Summerfest is located at Henry Maier Festival Park, adjacent to Lake Michigan and Milwaukee's central business district. Summerfest attracts app ...
in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...
Current Sponsorships:
* Presenting Sponsor of the
Wisconsin State Fair
The Wisconsin State Fair is an annual event held at the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee. The modern fair takes place in August (occasionally beginning late July) and lasts 11 days.
History
The first W ...
* Official Wireless Sponsor of the
Milwaukee Brewers since 2008
* Official Wireless Partner of the
Green Bay Packers since 2018
Official Wireless Provider and proud partner of:
*
Iowa Hawkeyes (University of Iowa)
*
Iowa State Cyclones
The Iowa State Cyclones are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Iowa State University, located in Ames. The university is a member of the Big 12 Conference and competes in NCAA Division I, fielding 16 varsity teams (6 men's an ...
(Iowa State University)
*
WVU Mountaineers (West Virginia University)
*
UMaine Black Bears (University of Maine)
The company formerly owned the naming rights to:
* U.S. Cellular Center in
Cedar Rapids, Iowa – now
Alliant Energy PowerHouse
Alliant Energy PowerHouse (formerly Five Seasons Center and later U.S. Cellular Center) is a multi-purpose arena located in the downtown area of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It was financed by the approval of a voter referendum to allocate special muni ...
* U.S. Cellular Grandstand at the
Kansas State Fair
Kansas State Fair is a state fair held annually in Hutchinson, Kansas, United States. It starts the Friday following Labor Day in September, and lasts for 10 days. This fair is the largest single event in the state and attracts approximately 350 ...
grounds in
Hutchinson, Kansas
Hutchinson is the largest city and county seat in Reno County, Kansas, United States, and located on the Arkansas River. It has been home to salt mines since 1887, thus its nickname of "Salt City", but locals call it "Hutch". As of the 2020 ...
– now
Nex-Tech Wireless Grandstand
* U.S. Cellular Arena in
Milwaukee
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...
– now
UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena
The UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena (originally the Milwaukee Arena and formerly MECCA Arena and U.S. Cellular Arena) is an indoor arena located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The arena, which seats as many as 12,700 people and offers of floor space, is ...
* U.S. Cellular Field in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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– now
Guaranteed Rate Field
* U.S. Cellular Center in
Asheville, North Carolina – now
Harrah's Cherokee Center
* U.S. Cellular Community Park in
Medford, Oregon
Medford is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Oregon, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census on April 1, 2020, the city had a total population of 85,824 and a metropolitan area population of 223,259, making the M ...
– now
Lithia & Driveway Fields
UScellular had served as the presenting sponsor of the
80/35 Music Festival in
Des Moines,
Iowa
Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...
. It also served as the title sponsor of a
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...
Xfinity Series
The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...
race until 2019, the
U.S. Cellular 250, at
Iowa Speedway
Iowa Speedway is a 7/8-mile (1.4 km) paved oval motor racing track in Newton, Iowa, United States, approximately east of Des Moines. It has over 25,000 permanent seats as well as a unique multi-tiered RV viewing area along the backstretc ...
in
Newton, Iowa
Newton is the county seat of, and most populous city in, Jasper County, Iowa, United States. Located east of Des Moines, Newton is in Central Iowa. As of the 2020 Census, the city population was 15,760. It is the home of Iowa Speedway, Maytag Da ...
.
Sound logo
The sonic logo, tag, audio
mnemonic
A mnemonic ( ) device, or memory device, is any learning technique that aids information retention or retrieval (remembering) in the human memory for better understanding.
Mnemonics make use of elaborative encoding, retrieval cues, and imag ...
was produced by
Musikvergnuegen and written by
Walter Werzowa from the Austrian 1980s sampling band
Edelweiss
EDELWEISS (Expérience pour DEtecter Les WIMPs En Site Souterrain) is a dark matter search experiment located at the Modane Underground Laboratory in France. The experiment uses cryogenic detectors, measuring both the phonon and ionization signal ...
.
References
External links
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{{Authority control
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