At U.S. Cellular, we believe that the customer’s experience is more
important than the products we sell.

It’s why we invest extensively in training and support for our associates, as well as in network expansions and upgrades. Satisfied customers not only remain with U.S. Cellular longer, they also become an important source of referrals for winning new customers.

In 2004, we added more than 627,000 net new customers—
a 40 percent increase over our net additions in 2003 and one of the highest percentage increases in the company’s history. Just as importantly, we retained a significant percentage of existing customers, posting an all-in churn rate of 1.7 percent, one of the best in our industry. Our post-pay churn rate—which applies to 96.5 percent of our customer base—was even lower, at 1.5 percent for the year.

This was particularly significant in 2004, with the national expansion of wireless number portability, or WNP. We invested more than $50 million in training and system enhancements to prepare for both phases of WNP, and launched a marketing initiative to appeal to consumers: “Lose your wireless company, not your number. Switch to U.S. Cellular.”

We continued to invest in our market coverage by adding more than 840 cell towers to our network in 2004—a 20 percent increase in just one year—bringing our total to 4,856 cell sites serving our markets.

To ensure that our customers’ satisfaction continues to exceed industry standards, we announced plans to establish a new call center in Bolingbrook, Ill., in 2005. When fully staffed in 2006, the center will employ more than 450 people. This is in addition to the expansion of our call center in Knoxville, Tenn., where we added 60 new positions to the 400 existing associates.