Nov. 5, 2009 (PR Newswire) -- CHICAGO, Nov. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --

Note: Comparisons are year over year unless otherwise noted.

3Q 2009 Highlights

--  Postpay net additions were 8,000; prepaid net losses were 14,000.
--  Service revenues of $984.9 million, down 3 percent due primarily to a
$24.7 million decrease in inbound roaming revenues.
--  Retail service ARPU (average revenue per unit) increased from $46.97 to
$47.02.
--  34 percent increase in data revenues, to $174.3 million, representing 18
percent of service revenues.  Data revenue per customer increased from
$7.01 to $9.46.
--  Postpay churn was 1.7 percent; postpay customers comprised 96 percent of
retail customers.

--  7 percent increase in cell sites in service, to 7,161.

As previously announced, U.S. Cellular® will hold a teleconference on Nov. 5, 2009, at 10:00 a.m. Chicago time. Interested parties may listen to the call live by accessing the Conference Calls page of www.teldta.com or uscellular.com.

United States Cellular Corporation (NYSE: USM) reported service revenues of $984.9 million for the third quarter of 2009, a 3 percent decrease from $1,013.9 million in the comparable period one year ago, due primarily to a $24.7 million reduction in inbound roaming revenues related to the acquisition of Alltel Corporation by Verizon Wireless. Net income attributable to U.S. Cellular and related diluted earnings per share were $35.6 million and $0.41, respectively, for the third quarter of 2009, compared to $89.9 million and $1.02, respectively, in the comparable period one year ago. In the third quarter of 2008, U.S. Cellular recorded a $16.4 million pre-tax gain on disposition of investments related to Rural Cellular Corporation.

"During the third quarter, both gross and net retail additions improved significantly over the second quarter," said John E. Rooney, U.S. Cellular president and CEO. "We reached out with targeted postpay promotions and more value-driven prepaid plans and customers responded well, particularly in our larger markets. In fact, retail net additions improved sequentially each month in the quarter.

"Data revenues grew 34 percent, helping to offset the expected decline in inbound roaming revenue," continued Rooney. "To promote continued growth in data revenues, we have accelerated the expansion of our 3G network, reaching approximately 75 percent of our customers at the end of the third quarter. This will help us further drive the already strong sales of smartphones, messaging products and data applications. We're also seeing excellent demand for our premium phones, like the recently launched LG Bliss(TM) and LG Tritan(TM). And, we're optimizing our handset mix, including the recent launch of the Blackberry Tour(TM) to promote sales in all of our customer segments during the holiday season.

"As expected, operating income declined this quarter, reflecting lower revenues, as well as increased spending in support of multi-year initiatives," added Rooney. "These initiatives will be a strong focus for U.S. Cellular in 2010 and beyond, enabling us to increase efficiency, while strengthening our relationships with customers and developing targeted marketing and sales programs for all channels."

Guidance

Guidance for the year ending Dec. 31, 2009 is as follows. Guidance is unchanged from Aug. 6, 2009. There can be no assurance that final results will not differ materially from this guidance.

U.S. Cellular 2009 guidance as of Nov. 5, 2009 is as follows:

Service revenues                                 $3,900-$3,950 million
Operating income(1)                                  $300-$375 million
Depreciation, amortization and accretion(1)       Approx. $600 million
Capital expenditures                              Approx. $575 million

(1)  Includes losses on disposals of assets.

The foregoing guidance represents the views of management as of Nov. 5, 2009 and should not be assumed to be accurate as of any other date. U.S. Cellular undertakes no legal duty to update such information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Conference call information

U.S. Cellular will hold a conference call on Nov. 5, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. Chicago time.

--  Access the live call on the Conference Calls page of uscellular.com at
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?p=irol-eventDetails&c=67422&ev
entID=2517092

--  Access the call by phone at 800/706-9695 (US/Canada) and use conference
ID #38289990.

Before the call, certain financial and statistical information to be discussed during the call will be posted to the Conference Calls page of uscellular.com, together with reconciliations to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) of any non-GAAP information to be disclosed. The call will be archived on the Conference Calls page of uscellular.com.

About U.S. Cellular®

United States Cellular Corporation, the nation's fifth-largest, full-service wireless carrier, provides a comprehensive range of wireless products and services, excellent customer support, and a high-quality network to approximately 6.1 million customers in 26 states. The Chicago-based company employed approximately 8,700 full-time equivalent associates as of Sept. 30, 2009. At the end of the quarter, Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. owned 82 percent of U.S. Cellular.

Visit uscellular.com for comprehensive financial information, including earnings releases, quarterly and annual filings, shareholder information, and more.

Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: All information set forth in this news release, except historical and factual information, represents forward-looking statements. This includes all statements about the company's plans, beliefs, estimates, and expectations. These statements are based on current estimates, projections, and assumptions, which involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Important factors that may affect these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: The ability of the company to successfully manage and grow its markets; the current credit crisis affecting financial markets, and its effects on the overall economy; competition; the state and federal telecommunications regulatory environment; the value of assets and investments; adverse changes in the ratings afforded our debt securities by accredited ratings organizations; industry consolidation; advances in telecommunications technology; uncertainty of access to the capital markets; pending and future litigation; changes in income tax rates, laws, regulations or rulings; acquisitions/divestitures of properties and/or licenses; changes in customer growth rates, average monthly revenue per unit, churn rates, roaming revenue and terms, the availability of handset devices, or the mix of products and services offered by the company; and the ability to obtain or maintain roaming arrangements with other carriers. Investors are encouraged to consider these and other risks and uncertainties that are discussed in the Form 8-K used by U.S.