U.S. Cellular, Milwaukee World Festival, Inc.: Announce Multi-Year Summerfest Sponsorship

U.S. Cellular Connection Stage to Feature Emerging Artist Series and Interactive Entertainment

MILWAUKEE, April 26, 2006 – U.S. Cellular and Milwaukee World Festival, Inc., today announced a

three-year sponsorship agreement beginning with this year’s 39th annual Summerfest. The sponsorship, valued at more than $1 million, will give U.S. Cellular continued naming and promotional rights to the U.S. Cellular Connection Stage at Summerfest. It also means an expanded line-up of high-tech interactive entertainment for festival patrons.

“Summerfest is a signature event for Milwaukee and Wisconsin,” said Kathy Hust, vice president of operations for U.S. Cellular’s Central Region. “U.S. Cellular is pleased and proud to be associated with the festival once again in 2006. We look forward to making the U.S. Cellular Connection Stage a primary attraction for great music and exciting interactive entertainment for years to come.”

This year, the stage’s line-up will also appeal to a younger audience and feature a strong mix of alternative artists. U.S. Cellular and Summerfest will bring special focus and support to up-and-coming local, regional and national talent through an Emerging Artist Series staged daily from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. The series will showcase promising new talent and is designed to give patrons access to new and exciting music. WLUM, 102.1 FM, will broadcast live from the U.S. Cellular Connection Stage and support the stage and series with on-air promotions and programming.

“This new multi-year agreement is really exciting for Summerfest,” stated Don Smiley, president and chief executive officer of Milwaukee World Festival, Inc. “This partnership enables Summerfest to provide a first class musical line-up on the U.S. Cellular Connection Stage.”

New in 2006, Summerfest.com will feature ways to see and hear the bands that will be performing at this year’s festival through a new online media player. The player will feature music from hundreds of artists playing at Summerfest, and U.S. Cellular will offer consumers free downloadable music from the artists who are performing as part of the Emerging Artists Series.

For additional interactivity onsite, fans can vote for their favorite performers in the Emerging Artist Series with their wireless phones and determine which artists will receive prizes each night at the U.S. Cellular Connection Stage. Messages and votes will be displayed on large screens at the stage. Technologies such as Pix-2-ScreenTM, Pix-2-WebTM and Text-2-ScreenTM will be used. Pix-2-Screen involves taking pictures with camera phones and projecting them on a large video screen onstage. Pix-2-Web involves taking camera phone pictures to be stored on a Web site for downloading and sharing later. Text-2-Screen allows audience members to send text messages in real time to the large video screen for all to read. In the past, the on-screen text activity included shout-outs, confessions and even a marriage proposal.

In addition to sponsoring Summerfest, U.S. Cellular’s sponsorships in Wisconsin include: the U.S. Cellular Arena, Wisconsin State Fair, Festa Italiana, Milwaukee Admirals Hockey Club, Milwaukee Polo Club Classic for Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, La Crosse Loggers baseball league, Timber Rattlers baseball in Appleton and the Madison Mallards baseball team. Over the past few years, the company has donated more than $550,000 in charitable grants to organizations in the state of Wisconsin, with more than $250,000 to organizations in Milwaukee, including recent grants of $80,000 to Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin and $30,000 to the Zoological Society of Milwaukee.

Milwaukee World Festival, Inc. is a not-for-profit corporation responsible for promoting and producing Summerfest, the World’s Largest Music Festival. Summerfest operates from Noon until Midnight daily, providing an unforgettable live music experience featuring more than 800 performances in 11 days. The food, attractions and activities are as diverse as the music line ups, offering patrons of all ages a quality, festival experience. Patrons can also enjoy Miller Lite, the Official Beer of Summerfest. For more details about the World’s Largest Music Festival, visit http://www.summerfest.com.

As of Sept. 30, U.S. Cellular, the nation’s sixth-largest wireless service carrier, provided wireless service to 5.3 million customers in 25 states. The Chicago-based company operates on a customer satisfaction strategy, meeting customer needs by providing a comprehensive range of wireless products and services, superior customer support and a high-quality network.

# # # # #

Contact:

Susie Falk for U.S. Cellular

Office: 414-291-7620
jonathan.guerin@uscellular.com”>
jonathan.guerin@uscellular.com

John Boler, Summerfest

Office: 414-273-2680

jboler@summerfest.com