美國無線通訊 (USM) 2025 Q1 法說會逐字稿

My name is Regina, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the TDS and UScellular first-quarter 2025 operating results conference call. (Operator Instructions) I would now like to turn the conference over to Colleen Thompson, Vice President of Corporate Relations. Please go ahead.

我叫 Regina，今天我將擔任您的會議主持人。現在，我歡迎大家參加TDS和UScellular 2025年第一季營運業績電話會議。（操作員指示）現在，我想將會議交給企業關係副總裁科琳湯普森 (Colleen Thompson)。請繼續。

Good morning and thank you for joining us. We want to make you all aware of the presentation we have prepared to accompany our comments this morning, which you can find on the Investor Relations section of the TDS and UScellular websites.

早安，感謝您加入我們。我們想讓大家了解我們今天早上準備的評論的演示文稿，您可以在 TDS 和 UScellular 網站的投資者關係部分找到它。

With me today in offering prepared comments are from TDS, Vicki Villacrez, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; from UScellular, LT Therivel, President and Chief Executive Officer, Doug Chambers, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer; and from TDS Telecom, Chris Bothfeld, Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer.

今天與我一起發表準備好的評論的還有來自 TDS 的執行副總裁兼首席財務官 Vicki Villacrez、來自 UScellular 的總裁兼首席執行官 LT Therivel、執行副總裁、首席財務官兼財務主管 Doug Chambers 以及來自 TDS Telecom 的財務副總裁兼首席財務官 Chris Bothfeld。

This call is being simultaneously webcast on the TDS and UScellular Investor Relations website. Please see the websites for slides referred to on this call, including non-GAAP reconciliations.

此次電話會議將在 TDS 和 UScellular 投資者關係網站上同步進行網路直播。請參閱網站以取得本次電話會議中提及的投影片，包括非公認會計準則對帳表。

We provide guidance for both adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization or OIBDA, and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA to highlight the contributions of UScellular's wireless partnerships.

我們提供調整後折舊攤銷前營業利潤 (OIBDA) 以及調整後息稅折舊攤銷前利潤 (EBITDA) 的指導，以突出 UScellular 無線合作夥伴關係的貢獻。

TDS and UScellular filed their SEC forms including the press releases and our 10-Qs earlier this morning. As shown on slide 2, the information set forth in the presentation and discussed during this call contains statements about expected future events and financial results that are forward-looking and subject to risks and uncertainties. Please review the Safe Harbor paragraphs in our press releases and the extended version included in our SEC filings.

TDS 和 UScellular 今天早上向 SEC 提交了包括新聞稿和我們的 10-Q 表在內的表格。如投影片 2 所示，簡報中提出並在本次電話會議中討論的資訊包含有關預期未來事件和財務結果的陳述，這些陳述具有前瞻性並受風險和不確定性的影響。請查看我們新聞稿中的安全港段落以及我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中包含的擴展版本。

And with that, I will now turn the call over to Vicki Villacrez. Vicki?

現在，我將把電話轉給 Vicki Villacrez。薇琪？

Okay, thank you, Colleen and hello, everyone. Thanks for joining us. As you will hear today, we are making progress on the 2025 priorities presented back in February while keeping a close watch on the increased uncertainties in the broader economy and markets. We still expect a mid-2025 closing on the proposed transaction with T-Mobile at UScellular, which is subject to regulatory approval. And the organization has been making great progress on a number of activities in preparation for a successful close.

好的，謝謝你，科琳，大家好。感謝您的加入。正如大家今天所聽到的，我們正在就二月份提出的2025年優先事項取得進展，同時密切關注整體經濟和市場中日益增加的不確定性。我們仍預期 UScellular 與 T-Mobile 擬議的交易將於 2025 年中期完成，但需獲得監管部門的批准。該組織已在一系列活動上取得了巨大進展，為成功結束做準備。

First, in terms of financing, we extended our near-term bank maturities and amended our revolvers to ensure financial flexibility and liquidity going forward as we anticipate the close of the T-Mobile and UScellular transactions.

首先，在融資方面，我們延長了近期銀行貸款期限，並修改了循環信貸，以確保未來的財務靈活性和流動性，因為我們預計 T-Mobile 和 UScellular 交易將結束。

There is also a significant amount of separation, integration, and transition work being done to ensure a smooth transition across both UScellular and TDS. And lastly, we are also focusing on the future organization to ensure we have the appropriate capital, leverage targets, and cost structure going forward right size to the remaining business.

還需要進行大量的分離、整合和過渡工作以確保 UScellular 和 TDS 之間的平穩過渡。最後，我們還將關注未來的組織，以確保我們擁有適當的資本、槓桿目標和適合剩餘業務的成本結構。

Our focus is on getting to the finish line with the various announced transactions while repositioning the remaining business for future success. Also, as LT will discuss shortly after the proposed transaction with T-Mobile closes and dependent on UScellular Board approval, UScellular expects to be in a position to declare a special dividend to shareholders.

我們的重點是完成各項已宣布的交易，同時重新定位剩餘業務以取得未來的成功。此外，正如 LT 將在與 T-Mobile 的擬議交易結束後不久進行討論，並且取決於 UScellular 董事會的批准，UScellular 預計將能夠向股東宣布特別股息。

If that occurs, TDS would receive its pro rata share. Those funds from the first closing are expected to be used to pre-pay -- to repay substantially all of TDS's outstanding bank debt, which was approximately $1.2 billion at the end of the quarter.

如果發生這種情況，TDS 將獲得其按比例分配的份額。首次交割所得資金預計將用於預付——償還 TDS 幾乎所有未償還的銀行債務，截至本季末約為 12 億美元。

Currently, TDS does not plan to redeem the Series UU and Series VV preferred stock. If proceeds are received from subsequent closings, including the AT&T and Verizon transactions, TDS's priorities would be to fund and advance its current fiber program at TDS Telecom as well as evaluate the potential return to shareholders. Critical to our mission, we continue to be pleased with our overall progress in the fiber program, which has expanded our footprint over 30% in the last three years, and we see further opportunities to grow the program.

目前，TDS 不打算贖回 UU 系列和 VV 系列優先股。如果從後續交易（包括 AT&T 和 Verizon 交易）中獲得收益，TDS 的首要任務將是資助和推進其在 TDS Telecom 的現有光纖計劃，以及評估股東的潛在回報。對我們的使命至關重要的是，我們對光纖專案的整體進展感到滿意，該專案在過去三年中將我們的業務範圍擴大了 30% 以上，並且我們看到了進一步發展該專案的機會。

Briefly on the quarter, as a reminder, first-quarter results were impacted by prior year divestitures. In the first quarter of 2024, there was over $40 million in operating revenues from our one-neck business and $4 million in operating revenues from the sale of certain [elects] at TDS Telecom that did not occur in 2025. I will now turn the call over to LT.

簡單回顧一下本季度，需要提醒的是，第一季的業績受到了上一年資產剝離的影響。2024 年第一季度，我們的單頸業務的營業收入超過 4,000 萬美元，TDS Telecom 出售某些 [elects] 的營業收入為 400 萬美元，而這些收入在 2025 年並未實現。現在我將把電話轉給 LT。

Thanks, Vicki. Good morning, everyone. As I look at the first quarter results, I'm pleased we continue to deliver solid operational performance, and that's not withstanding all the efforts and the potential distractions associated with preparing to close the transactions that we announced last year.

謝謝，薇琪。大家早安。當我回顧第一季的業績時，我很高興我們繼續提供穩健的營運業績，儘管我們為準備完成去年宣布的交易付出了巨大的努力，也克服了潛在的干擾。

We delivered year-over-year improvements in postpaid handset results, and we increased third-party tower revenues 6% in the quarter due to both new co-locations and escalators on renewed leases. We remain enthusiastic on the long-term potential for the tower business as the capacity needs of the wireless industry in the coming years will likely drive continued demand for towers.

我們的後付費手機業績較上年同期有所改善，並且由於新的共置和續租的自動扶梯效應，本季度第三方塔收入增長了 6%。我們對塔業務的長期潛力仍然充滿熱情，因為未來幾年無線產業的容量需求可能會推動對塔的持續需求。

And we expect that the tower business will be strengthened even further upon the anticipated closing of our transaction with T-Mobile and the initiation of the tower MoA that's part of that transaction.

我們預計，在我們與 T-Mobile 的交易預計完成以及作為該交易一部分的塔式 MoA 啟動後，塔式業務將進一步加強。

In addition to improved postpaid handset results, the company also continued its focus on cost optimization during the quarter by driving year-over-year reductions in cash costs as operating expenses, including loss on equipment were essentially flat and our capital expenditures declined.

除了後付費手機業績的改善之外，公司還在本季度繼續致力於成本優化，推動現金成本同比下降，因為包括設備損失在內的營運費用基本上持平，而我們的資本支出則有所下降。

This drove $79 million of free cash flow in the first quarter of 2025, and that's an $18 million increase over the same quarter last year. As we mentioned in our year-end call, we expect CapEx to decline in 2025, as we've largely completed our planned 5G coverage builds. However, we will continue to invest in 5G mid-band deployment across our network so we can meet the capacity and speed needs of our customers with the goal of providing them with a strong network experience.

這推動了 2025 年第一季 7,900 萬美元的自由現金流，比去年同期增加了 1,800 萬美元。正如我們在年終電話會議上提到的那樣，我們預計資本支出將在 2025 年下降，因為我們已經基本完成了計劃中的 5G 覆蓋建設。然而，我們將繼續投資於我們網路的 5G 中頻段部署，以便我們能夠滿足客戶的容量和速度需求，目標是為他們提供強大的網路體驗。

Now those subscriber and financial results are delivered on the backdrop of an industry that continues to be very promotionally aggressive, and that's even during the typically less promotional first quarter of the year. What we're seeing, in addition to rich device promotions, our carrier competitors are offering multi-year price locks, contract buyouts, and aggressive pricing.

現在，這些用戶和財務結果是在行業繼續大力促銷的背景下發布的，即使是在通常促銷活動較少的一年第一季度，情況也是如此。我們看到，除了豐富的設備促銷活動外，我們的營運商競爭對手還提供多年價格鎖定、合約買斷和激進的定價。

We're also seeing our cable wireless competitors offer free plan pricing for set periods of time, and that's now in conjunction with aggressive device promotions. So in response to that, we've further increased the value of our promotional offers, which has helped to drive improvements in year-over-year handset losses.

我們還看到我們的有線無線競爭對手在規定時間內提供免費計劃定價，並且現在還與積極的設備促銷相結合。因此，為了應對這種情況，我們進一步提高了促銷優惠的價值，這有助於推動手機損失同比改善。

However, even with those improvements, we still have negative net adds, and the ongoing loss of handset customers continues to put pressure on service revenues.

然而，即使取得了這些進步，我們的淨增用戶數仍然為負，而且手機用戶的持續流失繼續給服務收入帶來壓力。

In response to that, we're cutting costs in order to sustain our cash flows. And our size and lack of scale makes it difficult to sustain this balance of high promotional expense and reduced investment.

為了應對這種情況，我們正在削減成本以維持現金流。而我們的規模和缺乏規模使得維持高促銷費用和減少投資之間的平衡變得困難。

And that's why we continue to believe that the transaction with T-Mobile is in the best interests of our business and our customers. It provides them with better competitive choices, better connectivity experience from the combined networks of both companies, and access to lower prices with more features.

這就是為什麼我們繼續相信與 T-Mobile 的交易符合我們業務和客戶的最佳利益。它為他們提供了更具競爭力的選擇、兩家公司合併網路帶來的更好的連接體驗，以及更低的價格和更多的功能。

So turning to the T-Mobile agreement, we're having ongoing interactions with regulators across multiple agencies. The process is progressing as expected, and we still expect a mid-2025 closing. As part of the agreement with T-Mobile, they'll be making offers of employment to more than half of our employee base.

談到 T-Mobile 協議，我們正在與多個機構的監管機構進行持續互動。該進程正在按預期進行，我們仍預計將於 2025 年中期完成。作為與 T-Mobile 達成的協議的一部分，他們將向我們一半以上的員工提供就業機會。

And for those who won't be hired by T-Mobile or the remaining tower company, we'll be providing career transition services as well as severance pay and benefits. And Doug will be providing you with some high-level estimates of those costs shortly.

對於那些不會被 T-Mobile 或剩餘塔台公司聘用的員工，我們將提供職業過渡服務以及遣散費和福利。道格很快就會向您提供這些成本的一些高級估算。

As a reminder, we expect the agreement with T-Mobile combined with the various spectrum transactions that we announced to deliver substantial proceeds across the coming quarters.

提醒一下，我們預計與 T-Mobile 達成的協議以及我們宣布的各種頻譜交易將在未來幾季帶來可觀的收益。

And consequently, when the proposed transaction with T-Mobile closes, and that's subject to regulatory approval, we expect the UScellular Board of Directors to declare the first of potentially several special dividends to UScellular shareholders.

因此，當與 T-Mobile 的擬議交易完成並且獲得監管部門批准時，我們預計 UScellular 董事會將向 UScellular 股東宣布首次特別股息，可能還會宣布多次特別股息。

And before turning it over to Doug, I want to thank all of our associates for their continued efforts and dedication as we focus on serving our customers with excellence.

在將任務交給 Doug 之前，我想感謝我們所有的同事，感謝他們為我們提供卓越服務所做的持續努力和奉獻。

And with that, I'm going to hand it over to Doug.

說完這些，我就要把發言權交給 Doug。

Thanks, LT. Good morning. LT covered the key operational and financial highlights of the first quarter, and I'll provide an update on expected net proceeds related to our pending transactions. As a reminder, given the expected close of the sale of our wireless operations to T-Mobile in mid-2025, we are not providing 2025 financial guidance for UScellular.

謝謝，LT。早安.LT 介紹了第一季的主要營運和財務亮點，我將提供與我們未決交易相關的預期淨收益的最新資訊。提醒一下，鑑於我們預計將於 2025 年中期完成向 T-Mobile 出售無線業務的交易，我們不會為 UScellular 提供 2025 年財務指導。

During our fourth quarter 2024 earnings call in February of this year, we provided an overview of the significant items that are expected to impact net proceeds related to our various pending transactions.

在今年 2 月舉行的 2024 年第四季財報電話會議上，我們概述了預計將影響與我們各項未決交易相關的淨收益的重要項目。

As we move closer to the expected close of these transactions, we have further refined these estimates and have included an updated summary on slides 12 and 13. The spectrum transactions with Verizon and AT&T are contingent upon the close of the T-Mobile transaction, regulatory approval, and other closing conditions.

隨著我們越來越接近這些交易的預期結束，我們進一步完善了這些估計，並在投影片 12 和 13 中加入了更新的摘要。與 Verizon 和 AT&T 的頻譜交易取決於 T-Mobile 交易的完成、監管部門的批准和其他成交條件。

First, as outlined in the securities purchase agreement with T-Mobile, $100 million of the $4.4 billion stated transaction price is contingent on UScellular achieving certain performance metrics prior to close.

首先，如同與 T-Mobile 達成的證券購買協議中所述，44 億美元的交易價格中的 1 億美元取決於 UScellular 在交易完成前實現某些績效指標。

Based on projected performance relative to these targets through an expected mid-year 2025 close, we do not expect to receive most of this $100 million, and the purchase price is likely to be much closer to $4.3 billion.

根據預計到 2025 年中期收盤時這些目標的預期表現，我們預計不會收到這 1 億美元中的大部分，而購買價格可能更接近 43 億美元。

Also included in the stated transaction price of the T-Mobile and AT&T transactions are $400 million and $232 million respectively of spectrum licenses owned by designated entities in which UScellular is a non-controlling limited partner. UScellular has agreed to purchase the interests of the respective partners in these designated entities, and transfers of these interests are pending regulatory approval.

T-Mobile 和 AT&T 交易的既定交易價格中還包括分別價值 4 億美元和 2.32 億美元的指定實體所擁有的頻譜許可證，而 UScellular 是這些實體的非控股有限合夥人。UScellular 已同意購買這些指定實體中各自合作夥伴的權益，這些權益的轉讓有待監管部門批准。

UScellular is obligated to pay an incremental aggregate amount of $7 million to the non-controlling limited partners upon transfer of these interests. We expect the transfers of these interests to be approved. However, timing of such approvals is uncertain.

在轉讓這些權益時，UScellular 有義務向非控制有限合夥人支付總計 700 萬美元的增量金額。我們預計這些權益的轉讓將獲得批准。然而，此類批准的時間尚不確定。

Prior to transaction close, T-Mobile will conduct a debt exchange offer pursuant to which holders of $2.044 billion of UScellular unsecured senior notes will be offered to exchange their UScellular debt for T-Mobile debt.

在交易結束前，T-Mobile 將進行債務交換要約，根據要約，持有 20.44 億美元 UScellular 無擔保優先票據的持有人將被要求將其 UScellular 債務交換為 T-Mobile 債務。

The amount of debt the respective holders elect to exchange will correspondingly reduce transaction proceeds. In addition, UScellular is expected to repay its term loans, export credit financing agreement, receivable securitization agreement, and revolving line of credit. At March 31, 2025, the cumulative principal amount of this debt that requires repayment upon close was $870 million.

各自持有人選擇交換的債務金額將相應減少交易收益。此外，UScellular 預計還要償還其定期貸款、出口信貸融資協議、應收帳款證券化協議和循環信貸額度。截至 2025 年 3 月 31 日，該筆債務在結清時需償還的累計本金為 8.7 億美元。

UScellular expects the following cash obligations as it relates to employee liabilities. First, T-Mobile is expected to hire at least a majority of US employees. For these employees that are ultimately hired by T-Mobile upon close, UScellular is obligated to pay these employees accrued wages, bonuses, and other benefits that were earned prior to the close date. We expect a cash outflow related to this obligation in the range of $30 million to $40 million.

UScellular 預計有以下與員工負債相關的現金義務。首先，T-Mobile 預計將僱用至少大多數美國員工。對於在交易完成後最終被 T-Mobile 聘用的員工，UScellular 有義務向這些員工支付在交易完成日期之前應得的工資、獎金和其他福利。我們預計與該義務相關的現金流出將在 3,000 萬至 4,000 萬美元之間。

This will not result in any incremental expense as these obligations are fully accrued at the end of each reporting period. Second, UScellular expects to have severance obligations for employees that are neither employed by T-Mobile nor retained by the remaining UScellular business.

這不會導致任何增量費用，因為這些義務在每個報告期末都會完全累積。其次，UScellular 預計將對既未受僱於 T-Mobile 也未受僱於 UScellular 剩餘業務的員工承擔遣散義務。

These obligations include salary-related severance, accrued bonus, and other benefits, and we expect this obligation to be in the range of $60 million to $80 million.

這些義務包括與薪資相關的遣散費、應計獎金和其他福利，我們預計這些義務將在 6,000 萬美元至 8,000 萬美元之間。

In addition, we expect unvested stock awards held by severed employees to vest at the close of the T-Mobile transaction. Certain of these stock awards may be settled with the affected employees in cash in lieu of shares. Further, for stock awards settled in shares, UScellular withholds shares from employees' vested stock awards to cover tax withholding obligations and remits the corresponding amounts to the taxing authorities in cash.

此外，我們預期離職員工持有的未歸屬股票獎勵將在 T-Mobile 交易結束時歸屬。部分股票獎勵可能會以現金而非股票的形式與受影響的員工結算。此外，對於以股票結算的股票獎勵，UScellular 會從員工的既得股票獎勵中扣除股票以支付預扣稅款義務，並將相應金額以現金形式匯給稅務機關。

Therefore, UScellular expects a cash obligation associated with the accelerated vesting of stock awards. The amount of any such obligation is dependent upon the amount of stock awards UScellular elects to settle in cash, if any, and the UScellular share price proximate to close, among other factors.

因此，UScellular 預計股票獎勵會加速歸屬會產生現金義務。此類義務的金額取決於 UScellular 選擇以現金結算的股票獎勵金額（如有）以及 UScellular 股價即將收盤等因素。

This cash obligation is expected to approximate $50 million if all affected stock awards are settled in shares. This cash obligation is expected to increase if certain stock awards are settled in cash, and any such cash settlement would lessen the diluted impact of these stock awards relative to share settlement.

如果所有受影響的股票獎勵均以股票結算，預計這筆現金義務約為 5,000 萬美元。如果某些股票獎勵以現金結算，預計該現金義務將會增加，並且任何此類現金結算都會減少這些股票獎勵相對於股票結算的稀釋影響。

UScellular expects to incur cash income tax obligations related to the tax gain and sale of the T-Mobile transaction in the range of $225 million to $325 million. UScellular also expects other cash outflows of $80 million to $90 million related to the following items: banking fees related to both the T-Mobile transaction and the related debt exchange transaction, distribution of a portion of the proceeds from the T-Mobile transaction to not controlling interest in certain UScellular operating markets, and other adjustments.

UScellular 預計，與 T-Mobile 交易的稅收收益和銷售相關的現金所得稅義務將在 2.25 億美元至 3.25 億美元之間。UScellular 也預計其他現金流出金額為 8,000 萬至 9,000 萬美元，涉及以下項目：與 T-Mobile 交易和相關債務交換交易相關的銀行費用、將 T-Mobile 交易的部分收益分配給某些 UScellular 營運市場中的非控制權益，以及其他調整。

As LT mentioned, we expect the UScellular Board to declare a special dividend approximate to the close date of the T-Mobile transaction to distribute net proceeds received from this initial transaction close after incorporating the items on slides 12 and certain other items along with excess cash expected to be available resulting from the operation of UScellular's wireless business through the date of close.

正如 LT 所提到的，我們預計 UScellular 董事會將在 T-Mobile 交易完成日左右宣布一項特別股息，以分配此次初始交易完成後收到的淨收益，其中包括第 12 頁中的項目和某些其他項目，以及預計在交易完成日之前 UScellular 無線業務運營所產生的多餘現金。

Moving to slide 13, we expect to incur cash income tax obligations related to the gain on sale of spectrum in the Verizon and AT&T transactions in the range of $325 million to $375 million.

轉到第 13 張投影片，我們預計與 Verizon 和 AT&T 交易中出售頻譜收益相關的現金所得稅義務將在 3.25 億美元至 3.75 億美元之間。

UScellular also expects to incur additional legal advisory, and banking fees in 2025 and 2026 associated with the T-Mobile and spectrum transactions. In periods after the close of the T-Mobile transaction, UScellular expects to incur decommissioning costs related to select towers that have no co-locators.

UScellular 也預計在 2025 年和 2026 年將產生與 T-Mobile 和頻譜交易相關的額外法律諮詢和銀行費用。在 T-Mobile 交易結束後的一段時間內，UScellular 預計將產生與沒有共置業者的特定訊號塔相關的退役成本。

Post close of the T-Mobile transaction, UScellular intends to initially maintain leverage ratios relatively consistent with its current leverage levels. However, this target could be impacted by the result of the debt exchange offer.

T-Mobile 交易結束後，UScellular 打算最初將槓桿率維持在與當前槓桿水平相對一致的水平。然而，這一目標可能會受到債務交換結果的影響。

Again, we expect a mid-2025 close of the proposed T-Mobile transaction, and we hope this discussion helps you understand the expected net proceeds along with various dependencies and contingencies.

再次，我們預計擬議的 T-Mobile 交易將於 2025 年中期完成，我們希望本次討論能幫助您了解預期的淨收益以及各種依賴關係和意外事件。

I will now turn the call over to Chris Bothfeld.

現在我將電話轉給克里斯·博思菲爾德。

Thank you, Doug. Good morning, everyone. Turning to slide 16, in the quarter, we delivered 14,000 new fiber service addresses, and we remain confident in achieving our goal of 150,000 fiber addresses this year. As a reminder, our expansion markets are primarily in Wisconsin and the Pacific Northwest and therefore, are impacted by seasonality. Now that we have moved beyond the winter months, we expect construction activity and address delivery to accelerate.

謝謝你，道格。大家早安。翻到第 16 張投影片，本季度，我們提供了 14,000 個新的光纖服務地址，我們仍然有信心在今年實現 150,000 個光纖地址的目標。提醒一下，我們的擴張市場主要在威斯康辛州和太平洋西北地區，因此受到季節性的影響。現在我們已經過了冬季，我們預計建築活動和地址交付將會加速。

In the quarter, we had 2,800 residential broadband net editions with 8,300 coming from our fiber markets. Fiber net ads are lower than prior quarters due to the timing of service address delivery. As our bills continue to ramp over the course of the year, we expect fiber net ads to follow.

本季度，我們擁有 2,800 個住宅寬頻網路版本，其中 8,300 個來自光纖市場。由於服務地址交付時間的原因，光纖網路廣告低於前幾季。隨著我們的帳單在一年中不斷增加，我們預計光纖網路廣告也會隨之增加。

We also made meaningful improvements to our sales and marketing programs, including increases in third-party staffing of our door-to-door sales reps and changes to our internal door-to-door teams. As service address delivery ramps and we've strengthened our sales teams, we are optimistic that we can drive increased fiber net ads and penetration this year.

我們也對銷售和行銷計劃進行了有意義的改進，包括增加上門推銷代表的第三方人員配置以及改變內部上門推銷團隊。隨著服務地址交付的增加和我們銷售團隊的加強，我們樂觀地認為今年我們可以推動光纖網路廣告和滲透率的成長。

In preparation for the enhanced E-ACAM program, we executed on a number of construction contracts with third-party vendors and have begun construction in our first E-ACAM market in Wisconsin. The teams are excited to begin this program as it will bring fiber deeper into these communities.

為了準備增強的 E-ACAM 計劃，我們與第三方供應商簽訂了多份建設合同，並已開始在威斯康辛州的第一個 E-ACAM 市場進行建設。團隊很高興開始這個項目，因為它將把光纖深入這些社區。

We are also making progress on our transformation efforts that I mentioned at the year-end call. To date we've already identified $100 million in annual cost savings expected by year-end 2028. These cost reductions will help mitigate increased costs as we expand our fiber footprint and bring on new subscribers.

我在年終電話會議上提到的轉型工作也正在取得進展。到目前為止，我們已經確定預計到 2028 年底每年可節省 1 億美元的成本。隨著我們擴大光纖覆蓋範圍並吸引新用戶，這些成本降低將有助於緩解成本增加。

These initiatives will streamline our operations and enhance elements of the customer experience. We are still in the early stages of identifying opportunities and remain optimistic about the full potential of this program.

這些舉措將簡化我們的營運並增強客戶體驗。我們仍處於尋找機會的早期階段，並對該計劃的全部潛力保持樂觀。

Turning to slide 17, the teams remained focused on driving increased penetration. We added 2,800 residential broadband subscribers in the first quarter. 8,300 were in our fiber markets. Our fiber strategy is driving growth to help overcome industry-wide competitive pressures facing our copper and cable markets.

翻到第 17 張投影片，各團隊仍專注於提高滲透率。我們在第一季增加了 2,800 個住宅寬頻用戶，其中 8,300 個位於我們的光纖市場。我們的光纖策略正在推動成長，以幫助克服銅和電纜市場面臨的全行業競爭壓力。

In our fiber expansion markets, we have a solid track record of achieving 25% to 30% residential broadband penetration in year one attributed to the success of our pre-sales model. We ultimately expect to reach 40% average penetration in steady state, which is roughly five years after launch. Several of our mature markets have exceeded this goal.

在我們的光纖擴展市場中，由於我們的預售模式的成功，我們在第一年就實現了 25% 至 30% 的住宅寬頻普及率，取得了良好的業績。我們最終預計在穩定狀態下達到 40% 的平均滲透率，也就是推出後約五年。我們的幾個成熟市場已經超越了這個目標。

In our E-ACAM markets, we are expecting even higher penetration, 65% to 75% in steady state, as we will be the only gig capable provider in these areas. We are excited to bring gig speeds to some of the most rural geographies in our footprint.

在我們的 E-ACAM 市場中，我們預期滲透率會更高，穩定狀態下將達到 65% 至 75%，因為我們將是這些領域中唯一具有千兆能力的供應商。我們很高興能將千兆速度帶到我們業務範圍內的一些最偏遠的地區。

Starting this quarter, we are sharing residential fiber churn and total residential broadband churn. Customers like the speed and reliability of fiber. You can see this in our fiber churn, which was 0.9% in the quarter, lower than our overall broadband churn.

從本季開始，我們將分享住宅光纖流失率和住宅寬頻總流失率。客戶喜歡光纖的速度和可靠性。您可以從我們的光纖流失率中看出這一點，本季光纖流失率為 0.9%，低於我們的整體寬頻流失率。

Turning to slide 18, earlier this year, we updated our goals to reflect our ongoing cyber expansion and the E-ACAM programs. We are targeting 1.8 million marketable fiber service addresses. We ended the quarter at 942,000.

翻到第 18 張投影片，今年早些時候，我們更新了目標，以反映我們正在進行的網路擴展和 E-ACAM 計劃。我們的目標是180萬個可銷售的光纖服務地址。本季結束時，我們的員工人數為 942,000 人。

We are also targeting 80% of total addresses to be served by fiber. We ended the quarter at 52%. And finally, we are expecting to offer speeds of 1 gig or higher to at least 95% of our footprint, and we finished the quarter with 74% at gig speeds.

我們還計劃為 80% 的地址提供光纖服務。本季結束時我們的比率為 52%。最後，我們預計至少 95% 的網路覆蓋範圍將提供 1Gb 或更高的速度，而本季結束時，74% 的網路覆蓋範圍實現了 Gb 速度。

We will use a combination of fiber and [coax] technologies to achieve this goal. On the right side of the slide, you can see the current service address mix and the projected service address mix once these goals are met. Our goal is to reduce the number of addresses served by copper to just 5% over time.

我們將結合使用光纖和同軸電纜技術來實現這一目標。在投影片的右側，您可以看到目前的服務地址組合以及達到這些目標後的預計服務地址組合。我們的目標是隨著時間的推移將銅線服務的地址數量減少到僅 5%。

In effort to minimize reliance on copper, we will continue to look for opportunities to divest markets that do not have an economic path to fiber. In the first quarter, we reached agreements to sell two copper islet companies in Colorado.

為了盡量減少對銅的依賴，我們將繼續尋找機會剝離那些沒有經濟途徑轉向光纖的市場。第一季度，我們達成協議，出售科羅拉多州的兩家銅島公司。

On slide 19, you can see we grew total service addresses 6% year over year. Shown on the right side of the slide, we see increased demand for higher broadband speeds, with 82% of our residential broadband customers taking 100 meg or higher and 24% taking 1 gig or higher at the end of the quarter.

在投影片 19 上，您可以看到我們的服務地址總數年增了 6%。如投影片右側所示，我們看到對更高寬頻速度的需求不斷增加，在本季度末，82％的住宅寬頻客戶使用 100 MB 或更高速度，24％的客戶使用 1 GB 或更高速度。

When looking at new customers that we added in the quarter, 56% took speeds of 1 gig or higher. Demand for faster speeds remains strong. As shown on slide 20, average residential revenue per connection was up 2% year over year due primarily to price increases. We expect residential revenue per connection to moderate in 2025 as we focus on driving penetration.

當我們查看本季新增的客戶時，56％的客戶採用了1Gb或更高的速度。對於更快速度的需求依然強勁。如投影片 20 所示，主要由於價格上漲，每個連接的平均住宅收入年增 2%。由於我們專注於推動普及率，我們預計 2025 年每連接住宅收入將會放緩。

The chart on the right shows our revenue comparison year over year. As a reminder, the divestitures contributed $4 million of operating revenues in the first quarter of 2024. We'll talk more about revenue on the next slide.

右側的圖表顯示了我們收入的逐年比較。提醒一下，這筆資產剝離在 2024 年第一季貢獻了 400 萬美元的營業收入。我們將在下一張投影片中詳細討論收入問題。

On slide 21, I'll touch on the financials. Total operating revenues were down 3% in the quarter compared to prior years, impacted by the divestitures along with continued declines in commercial and wholesale revenue, as well as decreases in residential video and voice connections. These variances were partially offset by increased residential revenue per connection and growth in fiber connections.

在第 21 張投影片上，我將討論財務狀況。本季總營業收入與去年相比下降了 3%，受到資產剝離、商業和批發收入持續下滑以及住宅視訊和語音連接減少的影響。這些差異被每連接住宅收入的增加和光纖連接的成長部分抵消。

Cash expenses increased 6% or $11 million in the quarter compared to prior year. $4 million of this increase was a cumulative non-cash adjustment to stock-based compensation. The remaining increase in expense aligns with our 2025 priorities and guidance, including investments in sales and marketing and advancing our transformation efforts.

本季現金支出與去年同期相比增加了 6%，即 1,100 萬美元。其中 400 萬美元是股票薪酬的累計非現金調整。剩餘的費用成長與我們的 2025 年優先事項和指導一致，包括對銷售和行銷的投資以及推進我們的轉型努力。

Additionally, we are working to staff and scale our internal construction crews to drive increased addresses at a lower average cost compared to external contractors. We expect to use these crews for approximately one-third of our fiber builds this year.

此外，我們正在努力配備人員並擴大內部施工隊伍的規模，以便以比外部承包商更低的平均成本覆蓋更多的地址。我們預計今年這些施工隊將完成約三分之一的光纖建設。

All of these factors are putting pressure on adjusted EBITDA this quarter. Capital expenditures were down, consistent with lower service address delivery. We expect both CapEx and service address delivery to ramp throughout the rest of the year, as we are still targeting to deliver 150,000 new fiber addresses in 2025.

所有這些因素都給本季調整後的 EBITDA 帶來壓力。資本支出下降，與服務地址交付減少一致。我們預計今年剩餘時間內資本支出和服務地址交付都將增加，因為我們仍計劃在 2025 年交付 150,000 個新的光纖位址。

More than 80% of our full year capital expenditures will be dedicated to fiber, primarily through investments in both our expansion and E-ACAM programs. On slide 22, our 2025 guidance remains unchanged.

我們全年資本支出的 80% 以上將用於光纖，主要透過對擴展和 E-ACAM 計劃的投資。在第 22 張投影片上，我們的 2025 年指引保持不變。

Before I hand over the call, I want to take a moment to thank the entire TDS Telecom team for their hard work and dedication. Executing on our transformation requires alignment across the entire organization. I'm confident in our fiber strategy and excited about the opportunities ahead.

在交接電話之前，我想花點時間感謝整個 TDS Telecom 團隊的辛勤工作和奉獻精神。實施轉型需要整個組織的協調。我對我們的光纖策略充滿信心，並對未來的機會感到興奮。

I will now turn the call back over to Colleen.

現在我將把電話轉回給科琳。

Okay, Regina, we are ready for the first question.

好的，Regina，我們已經準備好回答第一個問題了。

Ric Prentiss, Raymond James.

瑞克普倫蒂斯、雷蒙詹姆斯。

Thanks, good morning, everybody.

謝謝，大家早安。

Morning, Ric.

早上好，里克。

Hey, thanks for the slide 12 in particular, the more refinement and granularity on the net proceeds of the transaction. One -- couple questions on that slide. And obviously, the designated entity spectrum still requires some different approval. Do you expect that's on a similar timeline to approving the whole merger? It's a separate timeline, a delayed timeline, just trying to think of what that process looks like.

嘿，特別感謝第 12 張幻燈片，它對交易的淨收益進行了更細化和更細緻的描述。關於那張投影片的幾個問題。顯然，指定實體頻譜仍然需要一些不同的批准。您是否認為這與批准整個合併的時間相似？這是一個單獨的時間線，一個延遲的時間線，只是試著想想這個過程是什麼樣子的。

Yeah, good morning, Ric. Yeah, with respect to designated entity clause, the timing is uncertain. It is dependent upon regulatory approval by the SEC, which we don't control. We did get good news related to our King Street E-ACAM matter during. The 2nd quarter we had noticed that the DC Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed claims brought by the relators. That was good news and hopefully that will bode well for getting SEC approval. We're still waiting on the advantage ruling on that topic, but the short answer to your question is the timing is uncertain, but we're optimistic that we will be able to close the designated entities at some point in time.

是的，早上好，瑞克。是的，關於指定實體條款，時間尚不確定。這取決於美國證券交易委員會的監管批准，而我們無法控制。我們確實收到了與 King Street E-ACAM 事宜相關的好消息。第二季我們注意到哥倫比亞特區巡迴上訴法院駁回了舉報人提出的訴訟。這是個好消息，希望這將有利於獲得美國證券交易委員會的批准。我們仍在等待有關該主題的優勢裁決，但對您的問題的簡短回答是時間尚不確定，但我們樂觀地認為我們將能夠在某個時間點關閉指定實體。

Okay, and then I think you also mentioned the proceeds, net proceeds, there would also be the cash flow, excess cash flow through closing. I think LT you mentioned maybe $79 million of cash flow in the quarter. How should we think about that run rate of free cash flow is that the right number to kind of look like and think about what it could mean over the next time until you close?

好的，然後我想您也提到了收益、淨收益，還有現金流、透過收盤產生的超額現金流。我認為您提到的 LT 本季度現金流可能為 7900 萬美元。我們應該如何看待自由現金流的運作率，這個正確的數字是什麼樣子的，並思考它在下一次直到你關閉時意味著什麼？

Yeah, Ric. I wouldn't take that necessarily as a run rate. I would say we said directionally that our capital expenditures are down in 2025 relative to 2024, so that that is a positive for free cash flow.

是的，里克。我不一定會將其視為運行率。我想說的是，我們的方向是，2025 年我們的資本支出相對於 2024 年有所下降，這對自由現金流來說是一個利好。

We're not providing, guidance on where we're going to end up at transaction close, but there will be -- we do anticipate an excess amount of cash that will be part of the distribution if and when the board declares a special dividend.

我們不會提供關於交易結束時最終結果的指導，但如果董事會宣布派發特別股息，我們確實預計會有超額現金作為分配的一部分。

Okay. And then, any thoughts on the debt exchange offer, obviously how much of that this exchange impacts the purchase price or what debt is left at USM?

好的。然後，您對債務交換要約有什麼看法，顯然這次交換對購買價格有多大影響，或者 USM 還剩下多少債務？

Yeah, we don't know for certain. Obviously, that's going to be in control of the holders. Certainly we -- it's very attractive debt, given that most of it's at 5.5% or 6.25% rate. So you to the extent some of that debt is left over, we would be interested in keeping it. However, we do expect a lot of it to convert, certainly, you know, portions that are held by institutional investors given the credit rating differential between UScellular and T-Mobile, we're going to see some amount of conversion but it's just very difficult to predict where that will end up.

是的，我們不確定。顯然，這將由持有者控制。當然，考慮到大部分債務的利率為 5.5% 或 6.25%，這是非常有吸引力的債務。因此，如果剩餘的債務，我們有興趣保留它。然而，我們確實預計其中很大一部分將會轉換，當然，你知道，考慮到 UScellular 和 T-Mobile 之間的信用評級差異，機構投資者持有的部分，我們將看到一定數量的轉換，但很難預測最終會轉換到哪裡。

Okay. And one final one on USM side, tower company reporting more in line with like a AFFO type of stuff. Is that something we should expect post closing?

好的。最後一個關於 USM 方面的信息，塔台公司報告更符合 AFFO 類型的東西。這是我們在交易結束後應該期待的事情嗎？

Correct, yeah. As we indicated last quarter, in the first quarter after close, we would anticipate, providing, power company reporting including AFFO and related metrics.

正確，是的。正如我們上個季度所指出的，在收盤後的第一個季度，我們預計將提供包括 AFFO 和相關指標在內的電力公司報告。

Great. And one over on the TDS Telecom side if I could, obviously you've talked about the third-party door-to-door efforts. Can you help us understand, because obviously it was a weak quarter on the broadband ads. How is that working out? When are you going to see kind of better net ad traction, as you head towards those targets of year one penetration and ultimate penetrations?

偉大的。如果可以的話，我想談談 TDS 電信方面，顯然您已經談到了第三方的挨家挨戶推銷工作。您能幫助我們理解嗎，因為顯然這是寬頻廣告表現疲軟的一個季度。效果怎麼樣？當您朝著第一年滲透率和最終滲透率的目標邁進時，何時您會看到更好的網路廣告吸引力？

Yeah, so let me add a little more color on our fiber net ads in the quarter. So we delivered 8,300. That was lower than prior quarters due to timing of address delivery. So the addresses that we launched this quarter, 14,000 were significantly lower than prior quarters. That was largely because of the cold weather and our markets largely being in Pacific, the Pacific Northwest and Wisconsin and because of our pre-sales model we see the most net ads come from those initial fiber launches.

是的，那麼讓我對本季的光纖網路廣告進行一些補充。因此我們交付了 8,300 份。由於地址遞送時間的原因，這一數字低於前幾季。因此，我們本季推出的地址數量（14,000）明顯低於前幾季。這主要是因為天氣寒冷，而且我們的市場主要位於太平洋地區、太平洋西北地區和威斯康辛州，由於我們的預售模式，我們看到大多數淨廣告來自最初的光纖發布。

And so as our fiber address delivery is expected to ramp over the next several quarters, we do expect net ads to follow. And to your point around the door-to-door team, we have done a lot of great work this quarter to set a great foundation. We've brought on additional third-party resources. We've made some changes to our own internal teams to attract more candidates, so we feel like we've really strengthened our sales teams. And once that address delivery ramps up, we're in a good position to capitalize that and add more subscribers.

因此，隨著我們的光纖地址交付預計在未來幾季內增加，我們預計網路廣告也將隨之增加。關於您提到的挨家挨戶推銷團隊，我們本季做了很多出色的工作，奠定了良好的基礎。我們引入了額外的第三方資源。我們對自己的內部團隊做了一些調整，以吸引更多的候選人，因此我們覺得我們確實加強了我們的銷售團隊。一旦地址傳遞量增加，我們就可以充分利用這一點並增加更多的訂閱者。

Okay, thanks, everybody.

好的，謝謝大家。

Thanks, Ric.

謝謝，里克。

Sebastiano Petti, JP Morgan.

摩根大通的塞巴斯蒂亞諾·佩蒂。

I thank you for taking the question. I'm just touching upon, I guess in the prepared remarks there that you don't necessarily intend to redeem the TDS prefers. I mean, one of the questions that we do get is that, on an after-tax basis, those instruments perhaps might be a little too expensive. And so just kind of the thoughts around that in terms of why leaving them outstanding. Then I have a couple other questions.

感謝您回答這個問題。我只是稍微提一下，我想在準備好的評論中您不一定打算贖回 TDS 優先股。我的意思是，我們確實遇到的一個問題是，從稅後角度來看，這些工具可能有點太貴了。所以我只是圍繞著為什麼讓它們保持優秀這一點進行了一些思考。我還有另外幾個問題。

Yeah, good morning, Sebastiano. Thank you for your question. I think my prepared remarks TDS, currently does not plan to redeem the Series UU and the Series VV preferred stock. We -- these are perpetual preferred stock their nice foundational capital going forward that we intend to keep in place as we think about. Right now, we've made a series of moves to put in place our interim financing and liquidity options post close to give us time to put in a more permanent structure, as we look forward, I think our opportunity right now is to pay down our debt, the $1.2 billion, so we really like these as foundational capital going forward.

是的，早上好，塞巴斯蒂亞諾。感謝您的提問。我認為我的準備好的評論TDS，目前不打算贖回UU系列和VV系列優先股。我們 - 這些都是永久優先股，它們是良好的基礎資本，我們打算在考慮時保留它們。目前，我們已經採取了一系列措施來落實我們的臨時融資和流動性選擇，以便我們有時間建立一個更永久的結構，展望未來，我認為我們現在的機會是償還我們的債務，12 億美元，所以我們真的希望將這些作為未來的基礎資本。

Right, thank you. And then, Chris, on the $100 million cost program by 2028, any help maybe perhaps contextualizing just the ramp there and you know what if any benefit you might see within 2025, but just as help us think about how that scales up over time as you get to that 2028 run rate phasing over the next several years. And then sticking with Chris on the TDS side, so the Colorado sales, so I think it's in the $18 million of proceeds. Any help in terms of when you think that might close and what the financial impact could be?

好的，謝謝。然後，克里斯，關於到 2028 年實現 1 億美元成本的計劃，任何幫助也許只是將那裡的增長情況具體化，你知道在 2025 年可能會看到什麼好處，但同時也幫助我們思考一下，隨著未來幾年逐步實現 2028 年的運行率，這一規模將如何隨著時間的推移而擴大。然後繼續與克里斯一起談論 TDS 方面，也就是科羅拉多州的銷售，所以我認為它的收益在 1800 萬美元左右。您認為該關閉何時可能結束以及可能產生哪些財務影響？您能提供什麼協助嗎？

Yes, hi, Sebastiano. I'll start with the latter question on Colorado islet. So these were very small. We only had approximately 2,000 subscribers, but we're getting, yeah, $18 million in proceeds. These were markets that were very isolated copper markets, no economic path to fiber and so we were very pleased that we were able to find a good buyer for these markets, and it goes hand in hand with our strategy to try to minimize our exposure as much as possible on the copper network.

是的，你好，塞巴斯蒂亞諾。我先從有關科羅拉多島的後一個問題開始。所以它們非常小。我們只有大約 2,000 名訂閱者，但我們獲得的收益為 1,800 萬美元。這些市場是非常孤立的銅線市場，沒有通往光纖的經濟途徑，因此我們很高興能夠為這些市場找到好的買家，這與我們的策略相輔相成，即盡可能減少我們在銅線上的風險敞口。

And so in terms of -- that helps you with the in terms of the magnitude, these are relatively small and any impact has been incorporated in our guidance. And then from a transformation perspective, yeah, we're very pleased with our early results on this program. We're just getting started and we are confident in achieving the $100 million of cost savings. So this is a cost savings both on the OpEx and CapEx side. So we do expect some of this to get absorbed by normal inflationary cost increases as we expand our footprint and bring on new subscribers as well as on the CapEx side we may choose to reinvest some of those proceeds.

因此，就規模而言，這有助於您了解這些影響相對較小，並且任何影響都已納入我們的指導中。從轉型的角度來看，是的，我們對該計劃的早期成果非常滿意。我們才剛起步，我們有信心實現 1 億美元的成本節約。因此，這對於營運支出 (OpEx) 和資本支出 (CapEx) 來說都是一種成本節省。因此，我們確實預計，隨著我們擴大業務範圍並吸引新用戶，其中一部分將被正常的通膨成本成長所吸收，而在資本支出方面，我們可能會選擇將部分收益進行再投資。

We're doing a lot of great work right now. We do expect to see some savings by the end of this year and then that will ramp to the $100 million by the end of 2028. We're not sharing any kind of year-by-year savings at this time, but more to come.

我們目前正在做很多出色的工作。我們確實希望在今年年底前看到一些節省，然後到 2028 年底將增加到 1 億美元。目前我們不會分享任何逐年節省的數據，但未來會分享更多。

Sergey Dluzhevskiy, GAMCO Investors.

Sergey Dluzhevskiy，GAMCO 投資者。

Good morning, guys. Thank you for taking the questions. My first question is for LT on the power side as you're preparing for T-Mobile transaction close and as you're dealing with kind of colocation demand environment which is impacted by CapEx slowdown to a degree. I guess, what are some that are working well for you right now, even in this environment in terms of getting additional allocations and what are some of the things that you're working on improving in order to increase third party allocation ratio as you close the transaction and focus squarely on the power business going forward?

大家早安。感謝您回答這些問題。我的第一個問題是關於 LT 的電力方面，因為你們正在為 T-Mobile 交易的結束做準備，你們正在應對某種程度上受到資本支出放緩影響的主機託管需求環境。我想，即使在這種環境下，就獲得額外分配而言，目前哪些措施對您來說效果良好？在交易完成並專注於未來的電力業務時，您正在努力改進哪些方面以提高第三方分配率？

Hey, good morning, Sergey. I thought I was going to get off [scot-free] this call, but I suppose not. Tower business, I mean, as you saw in terms of what we're pleased about, I mean, a 6% revenue growth and that's coming from not just the escalators, which is obviously -- I mean, not, I mean you can brag about them, but that's kind of set and you put them in place and they kind of are what they are. It's coming from ramping from co-location and new amendment activity and new co-location activity that's starting to ramp up.

嘿，早上好，謝爾蓋。我以為我會毫髮無傷地擺脫這個電話，但我想並非如此。塔業務，我的意思是，正如您所看到的，我們感到高興的是，收入增長了 6%，這不僅僅來自自動扶梯，這顯然是 - 我的意思是，您可以吹噓它們，但這是一種既定的，您將它們安裝到位，它們就是它們的樣子。這是由於共置和新修訂活動以及新共置活動開始增加而產生的。

And so we are seeing increased volumes. I think there's a few reasons that we're seeing those increased volumes, and I'll give you three. The first is there probably is some movement from AT&T or Verizon in terms of looking at spots that they currently -- that we currently cover for them with roaming. There's probably a little bit of concerns, hey, what's going to happen with that roaming post the T-Mobile transaction and do we need to start filling in those gaps by moving from roaming to actually providing service on those towers that we have that are differentiated from a coverage perspective. That's probably one driver.

因此，我們看到交易量增加。我認為有幾個原因導致交易量增加，我可以給出其中三個。首先，AT&T 或 Verizon 可能正在採取一些行動，尋找我們目前透過漫遊為他們覆蓋的網路點。可能存在一些擔憂，嘿，T-Mobile 交易後漫遊會發生什麼，我們是否需要通過從漫遊轉向實際在我們擁有的那些從覆蓋角度有所差異的塔上提供服務來開始填補這些空白。這可能是個驅動因素。

The second driver is we have moved some of our sales and our marketing in-house, so we went from a situation where we were doing sales and marketing through a third party. We decided to bring those services in-house as we focused more on driving growth in the tower business, and I think that move is starting to bear fruit. Still very early, don't get me wrong, but we control our own destiny a little bit more in terms of growth. And so I think, that's good news as well.

第二個驅動因素是我們將部分銷售和行銷工作轉移到公司內部，從而擺脫了透過第三方進行銷售和行銷的情況。我們決定將這些服務納入公司內部，因為我們更著重於推動塔式業務的成長，我認為這項措施開始取得成效。別誤會我的意思，現在還為時過早，但就發展而言，我們可以更好地掌控自己的命運。所以我認為這也是個好消息。

And then I think third, you continue to see data demand growing. We don't see any meaningful slowdown in that. And so there's this kind of the more fundamental, call it secular growth that is across the entire category. We're not the only tower business to start to see some growth in terms of demand, and so we, I think carriers across the board are starting to need to fill in some gaps. I think those are gaps also created by the lack of incremental spectrum.

第三，你會繼續看到數據需求成長。我們沒有看到任何明顯的放緩。因此，存在著一種更為根本的、可稱之為長期的成長，它遍及整個類別。我們不是唯一一家在需求方面開始成長的塔式業務公司，因此，我認為各家業者都開始需要填補一些空白。我認為這些差距也是由於缺乏增量頻譜而造成的。

So we're seeing some positive movement in terms of spectrum and spectrum conversations in the government, but there's still nothing that's been identified, nothing that's been clear, no obvious auctions. And so in the absence of that, carriers are going to need to do two things.

因此，我們看到政府在頻譜和頻譜對話方面出現了一些積極的進展，但仍然沒有任何確定的事情，沒有任何明確的消息，也沒有明顯的拍賣。因此，在沒有這些條件的情況下，運營商需要做兩件事。

They're going to need to buy incremental spectrum. By the way, we're sitting on C band that is quite valuable and that we think will be attractive for people. And two, in the absence of buying incremental spectrum, they need to densify. And so I put those three things together. I think that's what's driving some of the growth that we've seen thus far, and I think that drives the optimism that I talked about in the tower business when we think about the long term. In terms of areas of opportunity, I'd focus kind of entirely on OpEx and on just the overall operating structure of the business.

他們將需要購買增量頻譜。順便說一句，我們擁有非常有價值的 C 波段，我們認為它會對人們有吸引力。其次，由於不購買增量頻譜，他們需要提高頻譜密度。所以我把這三件事放在一起。我認為這就是我們迄今為止所看到的一些成長的推動力，而且我認為當我們考慮長遠時，這也推動了我在塔業務中談到的樂觀情緒。就機會領域而言，我會完全專注於營運支出以及業務的整體營運結構。

That business has operated, obviously as a business unit inside of UScellular, and so they've received a lot of support, overhead support, and so on, not just from US Celluar but also from TDS. And so we have a really robust effort underway in order to create the structure for that business to stand on its own post-close.

該業務顯然是作為 UScellular 內部的一個業務部門運營的，因此他們獲得了大量的支援、間接支援等等，不僅來自 US Celluar，還來自 TDS。因此，我們正在進行非常強大的努力，以便為該業務創建一個能夠在交易結束後獨立運作的結構。

That's going to take some time. It will not be done at close, right? And so I would expect that after close we'll still have some residual overhead that will kind of fade over time. We'll obviously provide those details when we get into those future quarters, but putting a structure in place where that business can stand on its own, do so in a really operationally efficient way, and do so as quickly as possible, I'd say, that's probably the largest opportunity there.

這需要一些時間。收盤時不會完成，對嗎？因此我預計，在交易結束後，我們仍會有一些剩餘開銷，但這些開銷會隨著時間的推移而逐漸消失。我們顯然會在未來的幾個季度提供這些細節，但建立一個讓該業務能夠獨立運作的結構，以真正高效的方式運作，並儘快做到這一點，我想說，這可能是最大的機會。

Got it. Great. And another question on the UScellular side in regards to retained spectrum that is outside of announced transaction. You mentioned obviously, the majority of the area relates to C band and there is still some time to monetize. These build out requirements not kicking in until 2029. So while you are obviously going to be on the lookout for the right transaction, I guess, my question is, in the meantime, do you see opportunities to some productive uses of the spectrum that could provide some revenue generating opportunities kind of in the near term, medium term, whether it's listing the spectrum, whether it's focusing on specific sets of users, for example, in the critical infrastructure industries or other industries? So kind of your thoughts on that front?

知道了。偉大的。UScellular 方面還有一個問題，是關於已宣布交易之外的保留頻譜。您顯然提到，該領域的大部分涉及 C 波段，並且仍需要一些時間才能貨幣化。這些建設要求要到 2029 年才會生效。因此，雖然您顯然會尋找正確的交易，但我想，我的問題是，與此同時，您是否看到了一些可以有效利用頻譜的機會，這些機會可以在短期或中期提供一些創收機會，無論是列出頻譜，還是專注於特定的用戶群，例如在關鍵基礎設施行業或其他行業？那麼您對此有什麼看法？

Yeah, we're certainly open to it. The problem with that is that when you start generating revenue from spectrum, normally people aren't interested in paying you to use spectrum that you can then turn around and sell in the next quarter. And so our focus is definitely more on -- when I talk about opportunistic monetization, we mean selling it.

是的，我們當然願意接受。問題在於，當你開始從光譜中創造收入時，人們通常不願意付費給你使用頻譜，而你可以在下個季度轉手出售這些頻譜。因此，我們的重點肯定是——當我談到機會主義貨幣化時，我們的意思是出售它。

There's -- if we don't see a robust market to sell it, we certainly would be open to the concept of leasing it or finding other creative ways to generate some returns on it, but certainly, our focus is on sale -- on selling it, and not just the C band, but the rest of the kind of incremental spectrum is still left over, much smaller in terms of value. But the goal certainly is to sell all that spectrum.

如果我們認為銷售市場不強勁，我們當然會考慮租賃或尋找其他創意的方式來獲得一些回報，但當然，我們的重點是銷售——銷售它，不僅僅是 C 波段，還有剩餘的增量頻譜，價值要小得多。但我們的目標肯定是出售所有頻譜。

The good news for us, and you mentioned this, is we don't need to be in a hurry. And we have in many cases pretty long build out timelines, and even if there is, even if we get close to that build out timeline, the value that's resident in that spectrum and getting a good deal for that spectrum is much greater than the cost that would be required to build it out.

對我們來說，好消息是，正如您所提到的，我們不需要著急。在許多情況下，我們的建設時間表都相當長，即使有，即使我們接近建設時間表，該頻譜的價值以及為該頻譜達成的優惠交易也遠遠大於建設它所需的成本。

And so if we have to, we would be prepared to put some kind of a license saver operational build out in place for that spectrum. Obviously, we hope not to do that. We vastly prefer to sell it, and we think that's the path that we'll go down. So that's kind of the way to think about the monetization of not just the C band, but the rest of those other bands.

因此，如果有必要，我們將準備為該頻譜實施某種許可證保護操作。顯然，我們希望不要這樣做。我們非常願意出售它，我們認為這是我們要走的路。因此，這不僅是思考 C 波段貨幣化的方式，也是思考其他波段貨幣化的方式。

Yeah, great. And the question on the TDS Telecom side, so over the past year or year and a half, TDS Telecom has announced and closed on several divestures. Obviously, islet properties in Virginia, cable operations in Texas, most recently, islets in Colorado. I guess a question for Chris, in general, how are you approaching divestures in your wireline and cable portfolio?

是的，很棒。關於 TDS Telecom 方面的問題，在過去一年或一年半的時間裡，TDS Telecom 宣布並完成了幾次資產剝離。顯然，維吉尼亞州的小島財產、德克薩斯州的電纜運營，最近還有科羅拉多州的小島。我想問克里斯一個問題，總的來說，您是如何處理有線和有線電視投資組合的剝離的？

Do you see additional opportunities to dispose non-core assets and how meaningful could they be kind of over medium term, and what are the main criteria you employ when you decide whether to monetize a market or continue investing?

您是否看到了處置非核心資產的更多機會，以及這些機會在中期內有多大意義，當您決定是否將市場貨幣化或繼續投資時，您採用的主要標準是什麼？

Yes, I can add a little more color on that. So we do have a lot of capital needs in front of us. We have bold fiber goals with our E-ACAM program and our ongoing fiber expansion program. So we really are constantly evaluating our portfolio to ensure that we're putting our resources in our most strategic opportunities. And we're especially focused on looking at copper markets that do not have an economic path to fiber because we want to minimize our exposure to our copper network in the long run and ultimately get out of the copper business.

是的，我可以添加更多顏色。所以我們確實面臨大量的資金需求。我們的 E-ACAM 計劃和正在進行的光纖擴展計劃有著大膽的光纖目標。因此，我們確實在不斷評估我們的投資組合，以確保我們將資源投入最具戰略意義的機會。我們特別關注那些沒有經濟途徑實現光纖化的銅纜市場，因為我們希望從長遠來看盡量減少對銅纜網路的依賴，並最終退出銅纜業務。

And so a lot of these markets are markets that were overbuilt, so they were not eligible for E-ACAM and given the density of these markets, it just was not economic to then also upgrade these areas. So that from a strategic lens, that is exactly what we're looking for are these markets that are more isolated, do not have an economic path to fiber.

因此，許多這樣的市場都是過度建設的市場，所以它們不符合 E-ACAM 的資格，而且考慮到這些市場的密度，升級這些區域也是不經濟的。因此，從策略角度來看，我們所尋找的正是這些更孤立、沒有光纖經濟途徑的市場。

And they also have to meet our financial criteria. We want to make sure that the net proceeds we receive are greater than what the present value of those cash flows would be to us if we continue operating those markets. And so all the divestitures we've done so far have met those criteria, and we're constantly looking for other opportunities that fit that as well.

而且他們還必須符合我們的財務標準。我們希望確保我們收到的淨收益大於我們繼續經營這些市場時這些現金流的現值。因此，我們迄今為止進行的所有資產剝離都符合這些標準，我們也在不斷尋找符合這些標準的其他機會。

Great. Thank you.

偉大的。謝謝。

Sebastiano Petti, JP Morgan.

摩根大通的塞巴斯蒂亞諾·佩蒂。

Hi, thanks for getting me back in the queue. Just something I brought up on the call announcement when you first announced the USM sale to T-Mobile, but we get this question as well from investors, but why does USM need to remain a public entity? Is there any sense or any pros and cons from collapsing the structure and the TDS just buying in the remaining -- buying out the minority shareholders and collapsing the structure and minimizing tax leakage from some of the assets that asset proceeds down the road here? Just wanted to, Vicki, to the extent you like to just share any thoughts around that would be lovely? Thank you.

你好，謝謝你讓我重新回到隊列中。當您首次宣布將 USM 出售給 T-Mobile 時，我在電話會議上提到了這一點，但投資者也提出了這個問題，為什麼 USM 需要保持上市實體的身份？打破這個結構，讓 TDS 只買下剩餘的股份，買下少數股東的股份，打破這種結構，並盡量減少未來資產收益帶來的部分資產的稅收流失，這樣做有什麼意義或利弊嗎？維琪，我只是想問一下，如果你願意的話，可以分享一下你的想法嗎？謝謝。

Yeah, sure, thank you for the follow-up question. First of all, look, when we close the transaction with T-Mobile and UScellular, we will be two public companies, and we will have a strong business in place at UScellular with the towers and the partnerships both providing predictable cash flows and attractive margins and you know attractive growth as we're looking at our power portfolio and then of course on the TDS side, we have the fiber program and its profile of attractive returns over the long term and it's an investment cycle. So you know I think there's any number of paths that we could take longer term.

是的，當然，感謝您的後續提問。首先，當我們完成與 T-Mobile 和 UScellular 的交易時，我們將成為兩家上市公司，並且我們將在 UScellular 擁有強大的業務，其塔和合作夥伴關係均可提供可預測的現金流和誘人的利潤率，而且正如我們所見，我們的電力組合具有誘人的增長潛力，當然，在 TDS 方面，我們有光纖計劃及其長期投資週期，這是一個長期的投資週期。所以，我認為從長遠來看，我們可以採取多種途徑。

We're not there yet. As you know right now we're just really focused on -- our top prioritiy is of getting to a successful close in a couple of months, and there's a sequence of critical steps that we're focused on before close and after close, which, I outlined in my comments today, so.

我們還沒到那裡。如你所知，現在我們真正關注的是——我們的首要任務是在幾個月內成功完成交易，並且在交易完成之前和之後，我們會關註一系列關鍵步驟，我在今天的評論中已經概述了這些步驟。

Instead of saying, I'll just add from the UScellular perspective, right, we -- the incremental cost to operate as a public company, it's relatively minimal. I mean, you're not -- we're not getting a ton of cost savings if you combine the two. And so it really comes down to more efficient and effective uses of capital, more efficient tax flow structures. I'm sure TDS will continue to evaluate that on a go forward basis, but we don't have some huge incentive at UScellular to try to collapse it.

我不再多說，只是從 UScellular 的角度來看，對吧，作為一家上市公司，營運的增量成本相對較小。我的意思是，如果將兩者結合起來，我們不會節省大量的成本。所以這其實歸結為更有效率、更有效的資本利用，更有效率的稅收流動結構。我確信 TDS 會繼續評估這一點，但 UScellular 並沒有太大的動機去試圖摧毀它。

Thank you, both.

謝謝你們兩位。

Rick Prentiss , Raymond James.

瑞克普倫蒂斯、雷蒙詹姆斯。

Hey, we're tag teaming today. Wanted to come back to the question on leverage at UScellular. Doug, I think you mentioned you would post transaction like to keep leverage similar. So we're talking like 2.5 to 3 terms of leverage at UScellular post-transaction when it becomes predominantly as LT pointed out the entire company.

嘿，今天我們是雙打組隊。想回到有關 UScellular 槓桿的問題。道格，我想你提到過你會在交易後保持相似的槓桿率。因此，正如 LT 所指出的那樣，當 UScellular 交易後成為整個公司的主要槓桿時，我們談論的就是 2.5 到 3 個槓桿。

Yeah, I would say closer to 3, but it really depends also on the debt exchange offer and the residual that is left there that might compel us to go higher given the attractiveness of that debt, but that's in the ballpark, Ric.

是的，我想說接近 3，但這實際上還取決於債務交換要約和剩餘的餘額，考慮到債務的吸引力，這可能會迫使我們提高價格，但這只是大概的數字，里克。

Okay, and it really does come down to that how much it gets exchanged. What's the time frame for the exchange as transaction closes and then what time frame people have?

好的，這實際上取決於交換了多少。交易結束時交換的時間範圍是怎樣的？人們的時間範圍又是什麼？

Yeah, it'd be -- it'll be launched about 50 days or so before we anticipate a close, to make sure we have adequate time to -- for the holders to effect their exchange, and there's certain requirements there. So that's the estimated timing. And once we have an estimated close date, that'll determine the launch of that offer.

是的，它將在我們預計結束前 50 天左右推出，以確保我們有足夠的時間讓持有者進行兌換，並且有一定的要求。這就是預計的時間。一旦我們確定了預計截止日期，就可以決定是否推出該優惠。

And then expecting to have the exchange done concurrent with the closing or shortly after or before?

然後期望交易在收盤的同時完成，還是在收盤後或收盤前不久完成？

Concurrent, yes.

並發，是的。

Perfect. Thanks, Vicki. Thanks, Doug.

完美的。謝謝，薇琪。謝謝，道格。

Yes, thank you.

是的，謝謝。

And that will conclude our question-and-answer session. I'll turn the call back over to Colleen Thompson for closing remarks.

我們的問答環節到此結束。我將把電話轉回給科琳湯普森 (Colleen Thompson) 做最後發言。

Okay, thanks again for joining us today. Please reach out to IR if you have additional questions and have a great weekend.

好的，再次感謝您今天加入我們。如果您還有其他問題，請聯絡 IR，祝您週末愉快。

That will conclude today's call. Thank you all for joining. You may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝大家的加入。您現在可以斷開連線。