TDS Telecom: To expand, improve broadband to more than 35,000 locations in Wisconsin

Media contact: Cheryl McCollum, Associate Manager of Public Relations / 608-664-2388 / cheryl.mccollum@tdstelecom.com

MADISON, Wis. (Feb. 17, 2017) – TDS Telecom (TDS®) will expand broadband to more than 35,000 locations in Wisconsin thanks to funding from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The FCC allocated $18.8 million a year for the next 10 years to reach residents in some of the hardest to serve areas in Wisconsin. The funding will also be used to maintain a voice and broadband network as well as building out to these locations.

Wisconsin residents can now visit the TDS website to find out how this federal program may impact their location. As TDS finalizes the engineering and build out plans, more details, including project start dates, will be added to the website.

Depending on location, most TDS customers in eligible rural areas will receive guaranteed broadband speeds of 25Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload (25/3). Under the agreement with the FCC, the remaining customers will receive broadband service at lower speeds of 10/1 and 4/1Mbps.

“We are proud to be part of this massive modernization project with the FCC,” said Jean Pauk, manager – State Government Affairs at TDS. “We are eager to begin work to build faster connections to more than 35,000 locations in Wisconsin.”

Last month it was announced that TDS elected to receive approximately $75.1 million a year to increase broadband access in 25 states from the FCC’s Alternative Connect America Cost Model, under the Connect America Fund (CAF) program. TDS will leverage the funds over the next 10 years to support the build out of rural broadband networks to nearly 160,000 locations across the country.

TDS employs approximately 1,400 people in Wisconsin, who work in 20 communities and at the company’s national headquarters in Madison, Wis.
For nearly a decade, TDS has worked with FCC Commissioners, their staff and federal trade associations to create a plan to allow for the expansion of rural networks served by rate-of-return companies, including TDS. CAF ensures more residents of rural America will have access to improved broadband service and reliable speeds.

TDS Telecommunications Corporation (TDS Telecom/TDS®), a wholly owned subsidiary of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc., is the seventh largest local exchange telephone company in the U.S. and a growing force in the cable industry. TDS provides 1.2 million connections to high-speed internet, phone, and TV entertainment services in nearly 900 rural, suburban, and metropolitan communities. For residential customers, TDS deploys 1Gig internet access, IPTV service, cable TV options, and traditional wireline services. The company offers businesses advanced solutions, including: VoIP (managedIP Hosted voice), high-speed internet, fiber optics, data networking, and hosted-managed services. Visit tdstelecom.com or tdsbusiness.com.

Headquartered in Madison, Wis., TDS Telecom operates OneNeck IT Solutions LLC and BendBroadband, which is part of TDS Broadband Service LLC. Combined, the company employs more than 3,400 people.

Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. [NYSE: TDS], a Fortune 500® company, provides wireless; cable and wireline broadband, TV and voice; and hosted and managed services to approximately six million customers nationwide through its businesses U.S. Cellular, TDS Telecom, OneNeck IT Solutions LLC, and TDS Broadband Service LLC. Founded in 1969 and headquartered in Chicago, Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. employs 10,400 people. Visit tdsinc.com