LeRoy T. Carlson, Jr. (left)
Chairman of the Board
John E. Rooney (right)
President and Chief
Executive Officer
Government Relations
Throughout 2008, U.S. Cellular® vigorously defended the USF against attempts to reduce or eliminate the support available to competitive wireless carriers. The company continued its Connecting Rural America (CRA) campaign to increase awareness of how proposed changes to the USF would affect access to advanced wireless communications in rural areas. As part of the CRA campaign, U.S. Cellular enlisted more than 100 members of Congress, governors, and state legislators, and numerous public safety and economic development groups, to support its efforts to bring reliable wireless service to rural communities.
The FCC imposed a cap on wireless funding in 2008, but did not otherwise substantively restrict U.S. Cellular's access to the USF support needed to continue to expand its network to rural communities. The company expects that the 2009 regulatory environment for USF will continue to be challenging. U.S. Cellular is committed to continuing to ensure that rural areas of the United States have equal access to advanced wireless telecommunications.