U.S. Cellular In 2019, U.S. Cellular executed on our customer-centric strategy by increasing smartphone subscribers and revenues. We launched our “Bringing Fairness to Wireless” branding campaign rooted in values and strengths that have been core to U.S. Cellular and our customers since the Company’s beginning. We continued to enhance our network with the initiation of a multi-year network modernization plan which will ready our network for 5G initiatives and the exciting opportunities this technology will bring.
U.S. Cellular is building on this momentum by focusing on key objectives for 2020. Our number one priority remains to elevate brand relevance and focus on customer engagement. We are working to drive subscriber growth and strengthen current customer experience through continuing simplicity and transparency in pricing and promotions. We’ll continue to raise brand relevance and positioning through our new branding platform “We’re Bringing Fairness to Wireless.” Secondly, we will focus on expanding new and emerging revenue streams. We aim to increase average revenue per user as customers migrate to service plans with higher data allotments and increase their purchases of additional services like device protection. We will continue to seek to increase the penetration of smartphones in our base.
Network performance remains a key driver of customer satisfaction and a hallmark of U.S. Cellular’s strategic positioning. This year we will execute the commercial launch of 5G in Wisconsin and Iowa and work toward readying the network for additional markets in 2021. Finally, we will continue our multi-year initiative focused on managing costs. As data usage continues to increase significantly on our network, we will continue to execute initiatives to mitigate the impact of this increase on system operations expense. The simplicity of unlimited plans and transparency of pricing have reduced billing questions, resulting in lower customer care costs.
Our number one priority remains to elevate brand relevance and focus on customer engagement.
30% of TDS Telecom’s wireline service addresses are now served by fiber.
TDS Telecom In 2019, TDS Telecom concentrated on investments in broadband to bring high-speed service to our customers. We expanded our fiber footprint both inside and outside of our current markets, and 30% of our wireline service addresses are now served by fiber. Cable connections also grew, led by strong increases in broadband connections and the acquisition of the cable company, Continuum, a growing company located near Charlotte, North Carolina.
TDS Telecom’s strategic initiatives for 2020 include focusing on expanding our fiber footprint both in and out of our current markets while we continue to analyze additional out-of-territory fiber opportunities with attractive economics. We are committed to meeting the regulatory requirements of our broadband buildouts under the Alternative Connect America Cost Model and working with state legislatures to enhance broadband services in underserved areas.
Increasing cable broadband penetration remains a top priority. We are focused on organic cable growth through upgrades across our network to further increase our broadband advantages. We continue to evaluate cable acquisitions in markets that have attractive demographics and little fiber competition.
We are complementing our broadband service in both Wireline and Cable segments with our next generation cloud TV platform TDS TV+, further strengthening our broadband position.
OneNeck IT Solutions OneNeck IT Solutions had a strong finish to 2019 showing revenue growth while driving operational improvements in its cost structure. We are well positioned going into 2020 as we continue to leverage a multi-cloud strategy with plans to roll out our next generation ReliaCloud platform, and plans to expand upon our hybrid private-public cloud by offering additional platform-based services via both ReliaCloud and Azure.
Creating long-term shareholder value At TDS corporate, we maintain a financially sound foundation so that all our businesses can take advantage of growth opportunities to enhance their competitive positions.
We continue to return value to our shareholders primarily through our cash dividends, which have increased every year for the past 46 years.
At TDS corporate we continue to return value to our shareholders primarily through our cash dividends, which have increased every year for the past 46 years.
Thank you We are grateful to the associates and employees of the TDS Family of Businesses for their dedication and innovation in providing outstanding experiences for our customers. Thank you to our shareholders and debt holders for your continuing support of our long-term plans and strategies.
Very truly yours,
LeRoy T. Carlson, Jr.
President and
Chief Executive Officer
Walter C. D. Carlson
Chairman of the Board
