10-Q

 

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 FORM 10-Q
(Mark One)
x	QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
	For the quarterly period ended March 31, 2013
				OR
o	TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
	For the transition period from                                    to
Commission file number 1-9712
	UNITED STATES CELLULAR CORPORATION
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware						62-1147325
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)						(IRS Employer Identification No.)
8410 West Bryn Mawr, Chicago, Illinois 60631 (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)
Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (773) 399-8900
Indicate by check mark									Yes	No
•  whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.									x	o
•  whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).									x	o
•  whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer or a smaller reporting company.  See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer		x	Accelerated filer	o	Non-accelerated filer		o	Smaller reporting company		o
•  whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).									o	x
Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the issuer's classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date.
Class						Outstanding at March 31, 2013
Common Shares, $1 par value						50,685,294 Shares
Series A Common Shares, $1 par value						33,005,877 Shares

United States Cellular Corporation
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q
For the Quarterly Period Ended March 31, 2013
Index
				Page No.
Part I.	Financial Information
	Item 1.	Financial Statements (Unaudited)		1
		Consolidated Statement of Operations		1
			Three Months Ended March 31, 2013 and 2012
		Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows		2
			Three Months Ended March 31, 2013 and 2012
		Consolidated Balance Sheet		3
			March 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012
		Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity		5
			Three Months Ended March 31, 2013 and 2012
		Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements		7
	Item 2.	Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations		16
		Overview		16
		Divestiture Transaction		18
		2013 Estimates		18
		Results of Operations		20
		Recent Accounting Pronouncements		25
		Financial Resources		25
		Liquidity and Capital Resources		27
		Application of Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates		30
		Safe Harbor Cautionary Statement		31
	Item 3.	Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk		34
	Item 4.	Controls and Procedures		35
Part II.	Other Information			36
	Item 1.	Legal Proceedings		36
	Item 1A.	Risk Factors		36
	Item 2.	Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds		36
	Item 5.	Other Information		37
	Item 6.	Exhibits		38
Signatures

Part I.  Financial Information
Item 1.  Financial Statements
United States Cellular Corporation
Consolidated Statement of Operations (Unaudited)
			Three Months Ended
			March 31,
(Dollars and shares in thousands, except per share amounts)			2013		2012
Operating revenues
	Service		$	996,349	$	1,023,820
	Equipment sales			85,397		68,301
		Total operating revenues		1,081,746		1,092,121
Operating expenses
	System operations (excluding Depreciation, amortization and accretion reported below)			216,299		233,164
	Cost of equipment sold			241,691		187,036
	Selling, general and administrative   (including charges from affiliates of $23.5 million and   $26.0 million, respectively)			420,080		442,244
	Depreciation, amortization and accretion			189,845		146,685
	Loss on asset disposals, net			5,434		2,003
	(Gain) loss on sale of business and other exit costs, net			6,931		(4,213)
		Total operating expenses		1,080,280		1,006,919
Operating income				1,466		85,202
Investment and other income (expense)
	Equity in earnings of unconsolidated entities			26,835		21,614
	Interest and dividend income			903		1,043
	Interest expense			(10,910)		(13,411)
	Other, net			(215)		202
		Total investment and other income (expense)		16,613		9,448
Income before income taxes				18,079		94,650
	Income tax expense			7,369		25,638
Net income				10,710		69,012
	Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests, net of tax			(5,796)		(6,520)
Net income attributable to U.S. Cellular shareholders			$	4,914	$	62,492
Basic weighted average shares outstanding				83,838		84,570
Basic earnings per share attributable to U.S. Cellular shareholders			$	0.06	$	0.74
Diluted weighted average shares outstanding				84,403		85,133
Diluted earnings per share attributable to U.S. Cellular shareholders			$	0.06	$	0.73
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

1

United States Cellular Corporation
Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows (Unaudited)
			Three Months Ended
			March 31,
(Dollars in thousands)			2013		2012
Cash flows from operating activities
	Net income		$	10,710	$	69,012
	Add (deduct) adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash flows from operating activities
		Depreciation, amortization and accretion		189,845		146,685
		Bad debts expense		16,910		13,850
		Stock-based compensation expense		5,036		5,391
		Deferred income taxes, net		7,048		6,283
		Equity in earnings of unconsolidated entities		(26,835)		(21,614)
		Distributions from unconsolidated entities		5,836		2,822
		Loss on asset disposals, net		5,434		2,003
		(Gain) loss on sale of business and other exit costs, net		6,931		(4,213)
		Noncash interest expense		262		451
		Other operating activities		250		449
	Changes in assets and liabilities from operations
		Accounts receivable		33,611		36,621
		Inventory		16,750		(4,410)
		Accounts payable - trade		4,644		(17,689)
		Accounts payable - affiliate		(1,933)		2,989
		Customer deposits and deferred revenues		8,862		9,512
		Accrued taxes		6,175		79,765
		Accrued interest		9,201		9,167
		Other assets and liabilities		(75,122)		(80,107)
				223,615		256,967
Cash flows from investing activities
	Cash used for additions to property, plant and equipment			(151,024)		(209,160)
	Cash paid for acquisitions and licenses			(14,150)		(11,096)
	Cash received from divestitures			-		49,786
	Cash paid for investments			-		(10,000)
	Cash received for investments			-		10,000
	Other investing activities			3,654		296
				(161,520)		(170,174)
Cash flows from financing activities
	Repayment of long-term debt			(61)		(12)
	Common shares reissued for benefit plans, net of tax payments			123		357
	Common shares repurchased			(18,425)		-
	Distributions to noncontrolling interests			(2,396)		(218)
	Other financing activities			2		3
				(20,757)		130
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents				41,338		86,923
Cash and cash equivalents
	Beginning of period			378,358		424,155
	End of period		$	419,696	$	511,078
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

2

United States Cellular Corporation
Consolidated Balance Sheet — Assets (Unaudited)
(Dollars in thousands)			March 31, 2013		December 31, 2012
Current assets
	Cash and cash equivalents		$	419,696	$	378,358
	Short-term investments			110,585		100,676
	Accounts receivable
		Customers and agents, less allowances of $24,106 and $24,290, respectively		314,463		349,424
		Roaming		29,132		31,782
		Affiliated		44		375
		Other, less allowances of $1,692 and $2,612, respectively		51,062		63,639
	Inventory			139,136		155,886
	Income taxes receivable			2,776		1,612
	Prepaid expenses			64,365		62,560
	Net deferred income tax asset			36,302		35,419
	Other current assets			17,111		16,745
				1,184,672		1,196,476
Assets held for sale				213,593		216,763
Investments
	Licenses			1,470,944		1,456,794
	Goodwill			421,743		421,743
	Customer lists, net of accumulated amortization of $96,843 and $96,809, respectively			68		102
	Investments in unconsolidated entities			165,529		144,531
	Long-term investments			40,142		50,305
				2,098,426		2,073,475
Property, plant and equipment
	In service and under construction			7,562,931		7,478,428
	Less: Accumulated depreciation			4,614,423		4,455,840
				2,948,508		3,022,588
Other assets and deferred charges				78,436		78,148
Total assets			$	6,523,635	$	6,587,450
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

3

United States Cellular Corporation
Consolidated Balance Sheet — Liabilities and Equity (Unaudited)
(Dollars and shares in thousands)					March 31, 2013		December 31, 2012
Current liabilities
	Current portion of long-term debt				$	93	$	92
	Accounts payable
		Affiliated				8,792		10,725
		Trade				281,762		310,936
	Customer deposits and deferred revenues					202,209		192,113
	Accrued taxes					43,357		35,834
	Accrued compensation					50,698		90,418
	Other current liabilities					98,657		114,881
						685,568		754,999
Liabilities held for sale						18,360		19,594
Deferred liabilities and credits
	Net deferred income tax liability					857,439		849,818
	Other deferred liabilities and credits					292,687		288,441
Long-term debt						878,975		878,858
Commitments and contingencies						-		-
Noncontrolling interests with redemption features						466		493
Equity
	U.S. Cellular shareholders' equity
		Series A Common and Common Shares
			Authorized 190,000 shares (50,000 Series A Common and 140,000 Common Shares)
			Issued 88,074 shares (33,006 Series A Common and 55,068 Common Shares)
			Outstanding 83,691 shares (33,006 Series A Common and 50,685 Common Shares) and 84,168 shares (33,006 Series A Common and 51,162 Common Shares), respectively
			Par Value ($1 per share) ($33,006 Series A Common and $55,068 Common Shares)			88,074		88,074
		Additional paid-in capital				1,417,308		1,412,453
		Treasury shares, at cost, 4,383 and 3,906 Common Shares, respectively				(183,385)		(165,724)
		Retained earnings				2,403,325		2,399,052
			Total U.S. Cellular shareholders' equity			3,725,322		3,733,855
	Noncontrolling interests					64,818		61,392
				Total equity		3,790,140		3,795,247
Total liabilities and equity					$	6,523,635	$	6,587,450
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

4

United States Cellular Corporation
Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity (Unaudited)
	U.S. Cellular Shareholders
(Dollars in thousands)	Series A Common and Common Shares		Additional Paid-In Capital		Treasury Shares		Retained Earnings		Total U.S. Cellular Shareholders' Equity		Noncontrolling Interests		Total Equity
Balance, December 31, 2012	$	88,074	$	1,412,453	$	(165,724)	$	2,399,052	$	3,733,855	$	61,392	$	3,795,247
Add (Deduct)
Net income attributable to U.S. Cellular shareholders		-		-		-		4,914		4,914		-		4,914
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests classified as equity		-		-		-		-		-		5,822		5,822
Repurchase of Common Shares		-		-		(18,425)		-		(18,425)		-		(18,425)
Incentive and compensation plans		-		-		764		(641)		123		-		123
Stock-based compensation awards		-		5,036		-		-		5,036		-		5,036
Tax windfall (shortfall) from stock awards		-		(181)		-		-		(181)		-		(181)
Distributions to noncontrolling interests		-		-		-		-		-		(2,396)		(2,396)
Balance, March 31, 2013	$	88,074	$	1,417,308	$	(183,385)	$	2,403,325	$	3,725,322	$	64,818	$	3,790,140
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

5

United States Cellular Corporation
Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity (Unaudited)
	U.S. Cellular Shareholders
(Dollars in thousands)	Series A Common and Common Shares		Additional Paid-In Capital		Treasury Shares		Retained Earnings		Total U.S. Cellular Shareholders' Equity		Noncontrolling Interests		Total Equity
Balance, December 31, 2011	$	88,074	$	1,387,341	$	(152,817)	$	2,297,363	$	3,619,961	$	55,956	$	3,675,917
Add (Deduct)
Net income attributable to U.S. Cellular shareholders		-		-		-		62,492		62,492		-		62,492
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests classified as equity		-		-		-		-		-		6,460		6,460
Incentive and compensation plans		-		189		597		(266)		520		-		520
Stock-based compensation awards		-		5,344		-		-		5,344		-		5,344
Tax windfall (shortfall) from stock awards		-		(29)		-		-		(29)		-		(29)
Distributions to noncontrolling interests		-		-		-		-		-		(218)		(218)
Balance, March 31, 2012	$	88,074	$	1,392,845	$	(152,220)	$	2,359,589	$	3,688,288	$	62,198	$	3,750,486
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

6

United States Cellular Corporation

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

1.   Basis of Presentation

United States Cellular Corporation (“U.S. Cellular”), a Delaware Corporation, is an 85%-owned subsidiary of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (“TDS”).

The accounting policies of U.S. Cellular conform to accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) as set forth in the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”). The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of U.S. Cellular, its majority-owned subsidiaries, general partnerships in which U.S. Cellular has a majority partnership interest and certain entities in which U.S. Cellular has a variable interest that require consolidation under GAAP.  All material intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated. 

The consolidated financial statements included herein have been prepared by U.S. Cellular, without audit, pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Certain information and disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such rules and regulations. However, U.S. Cellular believes that the disclosures included herein are adequate to make the information presented not misleading.  These consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto included in U.S. Cellular’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (“Form 10-K”) for the year ended December 31, 2012.

The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements contain all adjustments (consisting of only normal recurring items, unless otherwise disclosed) necessary for a fair statement of the financial position as of March 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012, and the results of operations, cash flows and changes in equity for the three months ended March 31, 2013 and 2012. The Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income was not included because comprehensive income for the three months ended March 31, 2013 and 2012 equaled net income.  These results are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

As of March 31, 2013, there are no recent accounting pronouncements that are expected to have a material impact on U.S. Cellular’s financial position or results of operations.

Agent Liabilities

U.S. Cellular has relationships with agents, which are independent businesses that obtain customers for U.S. Cellular.  At March 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012, U.S. Cellular had accrued $63.9 million and $88.2 million, respectively, for amounts due to agents, including rebates and commissions.  These amounts are included in Other current liabilities in the Consolidated Balance Sheet.

Amounts Collected from Customers and Remitted to Governmental Authorities

If a tax is assessed upon the customer and U.S. Cellular merely acts as an agent in collecting the tax on behalf of the imposing governmental authority, then amounts collected from customers and remitted to governmental authorities are recorded on a net basis within a tax liability account in the Consolidated Balance Sheet.  If the tax is assessed upon U.S. Cellular, then amounts collected from customers as recovery of the tax are recorded in Service revenues and amounts remitted to governmental authorities are recorded in Selling, general and administrative expenses in the Consolidated Statement of Operations. The amounts recorded gross in revenues that are billed to customers and remitted to governmental authorities totaled $32.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2013, and $35.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012.

2.   Fair Value Measurements

As of March 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012, U.S. Cellular did not have any financial assets or liabilities that were required to be recorded at fair value in its Consolidated Balance Sheet in accordance with GAAP. However, U.S. Cellular has applied the provisions of fair value accounting for purposes of computing the fair value of financial instruments for disclosure purposes as displayed below.

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		Level within the Fair Value Hierarchy	March 31, 2013				December 31, 2012
			Book Value			Fair Value	Book Value		Fair Value
(Dollars in thousands)
Cash and cash equivalents		1	$	419,696	$	419,696	$	378,358	$	378,358
Short-term investments
	Government-backed securities	1		110,585		110,585		100,676		100,676
Long-term investments
	Government-backed securities	1		40,142		40,175		50,305		50,339
Long-term debt
	6.95% Senior Notes	1		342,000		363,067		342,000		376,610
	6.7% Senior Notes	2		532,256		585,423		532,194		582,744

Short-term investments and Long-term investments are both designated as held-to-maturity investments and recorded at amortized cost in the Consolidated Balance Sheet.  Long-term investment maturities are 20 months at March 31, 2013.  Government-backed securities include U.S. treasuries and corporate notes guaranteed under the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program.  Long-term debt excludes capital lease obligations and current portion of Long-term debt.

The fair values of Cash and cash equivalents and Short-term investments approximate their book values due to the short-term nature of these financial instruments.  The fair value of Long-term debt, excluding capital lease obligations and the current portion of such Long-term debt, was estimated using market prices for the 6.95% Senior Notes, and discounted cash flow analysis using an estimated yield to maturity of 6.05% for the 6.7% Senior Notes at March 31, 2013.

As of March 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012, U.S. Cellular did not have nonfinancial assets or liabilities that required the application of fair value accounting for purposes of reporting such amounts in the Consolidated Balance Sheet.

3.   Income Taxes

U.S. Cellular is included in a consolidated federal income tax return and in certain state income tax returns with other members of the TDS consolidated group.  For financial statement purposes, U.S. Cellular and its subsidiaries compute their income tax expense as if they comprised a separate affiliated group and were not included in the TDS consolidated group.

U.S. Cellular’s overall effective tax rate on Income before income taxes for the three months ended March 31, 2013 and March 31, 2012 was 40.8% and 27.1%, respectively.  The effective tax rate for the three months ended March 31, 2013 was higher than the rate for the three months ended March 31, 2012 primarily as a result of tax benefits related to the expiration of the statute of limitations for certain tax years and the adjustment of deferred tax balances related to certain partnership investments in 2012.

U.S. Cellular incurred a federal net operating loss in 2011 largely attributable to 100% bonus depreciation applicable to qualified capital expenditures.  U.S. Cellular carried back this federal net operating loss to prior tax years and received a $66.8 million federal income tax refund in 2012 for carrybacks to 2009 and 2010 tax years. Of this amount, $58.1 million of the refund was received in the three months ended March 31, 2012.

4.   Earnings Per Share

Basic earnings per share attributable to U.S. Cellular shareholders is computed by dividing Net income attributable to U.S. Cellular shareholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted earnings per share attributable to U.S. Cellular shareholders is computed by dividing Net income attributable to U.S. Cellular shareholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period adjusted to include the effects of potentially dilutive securities. Potentially dilutive securities primarily include incremental shares issuable upon exercise of outstanding stock options and the vesting of restricted stock units.

The amounts used in computing earnings per Common and Series A Common Share and the effects of potentially dilutive securities on the weighted average number of Common and Series A Common Shares were as follows:

8

		Three Months Ended March 31,
		2013		2012
(Dollars and shares in thousands, except per share amounts)
Net income attributable to U.S. Cellular shareholders		$	4,914	$	62,492
Weighted average number of shares used in basic earnings per share			83,838		84,570
Effects of dilutive securities:
	Stock options		44		135
	Restricted stock units		521		428
Weighted average number of shares used in diluted earnings per share			84,403		85,133
Basic earnings per share attributable to U.S. Cellular shareholders		$	0.06	$	0.74
Diluted earnings per share attributable to U.S. Cellular shareholders		$	0.06	$	0.73

Certain Common Shares issuable upon the exercise of stock options or vesting of restricted stock units were not included in average diluted shares outstanding for the calculation of Diluted earnings per share attributable to U.S. Cellular shareholders because their effects were antidilutive. The number of such Common Shares excluded, if any, is shown in the table below.

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2013	2012
(Shares in thousands)
Stock options	2,468	1,444

5.   Acquisitions, Divestitures and Exchanges

U.S. Cellular assesses its existing wireless interests on an ongoing basis with a goal of improving the competitiveness of its operations and maximizing its long-term return on investment. As part of this strategy, U.S. Cellular reviews attractive opportunities to acquire additional operating markets and wireless spectrum. In addition, U.S. Cellular may seek to divest outright or include in exchanges for other wireless interests those interests that are not strategic to its long-term success. 

Divestiture Transaction

On November 6, 2012, U.S. Cellular entered into a Purchase and Sale Agreement with subsidiaries of Sprint Nextel Corporation (“Sprint”). The Purchase and Sale Agreement provides that U.S. Cellular will transfer customers and certain PCS licensed spectrum to Sprint in U.S. Cellular's Chicago, central Illinois, St. Louis and certain Indiana/Michigan/Ohio markets (“Divestiture Markets”) in consideration for $480 million in cash at closing, subject to pro-rations of certain assets and liabilities. The Purchase and Sale Agreement also contemplates certain other agreements, together with the Purchase and Sale Agreement collectively referred to as the “Divestiture Transaction.”  The transaction was approved by the FCC in March 2013 and the closing is expected to occur in the second quarter of 2013.

U.S. Cellular will retain other assets and liabilities related to the Divestiture Markets, including network assets, retail stores and related equipment, and other buildings and facilities. The transaction does not affect spectrum licenses held by U.S. Cellular or variable interest entities (“VIEs”) that are not currently used in the operations of the Divestiture Markets. The Purchase and Sale Agreement also contemplates certain other agreements, including customer and network transition services agreements, which will require that U.S. Cellular provide customer, billing and network services to Sprint for a period of up to 24 months after the closing date. Sprint will reimburse U.S. Cellular for providing such services at an amount equal to U.S. Cellular's cost, including applicable overhead allocations. In addition, these agreements will require Sprint to reimburse U.S. Cellular up to $200 million (the “Sprint Cost Reimbursement”) for certain network decommissioning costs, network site lease rent and termination costs, network access termination costs, and employee termination benefits for specified engineering employees.

Financial impacts of the Divestiture Transaction are classified in the Consolidated Statement of Operations within Operating income. The table below describes the amounts U.S. Cellular has recognized, and expects to recognize, in the Consolidated Statement of Operations between the date the Purchase and Sale Agreement was signed and the end of the transition services period, as a result of the transaction.

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(Dollars in thousands)			Expected Period of Realization/ Incurrence		Projected Range				Cumulative Amount Incurred as of March 31, 2013		Actual Amount Incurred Three Months Ended March 31, 2013
(Gain) loss on sale of business and other exit costs, net
	Proceeds from Sprint
		Purchase price		2013	$	(480,000)	$	(480,000)	$	-	$	-
		Sprint Cost Reimbursement		2013-2014		(150,000)		(200,000)		-		-
	Net assets transferred			2013		210,000		230,000		-		-
	Non-cash charges for the write-off and   write-down of property under construction   and related assets			2012-2013		11,000		15,000		10,894		222
	Employee related costs including severance,   retention and outplacement			2012-2014		16,000		25,000		15,659		3,050
	Contract termination costs			2012-2014		125,000		175,000		2,959		2,900
	Transaction costs			2012-2013		4,000		6,000		2,055		918
		Total (Gain) loss on sale of business and   other exit costs, net			$	(264,000)	$	(229,000)	$	31,567	$	7,090
Depreciation, amortization and accretion expense
	Incremental depreciation, amortization and   accretion, net of salvage values			2012-2013		175,000		210,000		58,104		38,046
Other Operating expenses
	Non-cash charges for the write-off and   write-down of various operating assets   and liabilities			2013		-		10,000		-		-
(Increase) decrease in Operating income					$	(89,000)	$	(9,000)	$	89,671	$	45,136

Incremental depreciation, amortization and accretion, net of salvage values represents anticipated amounts to be recorded in the specified time periods as a result of revising the useful life of certain assets and revising the settlement dates of certain asset retirement obligations in conjunction with the Divestiture Transaction.  Specifically, for the years indicated, this is estimated depreciation, amortization and accretion recorded on assets and liabilities of the Divestiture Markets after the November 6, 2012 transaction date less depreciation, amortization and accretion that would have been recorded on such assets and liabilities in the normal course, absent the Divestiture Transaction.

		As a result of the transaction, U.S. Cellular recognized the following amounts in the Consolidated Balance Sheet:
					Three Months Ended March 31, 2013
(Dollars in thousands)			Balance December 31, 2012		Costs Incurred		Cash Settlements (1)		Non-cash Settlements		Adjustments		Balance March 31, 2013
Accrued compensation
	Employee related costs   including severance,   retention, outplacement		$	12,305	$	3,050	$	(1,607)	$	-	$	-	$	13,748
Other current liabilities
	Contract termination costs		$	30	$	2,900	$	(784)	$	-	$	-	$	2,146
(1)		Cash settlement amounts are included in either the Net income or changes in Other assets and liabilities line items as part of Cash flows from operating activities on the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows.

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		At March 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012, the following assets and liabilities were classified in the Consolidated Balance Sheet as "Assets held for sale" and "Liabilities held for sale":
			Licenses		Goodwill		Property, Plant and Equipment		Total Assets Held for Sale		Liabilities Held for Sale (1)
(Dollars in thousands)
March 31, 2013
Divestiture Transaction			$	140,599	$	72,994	$	-	$	213,593	$	18,360
December 31, 2012
Divestiture Transaction			$	140,599	$	72,994	$	-	$	213,593	$	19,594
Bolingbrook Customer Care Center (2)				-		-		3,170		3,170		-
	Total		$	140,599	$	72,994	$	3,170	$	216,763	$	19,594
(1)		Liabilities held for sale primarily consisted of Customer deposits and deferred revenues.
(2)		Effective January 1, 2013, U.S. Cellular transferred its Bolingbrook Customer Care Center operations to an existing third party vendor.

6.   Intangible Assets

Changes in U.S. Cellular’s Licenses for the three months ended March 31, 2013 and 2012 are presented below.  There were no significant changes to Goodwill or Customer lists during the periods presented.

Licenses
		March 31, 2013		March 31, 2012
(Dollars in thousands)
Balance, beginning of period		$	1,456,794	$	1,470,769
	Acquisitions		14,150		11,096
Balance, end of period		$	1,470,944	$	1,481,865

7.   Investments in Unconsolidated Entities

Investments in unconsolidated entities consist of amounts invested in wireless entities in which U.S. Cellular holds a noncontrolling interest. These investments are accounted for using either the equity or cost method.

Equity in earnings of unconsolidated entities totaled $26.8 million and $21.6 million in the three months ended March 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively; of those amounts, U.S. Cellular’s investment in the Los Angeles SMSA Limited Partnership (“LA Partnership”) contributed $20.6 million and $17.1 million in the three months ended March 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively.  U.S. Cellular held a 5.5% ownership interest in the LA Partnership during these periods.

The following table, which is based on information provided in part by third parties, summarizes the combined results of operations of U.S. Cellular’s equity method investments:

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2013		2012
(Dollars in thousands)
Revenues	$	1,492,726	$	1,431,372
Operating expenses		1,066,967		1,071,887
Operating income		425,759		359,485
Other income		588		916
Net income	$	426,347	$	360,401

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8.   Commitments, Contingencies and Other Liabilities

Agreements

As previously disclosed, on August 17, 2010, U.S. Cellular and Amdocs Software Systems Limited (“Amdocs”) entered into a Software License and Maintenance Agreement (“SLMA”) and a Master Service Agreement (“MSA”) (collectively, the “Amdocs Agreements”) to develop a Billing and Operational Support System (“B/OSS”).  Pursuant to an updated Statement of Work dated June 29, 2012, the implementation of B/OSS is expected to take until the end of 2013 to complete and total payments to Amdocs are estimated to be approximately $179.0 million (subject to certain potential adjustments) over the period from commencement of the SLMA in 2010 through the second half of 2013.  As of March 31, 2013, $114.0 million had been paid to Amdocs.

Indemnifications

U.S. Cellular enters into agreements in the normal course of business that provide for indemnification of counterparties.  The terms of the indemnifications vary by agreement.  The events or circumstances that would require U.S. Cellular to perform under these indemnities are transaction specific; however, these agreements may require U.S. Cellular to indemnify the counterparty for costs and losses incurred from litigation or claims arising from the underlying transaction.  U.S. Cellular is unable to estimate the maximum potential liability for these types of indemnifications as the amounts are dependent on the outcome of future events, the nature and likelihood of which cannot be determined at this time.  Historically, U.S. Cellular has not made any significant indemnification payments under such agreements.

Legal Proceedings

U.S. Cellular is involved or may be involved from time to time in legal proceedings before the FCC, other regulatory authorities, and/or various state and federal courts.  If U.S. Cellular believes that a loss arising from such legal proceedings is probable and can be reasonably estimated, an amount is accrued in the financial statements for the estimated loss.  If only a range of loss can be determined, the best estimate within that range is accrued; if none of the estimates within that range is better than another, the low end of the range is accrued.  The assessment of the expected outcomes of legal proceedings is a highly subjective process that requires judgments about future events.  The legal proceedings are reviewed at least quarterly to determine the adequacy of accruals and related financial statement disclosures.  The ultimate outcomes of legal proceedings could differ materially from amounts accrued in the financial statements.

U.S. Cellular has accrued $1.7 million with respect to legal proceedings and unasserted claims as of both March 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012. U.S. Cellular has not accrued any amount for legal proceedings if it cannot reasonably estimate the amount of the possible loss or range of loss. U.S. Cellular does not believe that the amount of any contingent loss in excess of the amounts accrued would be material.

Apple iPhone Products Purchase Commitment

In March 2013, U.S. Cellular entered into an agreement with Apple to purchase an estimated $1.2 billion of Apple iPhone products over a three-year period beginning later in 2013.

9.  Variable Interest Entities (VIEs)

Consolidated VIEs

As of March 31, 2013, U.S. Cellular holds a variable interest in and consolidates the following VIEs under GAAP:

·Aquinas Wireless L.P. (“Aquinas Wireless”); and

·King Street Wireless L.P. (“King Street Wireless”) and King Street Wireless, Inc., the general partner of King Street Wireless.

The power to direct the activities that most significantly impact the economic performance of Aquinas Wireless and King Street Wireless (collectively, the “limited partnerships”) is shared.  Specifically, the general partner of these VIEs has the exclusive right to manage, operate and control the limited partnerships and make all decisions to carry on the business of the partnerships; however, the general partner of each partnership needs consent of the limited partner, a U.S. Cellular subsidiary, to sell or lease certain licenses, to make certain large expenditures, admit other partners or liquidate the limited partnerships.  Although the power to direct the activities of the VIEs is shared, U.S. Cellular has a disproportionate level of exposure to the variability associated with the economic performance of the VIEs, indicating that U.S. Cellular is the primary beneficiary of the VIEs in accordance with GAAP.  Accordingly, these VIEs are consolidated.

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The following table presents the classification of the consolidated VIEs’ assets and liabilities in U.S. Cellular’s Consolidated Balance Sheet.

		March 31, 2013		December 31, 2012
(Dollars in thousands)
Assets
	Cash and cash equivalents	$	3,465	$	5,849
	Other current assets		178		120
	Licenses		308,091		308,091
	Property, plant and equipment, net		15,899		16,443
	Other assets and deferred charges		1,449		887
	Total assets	$	329,082	$	331,390
Liabilities
	Current liabilities	$	82	$	1,013
	Deferred liabilities and credits		3,015		3,024
	Total liabilities	$	3,097	$	4,037

Other Related Matters

Aquinas Wireless and King Street Wireless were formed to participate in FCC auctions of wireless spectrum and to fund, establish, and provide wireless service with respect to any FCC licenses won in the auctions. As such, these entities have risks similar to the business risks described in the “Risk Factors” in U.S. Cellular’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012.

U.S. Cellular may agree to make additional capital contributions and/or advances to Aquinas Wireless and King Street Wireless and/or to their general partners to provide additional funding for the development of licenses granted in various auctions. U.S. Cellular may finance such amounts with a combination of cash on hand, borrowings under its revolving credit agreement and/or long-term debt. There is no assurance that U.S. Cellular will be able to obtain additional financing on commercially reasonable terms or at all to provide such financial support.

There were no capital contributions or advances made to Aquinas Wireless and King Street Wireless and/or their general partners in the three months ended March 31, 2013 and 2012. 

U.S. Cellular began offering fourth generation Long-term Evolution (“4G LTE”) service in certain cities within its service areas during the first quarter of 2012 and has plans to continue the deployment of 4G LTE.  U.S. Cellular currently provides 4G LTE service in conjunction with King Street Wireless. Aquinas Wireless is still in the process of developing long-term business plans.

10.  Common Share Repurchases

On November 17, 2009, the Board of Directors of U.S. Cellular authorized the repurchase of up to 1,300,000 Common Shares on an annual basis beginning in 2009 and continuing each year thereafter, on a cumulative basis.  These purchases will be made pursuant to open market purchases, block purchases, private purchases, or otherwise, depending on market prices and other conditions.  This authorization does not have an expiration date.

Share repurchases made under this authorization were as follows:

	Three Months Ended
	March 31,
	2013		2012
(Dollars and shares in thousands, except cost per share)
Number of shares		496		-
Average cost per share	$	37.16	$	-
Total cost	$	18,425	$	-

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11.  Noncontrolling Interests

U.S. Cellular’s consolidated financial statements include certain noncontrolling interests that meet the GAAP definition of mandatorily redeemable financial instruments.  These mandatorily redeemable noncontrolling interests represent interests held by third parties in consolidated partnerships and limited liability companies (“LLCs”), where the terms of the underlying partnership or LLC agreement provide for a defined termination date at which time the assets of the subsidiary are to be sold, the liabilities are to be extinguished and the remaining net proceeds are to be distributed to the noncontrolling interest holders and U.S. Cellular in accordance with the respective partnership and LLC agreements.  The termination dates of these mandatorily redeemable noncontrolling interests range from 2085 to 2107.

The settlement value or estimate of cash that would be due and payable to settle these noncontrolling interests, assuming an orderly liquidation of the finite-lived consolidated partnerships and LLCs on March 31, 2013, net of estimated liquidation costs, is $167.9 million.  This amount excludes redemption amounts recorded in Noncontrolling interests with redemption features in the Consolidated Balance Sheet.  The estimate of settlement value was based on certain factors and assumptions which are subjective in nature.  Changes in those factors and assumptions could result in a materially larger or smaller settlement amount.  U.S. Cellular currently has no plans or intentions relating to the liquidation of any of the related partnerships or LLCs prior to their scheduled termination dates.  The corresponding carrying value of the mandatorily redeemable noncontrolling interests in finite-lived consolidated partnerships and LLCs at March 31, 2013 was $61.3 million, and is included in Noncontrolling interests in the Consolidated Balance Sheet. The excess of the aggregate settlement value over the aggregate carrying value of these mandatorily redeemable noncontrolling interests is primarily due to the unrecognized appreciation of the noncontrolling interest holders’ share of the underlying net assets in the consolidated partnerships and LLCs.  Neither the noncontrolling interest holders’ share, nor U.S. Cellular’s share, of the appreciation of the underlying net assets of these subsidiaries is reflected in the consolidated financial statements.

12.  Supplemental Cash Flow Disclosures

Following are supplemental cash flow disclosures regarding transactions related to stock-based compensation awards. In certain situations, U.S. Cellular withholds shares that are issuable upon the exercise of stock options or the vesting of restricted shares to cover, and with a value equivalent to, the exercise price and/or the amount of taxes required to be withheld from the stock award holder at the time of the exercise or vesting.  U.S. Cellular then pays the amount of the required tax withholdings to the taxing authorities in cash.

	Three Months Ended
	March 31,
	2013		2012
(Dollars and shares in thousands)
Common Shares withheld		9		-
Aggregate value of Common Shares withheld	$	328	$	-
Cash receipts upon exercise of stock options	$	129	$	357
Cash disbursements for payment of taxes		(6)		-
Net cash receipts (disbursements) from exercise of stock options and vesting of other stock awards	$	123	$	357

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13.  Subsequent Event

On April 3, 2013, U.S. Cellular entered into an agreement relating to the Partnerships (as defined below) with Cellco Partnership d/b/a Verizon Wireless (“Verizon Wireless”).  U.S. Cellular holds a 60.00% interest in St. Lawrence Seaway RSA Cellular Partnership (“NY1”) and a 57.14% interest in New York RSA 2 Cellular Partnership (“NY2” and, together with NY1, the “Partnerships”).  The remaining interests are held by Verizon Wireless.  The Partnerships are operated by Verizon Wireless under the Verizon Wireless brand.  Because U.S. Cellular owns a greater than 50% interest in each of these markets and based on U.S. Cellular’s rights under the Partnership Agreements, prior to April 3, 2013, U.S. Cellular consolidated the financial results of these markets in accordance with GAAP.  The agreement amends the Partnership Agreements in several ways, which provide Verizon Wireless with substantive participating rights that allow Verizon Wireless to make decisions that are in the ordinary course of business of the Partnerships and which are significant to directing and executing the activities of the business.   Accordingly, as required by GAAP, effective April 3, 2013, U.S. Cellular will deconsolidate the Partnerships and thereafter will report them as equity method investments in its consolidated financial statements (the “Deconsolidation”). After the Deconsolidation, U.S. Cellular will continue to record only its share of the net income of the Partnerships in Net income attributable to U.S. Cellular shareholders. In accordance with GAAP, U.S. Cellular will recognize a non-cash pre-tax gain in the range of $16 million to $32 million in the second quarter of 2013. 

Amounts recorded in U.S. Cellular’s consolidated financial statements related to the Partnerships as of or for the three months ended March 31, 2013 are shown below:

(Dollars in thousands)	NY1 & NY2
Total assets	$	117,142
Total liabilities		10,847
Operating revenues		43,302
Total operating expenses		31,690
Net income		11,619
Net income attributable to U.S. Cellular shareholders		6,824

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Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

United States Cellular Corporation (“U.S. Cellular”) owns, operates and invests in wireless markets throughout the United States. U.S. Cellular is an 85%-owned subsidiary of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (“TDS”) as of March 31, 2013.

U.S. Cellular provides wireless telecommunications services to approximately 5.7 million customers in five geographic market areas in 26 states. As of March 31, 2013, U.S. Cellular’s average penetration rate in its consolidated operating markets was 12.1%. U.S. Cellular operates on a customer satisfaction strategy, striving to meet or exceed customer needs by providing a comprehensive range of wireless products and services, excellent customer support, and a high-quality network.

The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with U.S. Cellular’s interim consolidated financial statements and notes included in Item 1 above, and with the description of U.S. Cellular’s business, its audited consolidated financial statements and Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations included in U.S. Cellular’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (“Form 10-K”) for the year ended December 31, 2012.

OVERVIEW

The following is a summary of certain selected information contained in the comprehensive Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations that follows. The overview does not contain all of the information that may be important. You should carefully read the entire Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and not rely solely on the overview.

Financial and operating highlights in the three months ended March 31, 2013 included the following:

·Total consolidated customers were 5,736,000 at March 31, 2013, including 5,506,000 retail customers (96% of total).

·Retail customer net losses were 51,000 in 2013 compared to net losses of 34,000 in 2012. In the postpaid category, there were net losses of 74,000 in 2013, compared to net losses of 38,000 in 2012. Prepaid net additions were 23,000 in 2013 compared to net additions of 4,000 in 2012.

·Postpaid customers comprised approximately 92% of U.S. Cellular’s retail customers as of March 31, 2013. The postpaid churn rate was 1.7% in 2013 compared to 1.6% in 2012. The prepaid churn rate was 6.2% in 2013 compared to 6.4% in 2012.

·Postpaid customers on smartphone service plans increased to 43% as of March 31, 2013 compared to 34% as of March 31, 2012. In addition, smartphones represented 62% of all devices sold in 2013 compared to 54% in 2012.

·Retail service revenues of $884.0 million decreased $4.5 million year-over-year, due to a lower average number of postpaid customers, partially offset by a higher average number of prepaid customers. Total service revenues of $996.3 million decreased $27.5 million year-over-year, primarily due to the net loss of retail customers and decreases in inbound roaming and eligible telecommunications carriers (“ETC”) revenues.

·Billed ARPU increased to $51.13 in 2013 from $50.52 in 2012 reflecting an increase in postpaid ARPU due to increases in smartphone adoption and corresponding revenues from data products and services. Service revenue ARPU decreased to $57.63 in 2013 from $58.21 in 2012 primarily due to decreases in inbound roaming and ETC revenues.

·Cash flows from operating activities were $223.6 million. At March 31, 2013, Cash and cash equivalents and Short-term investments totaled $530.3 million and there were no outstanding borrowings under the revolving credit facility.

·U.S. Cellular continued its efforts on a number of multi-year initiatives including the development of a new Billing and Operational Support System (“B/OSS”) which will include a new point-of-sale system and consolidate billing on one platform.

·Total additions to Property, plant and equipment were $118.4 million, including expenditures to construct cell sites, increase capacity in existing cell sites and switches, deploy fourth generation Long-term Evolution (“4G LTE”) equipment, outfit new and remodel existing retail stores, develop new billing and other customer management related systems and platforms, and enhance existing office systems. Total cell sites in service increased 2% year-over-year to 8,027.

·Operating income decreased $83.7 million, or 98%, to $1.5 million in 2013. The decrease was due primarily to lower service revenues, higher cost of equipment sold, and accelerated depreciation and losses related to the Divestiture Transaction described below.

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·Net income attributable to U.S. Cellular shareholders decreased $57.6 million, or 92%, to $4.9 million in 2013 compared to $62.5 million in 2012, primarily due to lower operating income. Basic earnings per share was $0.06 in 2013, which was $0.68 lower than in 2012, and Diluted earnings per share was $0.06, which was $0.67 lower than in 2012.

·In March 2013, U.S. Cellular entered into an agreement with Apple to purchase Apple iPhone products over three years beginning later in 2013.

U.S. Cellular anticipates that its future results will be affected by the following factors:

·Impacts of the Divestiture Transaction (described below) including, but not limited to, successfully completing the transaction and the actual financial impacts of such transaction;

·Impacts of selling Apple iPhone products;

·Relative ability to attract and retain customers in a competitive marketplace in a cost effective manner;

·Effects of industry competition on service and equipment pricing and roaming revenues as well as the impacts associated with the expanding presence of carriers and other retailers offering low-priced, unlimited prepaid service;

·Expanded distribution of products and services in third-party national retailers such as Walmart and Sam’s Club;

·Potential increases in prepaid customers, who generally generate lower average revenue per user (“ARPU”), as a percentage of U.S. Cellular’s customer base in response to changes in customer preferences and industry dynamics;

·The nature and rate of growth in the wireless industry, requiring U.S. Cellular to grow revenues primarily from selling additional products and services to its existing customers, increasing the number of multi-device users among its existing customers, increasing data products and services and attracting wireless customers switching from other wireless carriers;

·Continued growth in revenues and costs related to data products and services and declines in revenues from voice services;

·Rapid growth in the demand for new data devices and services which may result in increased cost of equipment sold and other operating expenses and the need for additional investment in network capacity;

·Costs of developing and enhancing office and customer support systems, including costs and risks associated with the completion and potential benefits of the multi-year initiatives described above;

·Further consolidation among carriers in the wireless industry, which could result in increased competition for customers and/or cause roaming revenues to decline;

·Costs of enhancements to U.S. Cellular’s wireless networks;

·Uncertainty related to various rulemaking proceedings underway at the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”);

·The ability to negotiate satisfactory data roaming agreements, including 4G LTE, with other wireless operators;

·Economic or competitive factors that restrict U.S. Cellular’s access to devices desired by customers; and

·Possible effects of industry litigation relating to patents, other intellectual property or otherwise, that may restrict U.S. Cellular’s access to devices for sale to customers.

·On April 3, 2013, U.S. Cellular entered into an agreement relating to St. Lawrence Seaway RSA Cellular Partnership (“NY1”) and New York RSA 2 Cellular Partnership (“NY2” and, together with NY1, the “Partnerships”) with Cellco Partnership d/b/a Verizon Wireless, which will require U.S. Cellular to deconsolidate the Partnerships and thereafter account for them as equity method investments.  See Note 13 – Subsequent Event in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements and refer to U.S. Cellular’s Form 8-K filed May 3, 2013 for more information regarding this transaction.

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FCC Reform Order

In 2011, the FCC released an order (“Reform Order”) to reform its universal service and intercarrier compensation mechanisms, establish a new, broadband-focused support mechanism, and propose further rules to advance reform.  Appeals of the Reform Order are pending.

There have been no significant changes to the Reform Order since December 31, 2012 that are expected to affect U.S. Cellular.  U.S. Cellular cannot predict the outcome of future rulemaking, reconsideration and legal challenges and, as a consequence, the impacts that such potential developments may have on U.S. Cellular’s business, financial condition or results of operations.

Cash Flows and Investments

See “Financial Resources” and “Liquidity and Capital Resources” below for additional information.

DIVESTITURE TRANSACTION

On November 6, 2012, U.S. Cellular entered into a Purchase and Sale Agreement with subsidiaries of Sprint Nextel Corporation (“Sprint”). The Purchase and Sale Agreement provides that U.S. Cellular will transfer customers and certain PCS licensed spectrum to Sprint in U.S. Cellular's Chicago, central Illinois, St. Louis and certain Indiana/Michigan/Ohio markets (“Divestiture Markets”) in consideration for $480 million in cash at closing, subject to pro-rations of certain assets and liabilities. The Purchase and Sale Agreement also contemplates certain other agreements, together with the Purchase and Sale Agreement collectively referred to as the “Divestiture Transaction.”  The transaction was approved by the FCC in March 2013 and the closing is expected to occur in the second quarter of 2013.

Selected information related to Divestiture Markets and Core Markets is as follows:
(Dollars in millions)	As Reported		Divestiture Markets		Core Markets
For the Quarter ended March 31, 2013
U.S. Cellular Service revenues	$	996	$	97	$	899
U.S. Cellular Capital expenditures	$	118	$	5	$	113
For the Quarter ended March 31, 2012
U.S. Cellular Service revenues	$	1,024	$	111	$	913
U.S. Cellular Capital expenditures	$	201	$	22	$	179

The As-Reported amounts of Service revenues and Capital expenditures represent GAAP financial measures and the Divestiture Markets and Core Markets amounts represent non-GAAP financial measures.  Divestiture Markets are comprised of U.S. Cellular's Chicago, central Illinois, St. Louis and certain Indiana/Michigan/Ohio markets.  Core Markets are comprised of all other markets in which U.S. Cellular conducts business including Peoria, Rockford and certain other areas in Illinois, and in Columbia, Joplin, Jefferson City and certain other areas in Missouri.  Core Markets as defined also includes any other income or expenses due to U.S. Cellular’s direct or indirect ownership interests in other spectrum in the Divestiture Markets which was not included in the sale and other retained assets from the Divestiture Markets.  U.S. Cellular believes that the amounts under Divestiture Markets and Core Markets may be useful to investors and other users of its financial information in evaluating the separate amounts for the Core Markets.

See Note 5 — Acquisitions, Divestitures and Exchanges in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information regarding (i) the amounts U.S. Cellular expects to recognize in the Consolidated Statement of Operations between the date the Purchase and Sale Agreement was signed and the end of the transition services period, (ii) the cumulative amounts incurred as of March 31, 2013 and (iii) the actual amounts incurred during the quarter ended March 31, 2013 as a result of the transaction.  The Divestiture Transaction resulted in a net reduction of $45.1 million in U.S. Cellular’s Operating income for the quarter ended March 31, 2013.

2013 ESTIMATES

U.S. Cellular’s estimates of full-year 2013 results are shown below.  Such estimates represent U.S. Cellular’s views as of the date of filing of U.S. Cellular’s Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2013.  Such forward‑looking statements should not be assumed to be current as of any future date.  U.S. Cellular undertakes no duty to update such information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.  There can be no assurance that final results will not differ materially from such estimated results.

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	2013 Estimated Results (1)
	Core Markets (2)		Divestiture Markets (2)(3)		U.S. Cellular Consolidated (2)(3)
	Previous	Current	Previous	Current	Previous	Current
(Dollars in millions)
Service revenues	$3,600 - $3,700	$3,475 - $3,575	$165 - $185	$145 - $165	$3,765 - $3,885	$3,620 - $3,740
Adjusted income before   income taxes (4) (5)	$765 - $865	$560 - $660	$15 - $35	$35 - $55	$780 - $900	$595 - $715
Capital expenditures	Approx. $600	Approx. $730	—	$5	Approx. $600	Approx. $735

(1)These estimates are based on U.S. Cellular’s current plans, which include an expansion of the multi-year deployment of 4G LTE technology which commenced in 2011; such expansion includes deployment in additional markets as well as deployment on the 850 MHz band to provide additional capacity for future growth in data usage, enable potential future 4G LTE roaming, and support the sale of Apple products.  These estimates also reflect the estimated impacts of selling Apple products and the deconsolidation of certain partnerships that will be accounted for as equity method investments effective April 3, 2013.  New developments or changing conditions (such as, but not limited to, regulatory developments, customer net growth, customer demand for data services or possible acquisitions, dispositions or exchanges) could affect U.S. Cellular’s plans and, therefore, its 2013 estimated results.

(2)The U.S. Cellular Consolidated amounts represent GAAP financial measures and include the results of both the Core Markets and the Divestiture Markets.  The amounts for the Core Markets and Divestiture Markets represent non-GAAP financial measures.  U.S. Cellular believes that the amounts for the Core Markets and Divestiture Markets may be useful to investors and other users of its financial information in evaluating the separate results for the Core Markets.Divestiture Markets are comprised of U.S. Cellular's Chicago, central Illinois, St. Louis and certain Indiana/Michigan/Ohio markets.  Core Markets are comprised of all other markets in which U.S. Cellular conducts business including Peoria, Rockford and certain other areas in Illinois, and in Columbia, Joplin, Jefferson City and certain other areas in Missouri.  Core Markets as defined also includes any other income or expenses due to U.S. Cellular’s direct or indirect ownership interests in other spectrum in the Divestiture Markets which was not included in the sale and other retained assets from the Divestiture Markets.

(3)These estimates assume the Divestiture Transaction closes in the second quarter of 2013.  Actual effects could vary significantly from these estimates as a result of a change in the expected timing of the Divestiture Transaction or changes in other terms and conditions of the sale.  See Note 5 — Acquisitions, Divestitures and Exchanges in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information on the Divestiture Transaction.

(4)Adjusted income before income taxes is a non-GAAP financial measure defined as Income before income taxes, adjusted for: Depreciation, amortization and accretion, net Gain or loss on sale of business and other exit costs (if any), and Interest expense. Adjusted income before income taxes is not a measure of financial performance under GAAP and should not be considered as an alternative to Income before income taxes as an indicator of the Company’s operating performance or as an alternative to Cash flows from operating activities, determined in accordance with GAAP, as an indicator of cash flows or as a measure of liquidity.  U.S. Cellular believes Adjusted income before income taxes is a meaningful measure of U.S. Cellular’s operating results before significant recurring non-cash charges, gains and losses and financing charges (Interest expense) in order to show operating results on a more comparable basis from period to period. U.S. Cellular does not intend to imply that any of such amounts that are excluded are non-recurring, infrequent or unusual; such amounts may occur in the future. The following tables provide a reconciliation of Income (loss) before income taxes to Adjusted income before income taxes for 2013 Estimated Results and 2012 actual results:

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		2013 Estimated Results
		Core Markets (2)	Divestiture Markets (2)(3)		U.S. Cellular Consolidated (2)(3)
(Dollars in millions)
Income (loss) before income taxes (5)		($30)-$70	($215)-($195)		($245)-($125)
Depreciation, amortization and accretion expense (6)		Approx. $540	Approx. $250		Approx. $790
Interest expense		Approx. $50	—		Approx. $50
Adjusted income before income taxes		$560-$660	$35-$55		$595-$715
		U.S. Cellular Consolidated Actual Results
			Three Months Ended March 31, 2013		Year Ended December 31, 2012
Income before income taxes			$	18	$	205
Depreciation, amortization and accretion expense (6)				190		609
(Gain) loss on sale of business and other exit costs, net				7		21
Interest expense				11		42
Adjusted income before income taxes			$	226	$	877
(5)	This amount does not include any estimate for (Gain) loss on sale of business and other exit costs, net, as the timing of such amount is not readily estimable.
(6)	The 2013 estimated amounts for depreciation, amortization and accretion expense in the Divestiture Markets include approximately $185 million of incremental accelerated depreciation, amortization and accretion resulting from the Divestiture Transaction.  Actual results for the three months ended March 31, 2013 and the year ended December 31, 2012 include $38 million and $20 million, respectively, of incremental accelerated depreciation, amortization and accretion resulting from the Divestiture Transaction.

U.S. Cellular management currently believes that the foregoing estimates represent a reasonable view of what is achievable considering actions that U.S. Cellular has taken and will be taking. However, the current competitive conditions in the markets served by U.S. Cellular have created a challenging environment that could continue to significantly impact actual results. U.S. Cellular expects to continue its focus on customer satisfaction by delivering a high quality network, attractively priced service plans, a broad line of wireless devices and other products, and outstanding customer service. U.S. Cellular believes that future growth in its revenues will result primarily from selling additional products and services, including data products and services, to its existing customers, increasing the number of multi-device users among its existing customers, and attracting wireless users switching from other wireless carriers. U.S. Cellular is focusing on opportunities to increase revenues, pursuing cost reduction initiatives in various areas and implementing a number of initiatives to enable future growth. The initiatives are intended, among other things, to allow U.S. Cellular to accelerate its introduction of new products and services, better segment its customers for new services and retention, sell additional services such as data, expand its distribution channels, enhance its internet sales and customer service capabilities, improve its prepaid products and services and reduce operational expenses over the long term.

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Three Months Ended March 31, 2013 Compared to Three Months Ended March 31, 2012

Following is a table of summarized operating data for U.S. Cellular's Consolidated Markets.
As of or for Three Months Ended March 31,			2013			2012
Retail Customers
	Postpaid
		Total at end of period(1)		5,060,000			5,261,000
		Gross additions		191,000			210,000
		Net additions (losses)		(74,000)			(38,000)
		ARPU(2)	$	54.85		$	54.00
		Churn rate(3)		1.7	%		1.6	%
		Smartphone penetration(4)(5)		43.5	%		34.4	%
	Prepaid
		Total at end of period		446,000			309,000
		Gross additions		104,000			63,000
		Net additions (losses)		23,000			4,000
		ARPU(2)	$	33.31		$	33.17
		Churn rate(3)		6.2	%		6.4	%
Total customers at end of period(1)				5,736,000			5,837,000
Billed ARPU(2)			$	51.13		$	50.52
Service revenue ARPU(2)			$	57.63		$	58.21
Smartphones sold as a percent of total devices sold				61.7	%		54.1	%
Total Population
	Consolidated markets(6)			93,943,000			92,684,000
	Consolidated operating markets(6)			47,440,000			46,966,000
Market penetration at end of period
	Consolidated markets(7)			6.1	%		6.3	%
	Consolidated operating markets(7)			12.1	%		12.4	%
Capital expenditures (000s)			$	118,410		$	201,337
Total cell sites in service				8,027			7,875
Owned towers in service				4,411			4,318

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Following is a table of summarized operating data for U.S. Cellular's Core Markets.  Divestiture Markets are comprised of U.S. Cellular's Chicago, central Illinois, St. Louis and certain Indiana/Michigan/Ohio markets.  Core Markets are comprised of all other markets in which U.S. Cellular conducts business including Peoria, Rockford and certain other areas in Illinois, and in Columbia, Joplin, Jefferson City and certain other areas in Missouri.  Core Markets as defined also includes any other income or expenses due to U.S. Cellular's direct or indirect ownership interests in other spectrum in the Divestiture Markets which was not included in the sale and other retained assets from the Divestiture Markets.
As of or for Three Months Ended March 31,			2013			2012
Retail Customers
	Postpaid
		Total at end of period(1)		4,639,000			4,736,000
		Gross additions		184,000			182,000
		Net additions (losses)		(32,000)			(21,000)
		ARPU(2)	$	54.23		$	53.25
		Churn rate(3)		1.5	%		1.4	%
		Smartphone penetration(4)(5)		43.0	%		34.3	%
	Prepaid
		Total at end of period		373,000			223,000
		Gross additions		92,000			42,000
		Net additions (losses)		31,000			5,000
		ARPU(2)	$	32.92		$	32.69
		Churn rate(3)		5.7	%		5.6	%
Total customers at end of period(1)				5,225,000			5,210,000
Billed ARPU (2)			$	50.65		$	49.91
Service revenue ARPU(2)			$	57.37		$	58.20
Smartphones sold as a percent of total devices sold				62.1	%		54.1	%
Total Population
	Consolidated markets(6)			84,625,000			82,763,000
	Consolidated operating markets(6)			32,422,000			31,590,000
Market penetration at end of period
	Consolidated markets(7)			6.2	%		6.3	%
	Consolidated operating markets(7)			16.1	%		16.5	%
Capital expenditures (000s)			$	113,337		$	179,720
Total cell sites in service				6,277			6,146
Owned towers in service				3,846			3,761

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(1)Includes 176,000 and 168,000 postpaid customers at March 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively, related to NY1 and NY2.  See Note 13 — Subsequent Event in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for details regarding the deconsolidation of the Partnerships effective April 3, 2013.

(2)ARPU metrics are calculated by dividing a revenue base by an average number of customers by the number of months in the period.  These revenue bases and customer populations are shown below:

a.Postpaid ARPU consists of total postpaid service revenues and postpaid customers.

b.Prepaid ARPU consists of total prepaid service revenues and prepaid customers.

c.Billed ARPU consists of total retail service revenues and postpaid, prepaid and reseller customers.

d.Service revenue ARPU consists of total retail service revenues, inbound roaming and other service revenues and postpaid, prepaid and reseller customers.

(3)Churn metrics represent the percentage of the postpaid or prepaid customers that disconnect service each month. These metrics represent the average monthly postpaid or prepaid churn rate for each respective period.

(4)Smartphones represent wireless devices which run on an Android^TM, BlackBerry® or Windows Mobile® operating system, excluding tablets.

(5)Smartphone penetration is calculated by dividing postpaid smartphone customers by total postpaid customers.

(6)Used only to calculate market penetration of consolidated markets and consolidated operating markets, respectively. See footnote (7) below.

(7)Market penetration is calculated by dividing the number of wireless customers at the end of the period by the total population of consolidated markets and consolidated operating markets, respectively, as estimated by Claritas®.

Components of Operating Income
Three Months Ended March 31,		2013		2012		Change		Percentage Change
(Dollars in thousands)
Retail service		$	883,991	$	888,527	$	(4,536)	(1)	%
Inbound roaming			65,874		80,132		(14,258)	(18)	%
Other			46,484		55,161		(8,677)	(16)	%
	Service revenues		996,349		1,023,820		(27,471)	(3)	%
Equipment sales			85,397		68,301		17,096	25	%
	Total operating revenues		1,081,746		1,092,121		(10,375)	(1)	%
System operations (excluding Depreciation,   amortization and accretion reported below)			216,299		233,164		(16,865)	(7)	%
Cost of equipment sold			241,691		187,036		54,655	29	%
Selling, general and administrative			420,080		442,244		(22,164)	(5)	%
Depreciation, amortization and accretion			189,845		146,685		43,160	29	%
Loss on asset disposals, net			5,434		2,003		3,431	>100	%
(Gain) loss on sale of business and other exit costs, net			6,931		(4,213)		11,144	>100	%
	Total operating expenses		1,080,280		1,006,919		73,361	7	%
	Operating income	$	1,466	$	85,202	$	(83,736)	(98)	%

Operating Revenues

Service revenues

Service revenues consist primarily of: (i) charges for access, airtime, roaming, recovery of regulatory costs and value‑added services, including data products and services, provided to U.S. Cellular’s retail customers and to end users through third‑party resellers (“retail service”); (ii) charges to other wireless carriers whose customers use U.S. Cellular’s wireless systems when roaming, including long-distance roaming (“inbound roaming”); and (iii) amounts received from the Federal USF.

Retail service revenues

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Retail service revenues decreased by $4.5 million, or 1%, in 2013 to $884.0 million due to a decrease in U.S. Cellular’s average customer base partially offset by an increase in billed ARPU.

The average number of customers decreased to 5,763,000 in 2013 from 5,863,000 in 2012. Average postpaid customers were 5,095,000 and 5,280,000 in 2013 and 2012, respectively. Average prepaid customers were 434,000 and 307,000 in 2013 and 2012, respectively.

Billed ARPU increased to $51.13 in 2013 from $50.52 in 2012. This overall increase reflects primarily an increase in postpaid ARPU to $54.85 in 2013 from $54.00 in 2012, reflecting increases in smartphone adoption and corresponding revenues from data products and services.

U.S. Cellular expects continued pressure on revenues in the foreseeable future due to industry competition for customers and related effects on pricing of service plan offerings offset to some degree by continued adoption of smartphones and data usage.

U.S. Cellular accounts for loyalty reward points under the deferred revenue method. Under this method, U.S. Cellular allocates a portion of the revenue billed to customers with applicable plans to the loyalty reward points. The revenue allocated to these points is initially deferred in the Consolidated Balance Sheet and is recognized in future periods when the loyalty reward points are redeemed or used. Application of the deferred revenue method of accounting related to loyalty reward points resulted in deferring net revenues of $4.5 million and $6.4 million in the three months ended March 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively. Deferred revenues related to loyalty reward points are included in Customer deposits and deferred revenues in the Consolidated Balance Sheet.

Inbound roaming revenues

Inbound roaming revenues decreased by $14.3 million, or 18%, in 2013 to $65.9 million. The decrease was due to lower rates.  Data volume increased significantly year-over-year but the impact of this increase was offset by the combined impacts of lower volume for voice and lower rates for both data and voice.  U.S. Cellular expects continued growth in data volume but also expects that the revenue impact of this growth will be offset by the impacts of decreases in data rates and voice volume.

Other revenues

Pursuant to the FCC's Reform Order (see “Overview – FCC Reform Order” above), ETC support was frozen on January 1, 2012 at the 2011 level and is being phased down at the rate of 20% per year beginning July 1, 2012.  As a result, Other revenues decreased by $8.7 million, or 16%, in 2013 compared to 2012.

If the Phase II Mobility Fund is not operational by July 2014, the aforementioned phase down will halt at that time and U.S. Cellular will receive 60% of its baseline support until the Phase II Mobility Fund is operational.  At this time, U.S. Cellular cannot predict the net effect of the FCC's changes to the USF high cost support program in the Reform Order. Accordingly, U.S. Cellular cannot predict whether such changes will have a material adverse effect on U.S. Cellular's business, financial condition or results of operations.

Equipment sales revenues

Equipment sales revenues include revenues from sales of wireless devices and related accessories to both new and existing customers, as well as revenues from sales of devices and accessories to agents. All Equipment sales revenues are recorded net of rebates.

U.S. Cellular offers a competitive line of quality wireless devices to both new and existing customers. U.S. Cellular's customer acquisition and retention efforts include offering new wireless devices to customers at discounted prices; in addition, customers on currently offered rate plans receive loyalty reward points that may be used to purchase a new wireless device or accelerate the timing of a customer's eligibility for a wireless device upgrade at promotional pricing. U.S. Cellular also continues to sell wireless devices to agents including national retailers; this practice enables U.S. Cellular to provide better control over the quality of wireless devices sold to its customers, establish roaming preferences and earn quantity discounts from wireless device manufacturers which are passed along to agents and other retailers. U.S. Cellular anticipates that it will continue to sell wireless devices to agents in the future.

The increase in 2013 Equipment sales revenues of $17.1 million, or 25%, to $85.4 million was driven primarily by an increase of 24% in average revenue per device sold and an increase in equipment activation fees.  Average revenue per device sold increased due to general customer preference for higher-priced smartphones.

Operating Expenses

System operations expenses (excluding Depreciation, amortization and accretion)

System operations expenses (excluding Depreciation, amortization, and accretion) include charges from telecommunications service providers for U.S. Cellular’s customers’ use of their facilities, costs related to local interconnection to the wireline network, charges

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for cell site rent and maintenance of U.S. Cellular’s network, long-distance charges, outbound roaming expenses and payments to third‑party data product and platform developers.

Key components of the $16.9 million, or 7%, decrease in System operations expenses to $216.3 million were as follows:

·Expenses incurred when U.S. Cellular’s customers used other carriers’ networks while roaming decreased $13.4 million, or 23%, primarily due to lower rates. Data roaming usage increased; however, the impact of the increase was more than offset by lower rates.

·Customer usage expenses decreased by $5.0 million, or 7%, driven by decreases in intercarrier charges and certain data expenses offset by increases due to network costs for 4G LTE.

·Maintenance, utility and cell site expenses increased $1.5 million, or 2%, driven in part by an increase in the number of cell sites within U.S. Cellular’s network and 4G LTE deployment and operation. The number of cell sites totaled 8,027 at March 31, 2013 and 7,875 at March 31, 2012, as U.S. Cellular continued to expand and enhance coverage in its existing markets. 

U.S. Cellular expects system operations expenses to increase in the future to support the continued growth in cell sites and other network facilities as it continues to add capacity, enhance quality and deploy new technologies as well as to support increases in total customer usage, particularly data usage. However, these increases are expected to be offset to some extent by cost savings generated by shifting data traffic to the 4G LTE network from the 3G network, containment of roaming expense through lower rates and initiatives designed to reduce overall customer usage.

Cost of equipment sold

Cost of equipment sold increased by $54.7 million, or 29%, in 2013 to $241.7 million. The increase was driven by a 28% increase in the average cost per device sold.  Average cost per device sold increased primarily due to a shift in customer preference to higher cost devices, such as high-end smartphones.

U.S. Cellular's loss on equipment, defined as equipment sales revenues less cost of equipment sold, was $156.3 million and $118.7 million for 2013 and 2012, respectively. U.S. Cellular expects loss on equipment to continue to be a significant cost in the foreseeable future as wireless carriers continue to use device availability and pricing as a means of competitive differentiation. In addition, U.S. Cellular expects increasing sales of smartphones to result in higher equipment subsidies over time; these devices generally have higher purchase costs which cannot be recovered through proportionately higher selling prices to customers. Smartphones sold as a percentage of total devices sold were 61.7% and 54.1% in the three months ended March 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively.

Selling, general and administrative expenses

Selling, general and administrative expenses include salaries, commissions and expenses of field sales and retail personnel and facilities; telesales department salaries and expenses; agent commissions and related expenses; corporate marketing and merchandise management; and advertising expenses. Selling, general and administrative expenses also include bad debts expense, costs of operating customer care centers and corporate expenses.

Key components of the $22.2 million, or 5%, decrease to $420.1 million were as follows:

·Selling and marketing expense decreased by $16.5 million, or 8%, primarily from more cost-effective advertising spending.

·General and administrative expense decreased by $5.7 million, or 2%, driven by corporate cost containment and reduction initiatives partially offset by an increase in bad debts expense.

Depreciation, amortization and accretion

Depreciation, amortization and accretion increased $43.2 million, or 29%, in 2013 to $189.8 million primarily due to the acceleration of depreciation, amortization and accretion in the Divestiture Markets.  The impact of the acceleration was $38.0 million in 2013.

(Gain) loss on sale of business and other exit costs, net

The net loss in 2013 was related to agent termination agreements and other items in the Divestiture Markets.  The net gain in 2012 resulted from the sale of a wireless market.

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Components of Other Income (Expense)
Three Months Ended March 31,	2013		2012		Change		Percentage Change
(Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)
Operating income	$	1,466	$	85,202	$	(83,736)	(98)	%
Equity in earnings of unconsolidated entities		26,835		21,614		5,221	24	%
Interest and dividend income		903		1,043		(140)	(13)	%
Interest expense		(10,910)		(13,411)		2,501	19	%
Other, net		(215)		202		(417)	>(100)	%
Total investment and other income		16,613		9,448		7,165	76	%
Income before income taxes		18,079		94,650		(76,571)	(81)	%
Income tax expense		7,369		25,638		(18,269)	(71)	%
Net income		10,710		69,012		(58,302)	(84)	%
Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling   interests, net of tax		(5,796)		(6,520)		724	11	%
Net income attributable to U.S. Cellular shareholders	$	4,914	$	62,492	$	(57,578)	(92)	%
Basic earnings per share attributable to   U.S. Cellular shareholders	$	0.06	$	0.74	$	(0.68)	(92)	%
Diluted earnings per share attributable to   U.S. Cellular shareholders	$	0.06	$	0.73	$	(0.67)	(92)	%

Equity in earnings of unconsolidated entities

U.S. Cellular’s investment in the LA Partnership contributed $20.6 million to Equity in earnings of unconsolidated entities in 2013 compared to $17.1 million in 2012.  The remaining change resulted from an increase in net income from other equity interests.

On April 3, 2013, U.S. Cellular will deconsolidate NY1 and NY2 and thereafter will report them as equity method investments in its consolidated financial statements.  See Note 13 – Subsequent Event in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for more information regarding this transaction.

Interest expense

The decrease in interest expense was due primarily to an increase in capitalized interest on projects related to network and system enhancements in 2013.  Capitalized interest was $4.7 million and $2.4 million for 2013 and 2012, respectively.

Income tax expense

See Note 3 — Income Taxes in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for a discussion of the change in income tax expense and the overall effective tax rate on Income before income taxes.

RECENT ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS

Recent accounting pronouncements are not expected to have a significant effect on U.S. Cellular’s financial condition or results of operations. 

FINANCIAL RESOURCES

U.S. Cellular operates a capital- and marketing-intensive business. U.S. Cellular utilizes cash on hand, cash from operating activities, cash proceeds from divestitures and disposition of investments, short-term credit facilities and long-term debt financing to fund its acquisitions (including licenses), construction costs, operating expenses and Common Share repurchases. Cash flows may fluctuate from quarter to quarter and year to year due to seasonality, the timing of acquisitions, capital expenditures and other factors. The table below and the following discussion in this Financial Resources section summarize U.S. Cellular's cash flow activities for the three months ended March 31, 2013 and 2012.

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		2013		2012
(Dollars in thousands)
Cash flows from (used in):
	Operating activities	$	223,615	$	256,967
	Investing activities		(161,520)		(170,174)
	Financing activities		(20,757)		130
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents		$	41,338	$	86,923

The Divestiture Transaction, as described above, resulted in net Cash used in operating activities of $3.2 million during the three months ended March 31, 2013. Cash flows from operating and investing activities in future periods will be impacted by the Divestiture Transaction.

Cash Flows from Operating Activities

Cash flows from operating activities in 2013 were $223.6 million, a decrease of $33.4 million from 2012.  Significant items to note are as follows:

·Net income declined by $58.3 million, however this decline was caused primarily by an increase in non-cash expenses, including depreciation expense, so it did not have a significant impact on cash flows from operating activities.

·Income tax refunds, net of $0.2 million were recorded in 2013 compared to income tax refunds, net of $57.1 million in 2012.  This resulted in a year-over-year decrease in cash flows of $56.9 million.  Federal tax refunds of $58.1 million were received in March 2012 related to a federal net operating loss in 2011 largely attributable to 100% bonus depreciation applicable to qualified capital expenditures. 

·Changes in Inventory provided $16.8 million in 2013 and required $4.4 million in 2012, resulting in a $21.2 million increase in cash flows.  This change was primarily due to lower inventory levels.

·Changes in Accounts payable provided $2.7 million in 2013 and required $14.7 million in 2012, causing a year-over-year increase in cash flows of $17.4 million.  Changes in Accounts payable were primarily driven by payment timing differences related to operating expenses and device purchases.

Cash Flows from Investing Activities

U.S. Cellular makes substantial investments to acquire wireless licenses and properties and to construct and upgrade wireless telecommunications networks and facilities as a basis for creating long-term value for shareholders. In recent years, rapid changes in technology and new opportunities have required substantial investments in potentially revenue‑enhancing and cost-reducing upgrades of U.S. Cellular’s networks.

The primary purpose of U.S. Cellular’s construction and expansion expenditures is to provide for customer and usage growth, to upgrade service and to take advantage of service‑enhancing and cost-reducing technological developments.

Capital expenditures (i.e., additions to property, plant and equipment and system development expenditures) totaled $118.4 million in the three months ended March 31, 2013 and $201.3 million in the three months ended March 31, 2012. Cash used for additions to property, plant and equipment is reported in the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows and excludes amounts accrued in Accounts payable for capital expenditures at March 31, 2013 and includes amounts paid in the current period that were accrued at December 31, 2012.  Cash used for additions to property, plant and equipment totaled $151.0 million in the three months ended March 31, 2013 and $209.2 million in the three months ended March 31, 2012. These expenditures were made to construct new cell sites, build out 4G LTE networks in certain markets, increase capacity in existing cell sites and switches, develop new and enhance existing office systems such as the new Billing and Operational Support System (“B/OSS”) and customer relationship management platforms, and construct new and remodel existing retail stores.  The decrease in capital expenditures on a year over year basis is due primarily to the timing of spending for network operations equipment.

Cash payments for acquisitions of licenses were $14.2 million and $11.1 million in 2013 and 2012, respectively.

In March 2012, U.S. Cellular sold the majority of the assets and liabilities of a wireless market for $49.8 million in cash. 

Cash Flows from Financing Activities

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Cash flows from financing activities primarily reflect repayments of and proceeds from short-term and long-term debt balances, distributions to noncontrolling interests, cash used to repurchase Common Shares and cash proceeds from reissuance of Common Shares pursuant to stock-based compensation plans.

Payments for repurchases of Common Shares required $18.4 million in 2013.  U.S. Cellular did not repurchase any Common Shares in the three months ended March 31, 2012.  See Note 10 — Common Share Repurchases in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information related to these transactions.

Free Cash Flow

The following table presents Free cash flow.  Free cash flow is defined as Cash flows from operating activities less Cash used for additions to property, plant and equipment. Free cash flow is a non-GAAP financial measure. U.S. Cellular believes that Free cash flow as reported by U.S. Cellular may be useful to investors and other users of its financial information in evaluating the amount of cash generated by business operations, after Cash used for additions to property, plant and equipment.

Three Months Ended March 31,	2013		2012
(Dollars in thousands)
Cash flows from operating activities	$	223,615	$	256,967
Cash used for additions to property, plant and equipment		(151,024)		(209,160)
Free cash flow	$	72,591	$	47,807
See Cash Flows from Operating Activities and Cash Flows from Investing Activities for details on the changes to the components of Free cash flow.

LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES

U.S. Cellular believes that existing cash and investment balances, funds available under its revolving credit facility and expected Cash flows from operating and investing activities provide substantial liquidity and financial flexibility for U.S. Cellular to meet its normal financing needs (including working capital, construction and development expenditures and share repurchases under its approved program) for the foreseeable future. In addition, U.S. Cellular may access public and private capital markets to help meet its financing needs.

U.S. Cellular cannot provide assurances that circumstances that could have a material adverse effect on its liquidity or capital resources will not occur. Economic conditions, changes in financial markets or other factors could restrict U.S. Cellular’s liquidity and availability of financing on terms and prices acceptable to U.S. Cellular, which could require U.S. Cellular to reduce its construction, development, acquisition or share repurchase programs. Such reductions could have a material adverse effect on U.S. Cellular’s business, financial condition or results of operations.

The following table summarizes U.S. Cellular's cash and investments as of March 31, 2013.
(Dollars in millions)
Cash and cash equivalents	$	420
Short-term investments	$	111
Long-term investments	$	40

See Financial Resources for more information about Cash flows from operating activities and Cash flows from investing activities.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents include cash and short-term, highly liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less.  The primary objective of U.S. Cellular’s Cash and cash equivalents investment activities is to preserve principal.  At March 31, 2013, the majority of U.S. Cellular’s Cash and cash equivalents was held in money market funds that invest exclusively in U.S. Treasury securities or in repurchase agreements fully collateralized by such obligations.  U.S. Cellular monitors the financial viability of the money market funds and direct investments in which it invests and believes that the credit risk associated with these investments is low.

Short-term and Long-term Investments

Short-term and Long-term investments consist of U.S. Treasury securities which are designated as held-to-maturity investments and are recorded at amortized cost in the Consolidated Balance Sheet.  For these investments, U.S. Cellular’s objective is to earn a higher rate of return on funds that are not anticipated to be required to meet liquidity needs in the near term, while maintaining a low level of

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investment risk.  See Note 2 — Fair Value Measurements in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for additional details on Short-term and Long-term investments.

Revolving Credit Facility

U.S. Cellular has a revolving credit facility available for general corporate purposes. 

In connection with U.S. Cellular’s revolving credit facility, TDS and U.S. Cellular entered into a subordination agreement dated December 17, 2010 together with the administrative agent for the lenders under U.S. Cellular’s revolving credit facility.  At March 31, 2013, no U.S. Cellular debt was subordinated pursuant to this subordination agreement. 

U.S. Cellular’s interest cost on its revolving credit facility is subject to increase if its current credit rating from nationally recognized credit rating agencies is lowered, and is subject to decrease if the rating is raised.  The credit facility would not cease to be available nor would the maturity date accelerate solely as a result of a downgrade in U.S. Cellular’s credit rating.  However, a downgrade in U.S. Cellular’s credit rating could adversely affect its ability to renew the credit facility or obtain access to other credit facilities in the future.

As of March 31, 2013, U.S. Cellular’s senior debt credit rating from nationally recognized credit rating agencies remained at investment grade.

The following table summarizes the terms of U.S. Cellular’s revolving credit facility as of March 31, 2013:

(Dollars in millions)
Maximum borrowing capacity	$	300.0
Letter of credit outstanding	$	0.2
Amount borrowed	$	-
Amount available for use	$	299.8
Agreement date	December 2010
Maturity date	December 2017

The continued availability of the revolving credit facility requires U.S. Cellular to comply with certain negative and affirmative covenants, maintain certain financial ratios and make representations regarding certain matters at the time of each borrowing. The covenants also prescribe certain terms associated with intercompany loans from TDS or TDS subsidiaries to U.S. Cellular or U.S. Cellular subsidiaries.  There were no intercompany loans at March 31, 2013 or 2012.  U.S. Cellular believes it was in compliance as of March 31, 2013 with all of the covenants and requirements set forth in its revolving credit facility.

Long-Term Financing

There were no material changes to Long-Term Financing as disclosed in Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations included in U.S. Cellular’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012.

U.S. Cellular’s long-term debt indenture does not contain any provisions resulting in acceleration of the maturities of outstanding debt in the event of a change in U.S. Cellular’s credit rating. However, a downgrade in U.S. Cellular’s credit rating could adversely affect its ability to obtain long-term debt financing in the future.  U.S. Cellular believes it was in compliance as of March 31, 2013 with all covenants and other requirements set forth in its long-term debt indenture.  U.S. Cellular has not failed to make nor does it expect to fail to make any scheduled payment of principal or interest under such indenture.

The long-term debt principal payments due for the remainder of 2013 and the next four years represent less than 1% of the total long-term debt obligation at March 31, 2013.  Refer to Market Risk — Long-Term Debt in U.S. Cellular’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012 for additional information regarding required principal payments and the weighted average interest rates related to U.S. Cellular’s Long-term debt.

U.S. Cellular, at its discretion, may from time to time seek to retire or purchase its outstanding debt through cash purchases and/or exchanges for other securities, in open market purchases, privately negotiated transactions, tender offers, exchange offers or otherwise. Such repurchases or exchanges, if any, will depend on prevailing market conditions, liquidity requirements, contractual restrictions and other factors. The amounts involved may be material.

U.S. Cellular has an effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3 that it may use to issue senior debt securities. The proceeds from any such issuance may be used for general corporate purposes, including to finance the redemption of any of the above existing debt.  The U.S. Cellular shelf registration statement permits U.S. Cellular to issue at any time and from time to time senior debt

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securities in one or more offerings up to an aggregate principal amount of $500 million.  The ability of U.S. Cellular to complete an offering pursuant to such shelf registration statement is subject to market conditions and other factors at the time.

Capital Expenditures

U.S. Cellular’s capital expenditures for 2013 are expected to be approximately $735 million. These expenditures are expected to be for the following general purposes: 

·Expand and enhance U.S. Cellular’s network coverage in its service areas, including providing additional capacity to accommodate increased network usage, principally data usage, by current customers;

·Continue to deploy 4G LTE technology in certain markets;

·Enhance U.S. Cellular’s retail store network;

·Develop and enhance office systems; and

·Develop new billing and other customer management related systems and platforms.

U.S. Cellular plans to finance its capital expenditures program for 2013 using primarily cash flows from operating activities and, as necessary, existing cash balances and short-term investments.

Acquisitions, Divestitures and Exchanges

U.S. Cellular assesses its existing wireless interests on an ongoing basis with a goal of improving the competitiveness of its operations and maximizing its long-term return on investment. As part of this strategy, U.S. Cellular reviews attractive opportunities to acquire additional wireless operating markets and wireless spectrum. In addition, U.S. Cellular may seek to divest outright or include in exchanges for other wireless interests those interests that are not strategic to its long-term success. As a result, U.S. Cellular may be engaged from time to time in negotiations relating to the acquisition, divestiture or exchange of companies, strategic properties or wireless spectrum. In general, U.S. Cellular may not disclose such transactions until there is a definitive agreement.  See “Divestiture Transaction” above in this Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, Note 5 — Acquisitions, Divestitures and Exchanges and Note 13  — Subsequent Event in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for details on significant transactions.

Variable Interest Entities

U.S. Cellular consolidates certain entities because they are “variable interest entities” under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). See Note 9 — Variable Interest Entities (VIEs) in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for the details of these variable interest entities. U.S. Cellular may elect to make additional capital contributions and/or advances to these variable interest entities in future periods in order to fund their operations.

Common Share Repurchase Program

U.S. Cellular has repurchased, and expects to continue to repurchase its Common Shares, subject to its repurchase program. For additional information related to the current repurchase authorization and repurchases made during 2013 and 2012, see Note 10 — Common Share Repurchases in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements and Part II, Item 2.  Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds.

Contractual and Other Obligations

There were no material changes outside the ordinary course of business to the Contractual and Other Obligations disclosed in Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations included in U.S. Cellular’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012.

Agreements

As previously disclosed, on August 17, 2010, U.S. Cellular and Amdocs Software Systems Limited (“Amdocs”) entered into a Software License and Maintenance Agreement (“SLMA”) and a Master Service Agreement (“MSA”) (collectively, the “Amdocs Agreements”) to develop a Billing and Operational Support System (“B/OSS”).  Pursuant to an updated Statement of Work dated June 29, 2012, the implementation of B/OSS is expected to take until the end of 2013 to complete and total payments to Amdocs are estimated to be approximately $179.0 million (subject to certain potential adjustments) over the period from commencement of the SLMA in 2010 through the second half of 2013.  As of March 31, 2013, $114.0 million had been paid to Amdocs.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

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U.S. Cellular had no transactions, agreements or other contractual arrangements with unconsolidated entities involving “off-balance sheet arrangements,” as defined by Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) rules, that had or are reasonably likely to have a material current or future effect on its financial condition, changes in financial condition, revenues or expenses, results of operations, liquidity, capital expenditures or capital resources.

APPLICATION OF CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND ESTIMATES

U.S. Cellular prepares its consolidated financial statements in accordance with GAAP.  U.S. Cellular’s significant accounting policies are discussed in detail in Note 1 — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies and Recent Accounting Pronouncements in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements and U.S. Cellular’s Application of Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates is discussed in detail in Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, both of which are included in U.S. Cellular’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012.  There were no material changes to U.S. Cellular’s application of critical accounting policies and estimates during the three months ended March 31, 2013.

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PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995

SAFE HARBOR CAUTIONARY STATEMENT

This Form 10-Q, including exhibits, contains statements that are not based on historical facts and represent forward-looking statements, as this term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  All statements, other than statements of historical facts, that address activities, events or developments that U.S. Cellular intends, expects, projects, believes, estimates, plans or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements.  The words “believes,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “expects,” “plans,” “intends,” “projects” and similar expressions are intended to identify these forward-looking statements, but are not the exclusive means of identifying them.  Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, events or developments to be significantly different from any future results, events or developments expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.  Such risks, uncertainties and other factors include those set forth below, as more fully described under “Risk Factors” in U.S. Cellular’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012.  However, such factors are not necessarily all of the important factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, the forward-looking statements contained in this document.  Other unknown or unpredictable factors also could have material adverse effects on future results, performance or achievements.  U.S. Cellular undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.  You should carefully consider the Risk Factors in U.S. Cellular’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012, the following factors and other information contained in, or incorporated by reference into, this Form 10-Q to understand the material risks relating to U.S. Cellular’s business.

·Intense competition in the markets in which U.S. Cellular operates could adversely affect U.S. Cellular’s revenues or increase its costs to compete.

·A failure by U.S. Cellular to successfully execute its business strategy (including planned acquisitions, divestitures and exchanges) or allocate resources or capital could have an adverse effect on U.S. Cellular’s business, financial condition or results of operations.

·A failure by U.S. Cellular’s service offerings to meet customer expectations could limit U.S. Cellular’s ability to attract and retain customers and could have an adverse effect on U.S. Cellular’s business, financial condition or results of operations.

·U.S. Cellular’s system infrastructure may not be capable of supporting changes in technologies and services expected by customers, which could result in lost customers and revenues.

·An inability to obtain or maintain roaming arrangements with other carriers on terms that are acceptable to U.S. Cellular could have an adverse effect on U.S. Cellular’s business, financial condition or results of operations.

·U.S. Cellular currently receives a significant amount of roaming revenues.  Further consolidation within the wireless industry, continued network build-outs by other wireless carriers and/or the inability to negotiate 4G LTE roaming agreements with other operators could cause roaming revenues to decline from current levels, which would have an adverse effect on U.S. Cellular’s business, financial condition or results of operations.

·A failure by U.S. Cellular to obtain access to adequate radio spectrum to meet current or anticipated future needs and/or to accurately predict future needs for radio spectrum could have an adverse effect on U.S. Cellular’s business, financial condition or results of operations.

·To the extent conducted by the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”), U.S. Cellular is likely to participate in FCC auctions of additional spectrum in the future as an applicant or as a noncontrolling partner in another auction applicant and, during certain periods, will be subject to the FCC’s anti-collusion rules, which could have an adverse effect on U.S. Cellular.

·Changes in the regulatory environment or a failure by U.S. Cellular to timely or fully comply with any applicable regulatory requirements could adversely affect U.S. Cellular’s business, financial condition or results of operations.

·Changes in Universal Service Fund (“USF”) funding and/or intercarrier compensation could have an adverse impact on U.S. Cellular’s business, financial condition or results of operations.

·An inability to attract and/or retain highly competent management, technical, sales and other personnel could have an adverse effect on U.S. Cellular’s business, financial condition or results of operations.

·U.S. Cellular’s assets are concentrated in the U.S. wireless telecommunications industry. As a result, its results of operations may fluctuate based on factors related primarily to conditions in this industry.

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·U.S. Cellular's lower scale relative to larger competitors could adversely affect its business, financial condition or results of operations.

·Changes in various business factors could have an adverse effect on U.S. Cellular’s business, financial condition or results of operations.

·Advances or changes in technology could render certain technologies used by U.S. Cellular obsolete, could put U.S. Cellular at a competitive disadvantage, could reduce U.S. Cellular’s revenues or could increase its costs of doing business.

·Complexities associated with deploying new technologies present substantial risk.

·U.S. Cellular is subject to numerous surcharges and fees from federal, state and local governments, and the applicability and the amount of these fees are subject to great uncertainty.

·Changes in U.S. Cellular’s enterprise value, changes in the market supply or demand for wireless licenses, adverse developments in the business or the industry in which U.S. Cellular is involved and/or other factors could require U.S. Cellular to recognize impairments in the carrying value of its license costs, goodwill and/or physical assets.

·Costs, integration problems or other factors associated with acquisitions/divestitures of properties or licenses and/or expansion of U.S. Cellular’s business could have an adverse effect on U.S. Cellular’s business, financial condition or results of operations.

·A significant portion of U.S. Cellular’s revenues is derived from customers who buy services through independent agents who market U.S. Cellular’s services on a commission basis. If U.S. Cellular’s relationships with these agents are seriously harmed, its business, financial condition or results of operations could be adversely affected.

·U.S. Cellular’s investments in technologies which are unproven may not produce the benefits that U.S. Cellular expects.

·A failure by U.S. Cellular to complete significant network construction and systems implementation activities as part of its plans to improve the quality, coverage, capabilities and capacity of its network and support systems could have an adverse effect on its operations.

·Financial difficulties (including bankruptcy proceedings) or other operational difficulties of any of U.S. Cellular’s key suppliers, termination or impairment of U.S. Cellular’s relationships with such suppliers, or a failure by U.S. Cellular to manage its supply chain effectively could result in delays or termination of U.S. Cellular’s receipt of required equipment or services, or could result in excess quantities of required equipment or services, any of which could adversely affect U.S. Cellular’s business, financial condition or results of operations.

·U.S. Cellular has significant investments in entities that it does not control.  Losses in the value of such investments could have an adverse effect on U.S. Cellular’s financial condition or results of operations.

·A failure by U.S. Cellular to maintain flexible and capable telecommunication networks or information technology, or a material disruption thereof, including breaches of network or information technology security, could have an adverse effect on U.S. Cellular’s business, financial condition or results of operations.

·Wars, conflicts, hostilities and/or terrorist attacks or equipment failures, power outages, natural disasters or other events could have an adverse effect on U.S. Cellular’s business, financial condition or results of operations.

·The market price of U.S. Cellular’s Common Shares is subject to fluctuations due to a variety of factors.

·Identification of errors in financial information or disclosures could require amendments to or restatements of financial information or disclosures included in this or prior filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Such amendments or restatements and related matters, including resulting delays in filing periodic reports with the SEC, could have an adverse effect on U.S. Cellular’s business, financial condition or results of operations.

·The existence of material weaknesses in the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting could result in inaccurate financial statements or other disclosures or failure to prevent fraud, which could have an adverse effect on U.S. Cellular’s business, financial condition or results of operations.

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·Changes in facts or circumstances, including new or additional information that affects the calculation of potential liabilities for contingent obligations under guarantees, indemnities, claims, litigation or otherwise, could require U.S. Cellular to record charges in excess of amounts accrued in the financial statements, if any, which could have an adverse effect on U.S. Cellular’s business, financial condition or results of operations.

·Disruption in credit or other financial markets, a deterioration of U.S. or global economic conditions or other events, could, among other things, impede U.S. Cellular’s access to or increase the cost of financing its operating and investment activities and/or result in reduced revenues and lower operating income and cash flows, which would have an adverse effect on U.S. Cellular’s business, financial condition or results of operations.

·Uncertainty of U.S. Cellular's ability to access capital, deterioration in the capital markets, other changes in market conditions, changes in U.S. Cellular’s credit ratings or other factors could limit or restrict the availability of financing on terms and prices acceptable to U.S. Cellular, which could require U.S. Cellular to reduce its construction, development or acquisition programs.

·Settlements, judgments, restraints on its current or future manner of doing business and/or legal costs resulting from pending and future litigation could have an adverse effect on U.S. Cellular’s business, financial condition or results of operations.

·The possible development of adverse precedent in litigation or conclusions in professional studies to the effect that radio frequency emissions from wireless devices and/or cell sites cause harmful health consequences, including cancer or tumors, or may interfere with various electronic medical devices such as pacemakers, could have an adverse effect on U.S. Cellular’s business, financial condition or results of operations.

·Claims of infringement of intellectual property and proprietary rights of others, primarily involving patent infringement claims, could prevent U.S. Cellular from using necessary technology to provide products or services or subject U.S. Cellular to expensive intellectual property litigation or monetary penalties, which could have an adverse effect on U.S. Cellular’s business, financial condition or results of operations.

·There are potential conflicts of interests between TDS and U.S. Cellular.

·Certain matters, such as control by TDS and provisions in the U.S. Cellular Restated Certificate of Incorporation, may serve to discourage or make more difficult a change in control of U.S. Cellular.

·Any of the foregoing events or other events could cause revenues, earnings, capital expenditures and/or any other financial or statistical information to vary from U.S. Cellular’s forward-looking estimates by a material amount.

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Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

MARKET RISK

Refer to the disclosure under Market Risk in U.S. Cellular’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012 for additional information, including information regarding required principal payments and the weighted average interest rates related to U.S. Cellular’s Long-term debt. There have been no material changes to such information since December 31, 2012.

See Note 2 — Fair Value Measurements in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information related to the fair market value of U.S. Cellular’s Long-term debt as of March 31, 2013.

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Item 4. Controls and Procedures

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

U.S. Cellular maintains disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)) that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in its reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is processed, recorded, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to U.S. Cellular’s management, including its Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate, to allow for timely decisions regarding required disclosure.  In designing and evaluating the disclosure controls and procedures, management recognizes that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objectives.

As required by SEC Rule 13a-15(b), U.S. Cellular carried out an evaluation, under the supervision and with the participation of management, including its Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of U.S. Cellular’s disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the period covered by this Quarterly Report.  Based on this evaluation, U.S. Cellular’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that U.S. Cellular’s disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of March 31, 2013, at the reasonable assurance level.

Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

There were no changes in U.S. Cellular’s internal control over financial reporting during the quarter ended March 31, 2013 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, U.S. Cellular’s internal control over financial reporting.

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Part II. Other Information

Item 1.  Legal Proceedings.

U.S. Cellular is involved or may be involved from time to time in legal proceedings before the FCC, other regulatory authorities, and/or various state and federal courts. If U.S. Cellular believes that a loss arising from such legal proceedings is probable and can be reasonably estimated, an amount is accrued in the financial statements for the estimated loss. If only a range of loss can be determined, the best estimate within that range is accrued; if none of the estimates within that range is better than another, the low end of the range is accrued. The assessment of the expected outcomes of legal proceedings is a highly subjective process that requires judgments about future events. The legal proceedings are reviewed at least quarterly to determine the adequacy of accruals and related financial statement disclosures. The ultimate outcomes of legal proceedings could differ materially from amounts accrued in the financial statements.

Item 1A.  Risk Factors.

In addition to the information set forth in this Form 10-Q, you should carefully consider the factors discussed in Part I, “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in U.S. Cellular’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012, which could materially affect U.S. Cellular’s business, financial condition or future results. The risks described in this Form 10-Q and the Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012 may not be the only risks that could affect U.S. Cellular.  Additional unidentified or unrecognized risks and uncertainties could materially adversely affect U.S. Cellular’s business, financial condition and/or operating results. Subject to the foregoing, U.S. Cellular has not identified for disclosure any material changes to the risk factors as previously disclosed in U.S. Cellular’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012.

Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

On November 17, 2009, the Board of Directors of U.S. Cellular authorized the repurchase of up to 1,300,000 Common Shares on an annual basis beginning in 2009 and continuing each year thereafter, on a cumulative basis. These purchases will be made pursuant to open market purchases, block purchases, private purchases, or otherwise, depending on market prices and other conditions.  This authorization does not have an expiration date.

The following table provides certain information with respect to all purchases made by or on behalf of U.S. Cellular, and any open market purchases made by any “affiliated purchaser” (as defined by the SEC) of U.S. Cellular, of U.S. Cellular Common Shares during the quarter covered by this Form 10-Q.

	(a)	(b)		(c)	(d)
Period	Total Number of Common Shares Purchased	Average Price Paid per Common Share		Total Number of Common Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs	Maximum Number of Common Shares that May Yet Be Purchased Under the Plans or Programs
January 1 – 31, 2013	280,509	$	35.95	280,509	3,047,034
February 1 – 28, 2013	215,300		38.74	215,300	2,831,734
March 1 – 31, 2013	-		-	-	2,831,734
Total for or as of the end of the   quarter ended March 31, 2013	495,809	$	37.16	495,809	2,831,734

The following is additional information with respect to the foregoing authorization:

i.The date the program was announced was November 20, 2009 by Form 8-K.

ii.The amount approved was up to 1,300,000 U.S. Cellular Common Shares on an annual basis in 2009 and continuing each year thereafter on a cumulative basis. 

iii.There is no expiration date for the program.

iv.The authorization did not expire during the first quarter of 2013.

v.U.S. Cellular did not determine to terminate the foregoing Common Share repurchase program, or cease making further purchases thereunder, during the first quarter of 2013.

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Item 5. Other Information.

The following information is being provided to update prior disclosures made pursuant to the requirements of Form 8-K, Item 2.03 — Creation of a Direct Financial Obligation or an Obligation Under an Off-Balance Sheet Arrangement of a Registrant.

U.S. Cellular did not borrow or repay any amounts under its revolving credit facility in the first quarter of 2013. U.S. Cellular had no borrowings outstanding under its revolving credit facility as of March 31, 2013. 

A description of U.S. Cellular’s revolving credit facility is included under Item 1.01 in U.S. Cellular’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated December 17, 2010 and is incorporated by reference herein. 

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Item 6. Exhibits.

Exhibit 10.1 —U.S. Cellular Restated Compensation Plan for Non-Employee Directors, is hereby incorporated by reference to Exhibit B to the U.S. Cellular’s Notice of Annual Meeting of Shareholders and Proxy Statement dated April 15, 2013.

Exhibit 10.2 – U.S. Cellular 2013 Long-Term Incentive Plan is hereby incorporated by reference to Exhibit A to the U.S. Cellular Notice of Annual Meeting of Shareholders and Proxy Statement dated April 15, 2013.

Exhibit 11 — Statement regarding computation of per share earnings is included herein as Note 4 — Earnings Per Share in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

Exhibit 12 — Statement regarding computation of ratio of earnings to fixed charges.

Exhibit 31.1 — Chief Executive Officer certification pursuant to Rule 13a-14 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

Exhibit 31.2 — Chief Financial Officer certification pursuant to Rule 13a-14 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

Exhibit 32.1 — Chief Executive Officer certification pursuant to Section 1350 of Chapter 63 of Title 18 of the United States Code.

Exhibit 32.2 — Chief Financial Officer certification pursuant to Section 1350 of Chapter 63 of Title 18 of the United States Code.

Exhibit 101.INS — XBRL Instance Document

Exhibit 101.SCH — XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document

Exhibit 101.PRE — XBRL Taxonomy Presentation Linkbase Document

Exhibit 101.CAL — XBRL Taxonomy Calculation Linkbase Document

Exhibit 101.LAB — XBRL Taxonomy Label Linkbase Document

Exhibit 101.DEF — XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document

The foregoing exhibits include only the exhibits that relate specifically to this Form 10-Q or that supplement the exhibits identified in U.S. Cellular’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012.  Reference is made to U.S. Cellular’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012 for a complete list of exhibits, which are incorporated herein except to the extent supplemented or superseded above.

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

		UNITED STATES CELLULAR CORPORATION
		(Registrant)
Date:	May 3, 2013		/s/ Mary N. Dillon
			Mary N. Dillon President and Chief Executive Officer (principal executive officer)
Date:	May 3, 2013		/s/ Steven T. Campbell
			Steven T. Campbell Executive Vice President-Finance, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer (principal financial officer)
Date:	May 3, 2013		/s/ Douglas D. Shuma
			Douglas D. Shuma Chief Accounting Officer (principal accounting officer)

EX-12

 

							Exhibit 12
UNITED STATES CELLULAR CORPORATION RATIO OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES
				Three Months Ended
				March 31,
				2013		2012
(Dollars in thousands)
EARNINGS:
	Income before income taxes (1)			$	18,079	$	94,650
	Add (deduct):
		Equity in earnings of unconsolidated entities			(26,835)		(21,614)
		Distributions from unconsolidated entities			5,836		2,822
		Amortization of capitalized interest			251		205
		Income attributable to noncontrolling interests in subsidiaries
			that do not have fixed charges		(5,921)		(6,702)
				$	(8,590)	$	69,361
	Add fixed charges:
		Consolidated interest expense (2)			10,910		13,411
		Interest portion (1/3) of consolidated rent expense			11,979		11,360
				$	14,299	$	94,132
FIXED CHARGES:
		Consolidated interest expense (2)		$	10,910	$	13,411
		Capitalized interest			4,722		2,423
		Interest portion (1/3) of consolidated rent expense			11,979		11,360
				$	27,611	$	27,194
RATIO OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES					0.52		3.46
	(1)	Includes loss on sale of business and other exit costs, net of $6.9 million in 2013 and gain on sale of business and other exit costs, net of $4.2 million in 2012.
	(2)	Interest expense on income tax contingencies is not included in fixed charges.

EX-31.1

 

Exhibit 31.1

Certification of Chief Executive Officer

I, Mary N. Dillon, certify that:

1.I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of United States Cellular Corporation;

2.Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

3.Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

4.The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:

a)designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

b)designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

c)evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

d)disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and

5.The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

a)all significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

b)any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

Date:  May 3, 2013

/s/ Mary N. Dillon

Mary N. Dillon

President and Chief Executive Officer

EX-31.2

 

Exhibit 31.2

Certification of Chief Financial Officer

I, Steven T. Campbell, certify that:

1.I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of United States Cellular Corporation;

2.Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

3.Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

4.The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:

a)designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

b)designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

c)evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

d)disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and

5.The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

a)all significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

b)any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

Date:  May 3, 2013 

/s/ Steven T. Campbell

Steven T. Campbell

Executive Vice President-Finance,

Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer

EX-32.1

 

Exhibit 32.1

Certification Pursuant to Section 1350 of Chapter 63

of Title 18 of the United States Code

I, Mary N. Dillon, the chief executive officer of United States Cellular Corporation, certify that (i) the quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the first quarter of 2013 fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and (ii) the information contained in the Form 10-Q fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of United States Cellular Corporation.

/s/ Mary N. Dillon

Mary N. Dillon

May 3, 2013

A signed original of this written statement required by Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 has been provided to United States Cellular Corporation and will be retained by United States Cellular Corporation and furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission or its staff upon request.

EX-32.2

 

Exhibit 32.2

Certification Pursuant to Section 1350 of Chapter 63

of Title 18 of the United States Code

I, Steven T. Campbell, the chief financial officer of United States Cellular Corporation, certify that (i) the quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the first quarter of 2013 fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and (ii) the information contained in the Form 10-Q fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of United States Cellular Corporation.

/s/ Steven T. Campbell

Steven T. Campbell

May 3, 2013

A signed original of this written statement required by Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 has been provided to United States Cellular Corporation and will be retained by United States Cellular Corporation and furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission or its staff upon request.

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Common Share Repurchases (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013
Share repurchases
Amount	$ 18,425
Treasury Shares
Share repurchases
Amount	18,425
Common Shares
Share repurchases
Number of shares acquired	496,000
Average cost per share	$ 37.16
Amount	$ 18,425
Common share repurchase authorization	On November 17, 2009, the Board of Directors of U.S. Cellular authorized the repurchase of up to 1,300,000 Common Shares on an annual basis beginning in 2009 and continuing each year thereafter, on a cumulative basis. These purchases will be made pursuant to open market purchases, block purchases, private purchases, or otherwise, depending on market prices and other conditions. This authorization does not have an expiration date.
Repurchase authorization, additional number of shares	1,300,000
Repurchase expiration	does not have an expiration date

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Acquisitions, Divestitures and Exchanges, divestitures (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended				3 Months Ended		5 Months Ended				3 Months Ended			12 Months Ended	14 Months Ended	26 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	14 Months Ended	26 Months Ended	12 Months Ended			24 Months Ended		12 Months Ended	14 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		26 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		26 Months Ended		14 Months Ended		26 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013	Mar. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2012		Mar. 31, 2013 Divestiture transaction		Mar. 31, 2013 Divestiture transaction		Dec. 31, 2012 Divestiture transaction		Mar. 31, 2013 Bolingbrook customer care center	Dec. 31, 2012 Bolingbrook customer care center		Dec. 31, 2013 Minimum Divestiture transaction Expected event	Dec. 31, 2013 Minimum Divestiture transaction Expected event	Dec. 31, 2014 Minimum Divestiture transaction Expected event	Mar. 31, 2013 Maximum Divestiture transaction	Dec. 31, 2013 Maximum Divestiture transaction Expected event	Dec. 31, 2013 Maximum Divestiture transaction Expected event	Dec. 31, 2014 Maximum Divestiture transaction Expected event	Dec. 31, 2013 Purchase price Divestiture transaction Expected event	Dec. 31, 2013 Purchase price Minimum Divestiture transaction Expected event	Dec. 31, 2013 Purchase price Maximum Divestiture transaction Expected event	Dec. 31, 2014 Sprint Cost Reimbursement Minimum Divestiture transaction Expected event	Dec. 31, 2014 Sprint Cost Reimbursement Maximum Divestiture transaction Expected event	Dec. 31, 2013 Net assets transferred Divestiture transaction Expected event	Dec. 31, 2013 Non-cash charges for the write-off and write-down of property under construction and related assets Minimum Divestiture transaction Expected event	Dec. 31, 2013 Non-cash charges for the write-off and write-down of property under construction and related assets Maximum Divestiture transaction Expected event	Mar. 31, 2013 Employee related costs including severance, retention and outplacement Divestiture transaction		Dec. 31, 2014 Employee related costs including severance, retention and outplacement Minimum Divestiture transaction Expected event	Dec. 31, 2014 Employee related costs including severance, retention and outplacement Maximum Divestiture transaction Expected event	Mar. 31, 2013 Contract termination costs Divestiture transaction		Dec. 31, 2014 Contract termination costs Minimum Divestiture transaction Expected event	Dec. 31, 2014 Contract termination costs Maximum Divestiture transaction Expected event	Dec. 31, 2013 Transaction costs Minimum Divestiture transaction Expected event	Dec. 31, 2013 Transaction costs Maximum Divestiture transaction Expected event	Dec. 31, 2014 Incremental depreciation, amortization and accretion, net of salvage values Minimum Divestiture transaction Expected event	Dec. 31, 2014 Incremental depreciation, amortization and accretion, net of salvage values Maximum Divestiture transaction Expected event	Dec. 31, 2013 Non-cash charges for the write-off and write-down of various operating assets and liabilities Divestiture transaction Expected event
Divestitures
Business divestiture date											Jan. 01, 2013
Business divestiture description											Effective January 1, 2013, U.S. Cellular transferred its Bolingbrook Customer Care Center operations to an existing third party vendor.
Business divestiture agreement description					On November 6, 2012, U.S. Cellular entered into a Purchase and Sale Agreement with subsidiaries of Sprint Nextel Corporation (“Sprint”). The Purchase and Sale Agreement provides that U.S. Cellular will transfer customers and certain PCS licensed spectrum to Sprint in U.S. Cellular's Chicago, central Illinois, St. Louis and certain Indiana/Michigan/Ohio markets (“Divestiture Markets”) in consideration for $480 million in cash at closing, subject to pro-rations of certain assets and liabilities. The Purchase and Sale Agreement also contemplates certain other agreements, together with the Purchase and Sale Agreement collectively referred to as the “Divestiture Transaction.” The transaction was approved by the FCC in March 2013 and the closing is expected to occur in the second quarter of 2013. U.S. Cellular will retain other assets and liabilities related to the Divestiture Markets, including network assets, retail stores and related equipment, and other buildings and facilities. The transaction does not affect spectrum licenses held by U.S. Cellular or variable interest entities (“VIEs”) that are not currently used in the operations of the Divestiture Markets. The Purchase and Sale Agreement also contemplates certain other agreements, including customer and network transition services agreements, which will require that U.S. Cellular provide customer, billing and network services to Sprint for a period of up to 24 months after the closing date. Sprint will reimburse U.S. Cellular for providing such services at an amount equal to U.S. Cellular's cost, including applicable overhead allocations. In addition, these agreements will require Sprint to reimburse U.S. Cellular up to $200 million (the “Sprint Cost Reimbursement”) for certain network decommissioning costs, network site lease rent and termination costs, network access termination costs, and employee termination benefits for specified engineering employees.
Business divestiture agreement date					Nov. 06, 2012
Transition services agreement duration																	24M
(Increase) decrease in Operating Income	$ (1,466)	$ (85,202)			$ 45,136		$ 89,671									$ (89,000)				$ (9,000)
Divestiture financial impacts
Expected period of realization / incurrence																					2013			2013	2014	2013	2012	2013			2012	2014			2012	2014	2012	2013	2012	2013	2013
Cash received from divestitures		(49,786)																				(480,000)	(480,000)	(150,000)	(200,000)
Net assets transferred														210,000				230,000
Non-cash charges for the write-off and write-down of property under construction and related assets					222		10,894								11,000				15,000
Employee related costs including severance, retention and outplacement					3,050		15,659									16,000				25,000
Contract termination costs					2,900		2,959									125,000				175,000
Transaction costs					918		2,055								4,000				6,000
Total (Gain) loss on sale of business and other exit costs, net	6,931	(4,213)			7,090		31,567									(264,000)				(229,000)
Incremental depreciation, amortization and accretion, net of salvage values	189,845	146,685			38,046		58,104								175,000				210,000
Non-cash charges for the write-off and write-down of various operating assets and liabilities	420,080	442,244																10,000
Balance Sheet rollforward
Balance, beginning of period																													12,305				30
Costs incurred																													3,050				2,900
Cash settlements																													(1,607)	[1]			(784)	[1]
Balance, end of period																													13,748				2,146
Assets and liabilities held for sale
Licenses			140,599		140,599		140,599		140,599
Goodwill			72,994		72,994		72,994		72,994
Property, plant and equipment			3,170									3,170	[2]
Total Assets held for sale	213,593		216,763		213,593		213,593		213,593			3,170	[2]
Liabilities held for sale	$ 18,360		$ 19,594	[3]	$ 18,360	[3]	$ 18,360	[3]	$ 19,594	[3]

[1] Cash settlement amounts are included in either the Net income or changes in Other assets and liabilities line items as part of Cash flows from operating activities on the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows.

[2] Effective January 1, 2013, U.S. Cellular transferred its Bolingbrook Customer Care Center operations to an existing third party vendor.

[3] Liabilities held for sale primarily consisted of Customer deposits and deferred revenues.

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Variable Interest Entities VIEs (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2013

Variable Interest Entities VIEs

Consolidated VIE assets and liabilities

		March 31, 2013		December 31, 2012
(Dollars in thousands)
Assets
	Cash and cash equivalents	$	3,465	$	5,849
	Other current assets		178		120
	Licenses		308,091		308,091
	Property, plant and equipment, net		15,899		16,443
	Other assets and deferred charges		1,449		887
	Total assets	$	329,082	$	331,390
Liabilities
	Current liabilities	$	82	$	1,013
	Deferred liabilities and credits		3,015		3,024
	Total liabilities	$	3,097	$	4,037

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Subsequent Events (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended			3 Months Ended		0 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013	Mar. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2012	Mar. 31, 2013 St. Lawrence Seaway RSA Cellular Partnership and New York RSA 2 Cellular Partnership	Apr. 03, 2013 Subsequent event St. Lawrence Seaway RSA Cellular Partnership	Apr. 03, 2013 Subsequent event St. Lawrence Seaway RSA Cellular Partnership and New York RSA 2 Cellular Partnership	Apr. 03, 2013 Subsequent event St. Lawrence Seaway RSA Cellular Partnership and New York RSA 2 Cellular Partnership Minimum	Apr. 03, 2013 Subsequent event St. Lawrence Seaway RSA Cellular Partnership and New York RSA 2 Cellular Partnership Maximum	Apr. 03, 2013 Expected event Subsequent event New York RSA 2 Cellular Partnership
Subsequent events
Deconsolidation description						On April 3, 2013, U.S. Cellular entered into an agreement relating to the Partnerships (as defined below) with Cellco Partnership d/b/a Verizon Wireless (“Verizon Wireless”). U.S. Cellular holds a 60.00% interest in St. Lawrence Seaway RSA Cellular Partnership (“NY1”) and a 57.14% interest in New York RSA 2 Cellular Partnership (“NY2” and, together with NY1, the “Partnerships”). The remaining interests are held by Verizon Wireless. The Partnerships are operated by Verizon Wireless under the Verizon Wireless brand. Because U.S. Cellular owns a greater than 50% interest in each of these markets and based on U.S. Cellular’s rights under the Partnership Agreements, prior to April 3, 2013, U.S. Cellular consolidated the financial results of these markets in accordance with GAAP. The agreement amends the Partnership Agreements in several ways, which provide Verizon Wireless with substantive participating rights that allow Verizon Wireless to make decisions that are in the ordinary course of business of the Partnerships and which are significant to directing and executing the activities of the business. Accordingly, as required by GAAP, effective April 3, 2013, U.S. Cellular will deconsolidate the Partnerships and thereafter will report them as equity method investments in its consolidated financial statements (the “Deconsolidation”). After the Deconsolidation, U.S. Cellular will continue to record only its share of the net income of the Partnerships in Net income attributable to U.S. Cellular shareholders. In accordance with GAAP, U.S. Cellular will recognize a non-cash pre-tax gain in the range of $16 million to $32 million in the second quarter of 2013.
Ownership interest in equity method investment					60.00%				57.14%
Deconsolidation gain							$ 16,000,000	$ 32,000,000
Total assets	6,523,635,000		6,587,450,000	117,142,000
Total liabilities				10,847,000
Operating revenues	1,081,746,000	1,092,121,000		43,302,000
Total operating expenses	1,080,280,000	1,006,919,000		31,690,000
Net income	10,710,000	69,012,000		11,619,000
Net income attributable to U.S. Cellular shareholders	$ 4,914,000	$ 62,492,000		$ 6,824,000

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Commitments and Contingencies, legal accruals and unasserted claims (Details) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
Loss Contingency, Estimate [Abstract]
Accrual for legal proceedings and unasserted claims	$ 1.7	$ 1.7

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Income Taxes

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2013

Disclosure Text Block

Income Taxes

3. Income Taxes

U.S. Cellular is included in a consolidated federal income tax return and in certain state income tax returns with other members of the TDS consolidated group. For financial statement purposes, U.S. Cellular and its subsidiaries compute their income tax expense as if they comprised a separate affiliated group and were not included in the TDS consolidated group.

U.S. Cellular's overall effective tax rate on Income before income taxes for the three months ended March 31, 2013 and March 31, 2012 was 40.8%and 27.1%, respectively. The effective tax rate for the three months ended March 31, 2013 was higher than the rate for the three months ended March 31, 2012 primarily as a result of tax benefits related to the expiration of the statute of limitations for certain tax years and the adjustment of deferred tax balances related to certain partnership investments in 2012.

U.S. Cellular incurred a federal net operating loss in 2011 largely attributable to 100% bonus depreciation applicable to qualified capital expenditures. U.S. Cellular carried back this federal net operating loss to prior tax years and received a $66.8 million federal income tax refund in 2012 for carrybacks to 2009 and 2010 tax years. Of this amount, $58.1 million of the refund was received in the three months ended March 31, 2012.

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Basis of Presentation (Details) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013	Mar. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2012
Basis of Presentation
TDS ownership of U.S. Cellular	85.00%
Agent liability	$ 63.9		$ 88.2
Amounts recorded gross in revenues that are billed to customers and remitted to governmental authorities	$ 32.1	$ 35.3

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Subsequent Events (Table)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2013

Subsequent Events [Abstract]

Subsequent events

(Dollars in thousands)	NY1 & NY2
Total assets	$	117,142
Total liabilities		10,847
Operating revenues		43,302
Total operating expenses		31,690
Net income		11,619
Net income attributable to U.S. Cellular shareholders		6,824

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Fair Value Measurements (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Mar. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 419,696	$ 378,358	$ 511,078	$ 424,155
Short-term investments	110,585	100,676
Long-term investments	40,142	50,305
Fair value assumption, interest rate	6.05%
Minimum
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Long term investment maturities	Nov. 30, 2014
Maximum
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Long term investment maturities	Dec. 15, 2014
Fair Value | Level 1
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Cash and cash equivalents	419,696	378,358
Fair Value | Level 1 | 6.95% Senior Notes
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Long-term debt	363,067	376,610
Fair Value | Level 2 | 6.7% Senior Notes
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Long-term debt	585,423	582,744
Fair Value | Government backed securities | Level 1
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Short-term investments	110,585	100,676
Long-term investments	40,175	50,339
Book Value
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Cash and cash equivalents	419,696	378,358
Book Value | 6.95% Senior Notes
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Long-term debt	342,000	342,000
Book Value | 6.7% Senior Notes
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Long-term debt	532,256	532,194
Book Value | Government backed securities
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Short-term investments	110,585	100,676
Long-term investments	$ 40,142	$ 50,305

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Income Taxes, Additional Disclosures (Details) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended			12 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013	Mar. 31, 2012	Mar. 31, 2012 Federal	Dec. 31, 2012 Federal
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]
Effective income tax rate	40.80%	27.10%
Federal income tax refund received			$ 58.1	$ 66.8

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Fair Value Measurements

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2013

Disclosure Text Block

Fair Value Measurements

2. Fair Value Measurements

As of March 31,2013 and December 31, 2012, U.S. Cellular did not have any financial assets or liabilities that were requiredto be recorded at fair value in its Consolidated Balance Sheet in accordance with GAAP. However, U.S. Cellular has applied the provisions of fair value accounting for purposes of computing the fair value of financial instruments for disclosure purposes as displayed below.

		Level within the Fair Value Hierarchy	March 31, 2013				December 31, 2012
			Book Value			Fair Value	Book Value		Fair Value
(Dollars in thousands)
Cash and cash equivalents		1	$	419,696	$	419,696	$	378,358	$	378,358
Short-term investments
	Government-backed securities	1		110,585		110,585		100,676		100,676
Long-term investments
	Government-backed securities	1		40,142		40,175		50,305		50,339
Long-term debt
	6.95% Senior Notes	1		342,000		363,067		342,000		376,610
	6.7% Senior Notes	2		532,256		585,423		532,194		582,744

Short-term investments and Long-term investments are both designated as held-to-maturity investments and recorded at amortized cost in the Consolidated Balance Sheet. Long-term investment maturities are 20 months at March 31, 2013. Government-backed securities include U.S. treasuries and corporate notes guaranteed under the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program. Long-term debt excludes capital lease obligations and current portion of Long-term debt.

The fair values of Cash and cash equivalents and Short-term investments approximate their book values due to the short-term nature of these financial instruments. The fair value of Long-term debt, excluding capital lease obligations and the current portion of such Long-term debt, was estimated using market prices for the 6.95% Senior Notes, and discounted cash flow analysis using an estimated yield to maturity of 6.05%for the 6.7% Senior Notes at March 31, 2013.

As of March 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012,U.S. Cellular did not have nonfinancial assets or liabilities that required the application of fair value accounting for purposes of reporting such amounts in the Consolidated Balance Sheet.

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Earnings Per Share (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013	Mar. 31, 2012
Earnings per share
Net income attributable to U.S. Cellular shareholders	$ 4,914	$ 62,492
Weighted average number of shares used in basic earnings per share
Weighted average number of shares used in basic earnings per share	83,838	84,570
Effect of dilutive securities:
Stock options	44	135
Restricted stock units	521	428
Weighted average number of shares used in diluted earnings per share	84,403	85,133
Basic earnings per share attributable to U.S. Cellular shareholders	$ 0.06	$ 0.74
Diluted earnings per share attributable to U.S. Cellular shareholders	$ 0.06	$ 0.73
Common Shares | Stock Options Member
Effect of dilutive securities:
Antidilutive securities	2,468	1,444

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Noncontrolling Interests (Details) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013
Temporary Equity [Abstract]
Termination date range of mandatorily redeemable noncontrolling interests - begin	2085
Termination date range of mandatorily redeemable noncontrolling interests - end	2107
Settlement value of mandatorily redeemable noncontrolling interests	$ 167.9
Noncontrolling interests with redemption features	$ 61.3

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Consolidated Statement Of Operations (USD $) In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013	Mar. 31, 2012
Operating revenues
Service	$ 996,349	$ 1,023,820
Equipment sales	85,397	68,301
Total operating revenues	1,081,746	1,092,121
Operating expenses
System operations (excluding Depreciation, amortization and accretion reported below)	216,299	233,164
Cost of equipment sold	241,691	187,036
Selling, general and administrative (including charges from affiliates of $23.5 million and $26.0 million, respectively )	420,080	442,244
Depreciation, amortization and accretion	189,845	146,685
Loss on asset disposals, net	5,434	2,003
(Gain) loss on sale of business and other exit costs, net	6,931	(4,213)
Total operating expenses	1,080,280	1,006,919
Operating income	1,466	85,202
Investment and other income (expense)
Equity in earnings of unconsolidated entities	26,835	21,614
Interest and dividend income	903	1,043
Interest expense	(10,910)	(13,411)
Other, net	(215)	202
Total investment and other income (expense)	16,613	9,448
Income before income taxes	18,079	94,650
Income tax expense	7,369	25,638
Net income	10,710	69,012
Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests, net of tax	(5,796)	(6,520)
Net income attributable to U.S. Cellular shareholders	$ 4,914	$ 62,492
Basic weighted average shares outstanding	83,838	84,570
Basic earnings per share attributable to U.S. Cellular shareholders	$ 0.06	$ 0.74
Diluted weighted average shares outstanding	84,403	85,133
Diluted earnings per share attributable to U.S. Cellular shareholders	$ 0.06	$ 0.73

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Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Total	Series A Common and Common Shares	Additional Paid-In Capital	Treasury Shares	Retained Earnings	Total U.S. Cellular Shareholders' Equity	Noncontrolling Interests
Beginning balance at Dec. 31, 2011	$ 3,675,917	$ 88,074	$ 1,387,341	$ (152,817)	$ 2,297,363	$ 3,619,961	$ 55,956
Add (Deduct)
Net income attributable to U.S. Cellular shareholders	62,492				62,492	62,492
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests classified as equity	6,460						6,460
Incentive and compensation plans	520		189	597	(266)	520
Stock-based compensation awards	5,344		5,344			5,344
Tax windfall (shortfall) from stock awards	(29)		(29)			(29)
Distributions to noncontrolling interests	(218)						(218)
Ending balance at Mar. 31, 2012	3,750,486	88,074	1,392,845	(152,220)	2,359,589	3,688,288	62,198
Beginning balance at Dec. 31, 2012	3,795,247	88,074	1,412,453	(165,724)	2,399,052	3,733,855	61,392
Add (Deduct)
Net income attributable to U.S. Cellular shareholders	4,914				4,914	4,914
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests classified as equity	5,822						5,822
Repurchase of Common Shares	(18,425)			(18,425)		(18,425)
Incentive and compensation plans	123			764	(641)	123
Stock-based compensation awards	5,036		5,036			5,036
Tax windfall (shortfall) from stock awards	(181)		(181)			(181)
Distributions to noncontrolling interests	(2,396)						(2,396)
Ending balance at Mar. 31, 2013	$ 3,790,140	$ 88,074	$ 1,417,308	$ (183,385)	$ 2,403,325	$ 3,725,322	$ 64,818

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Investments in Unconsolidated Entities (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013	Mar. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2012
Equity and cost method investments
Investments in unconsolidated entities	$ 165,529		$ 144,531
Equity in earnings of unconsolidated entities	26,835	21,614
Equity method investments, combined income statements
Revenues	1,492,726	1,431,372
Operating expenses	1,066,967	1,071,887
Operating income	425,759	359,485
Other income, net	588	916
Net income	426,347	360,401
Los Angeles SMSA Limited Partnership
Equity and cost method investments
Equity in earnings of unconsolidated entities	$ 20,600	$ 17,100
Ownership interest in equity method investment	5.50%	5.50%

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Acquisitions, Divestitures and Exchanges (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2013

RestructuringCostsAbstract

Business divestiture financial impacts

(Dollars in thousands)			Expected Period of Realization/ Incurrence		Projected Range				Cumulative Amount Incurred as of March 31, 2013		Actual Amount Incurred Three Months Ended March 31, 2013
(Gain) loss on sale of business and other exit costs, net
	Proceeds from Sprint
		Purchase price		2013	$	(480,000)	$	(480,000)	$	-	$	-
		Sprint Cost Reimbursement		2013-2014		(150,000)		(200,000)		-		-
	Net assets transferred			2013		210,000		230,000		-		-
	Non-cash charges for the write-off and write-down of property under construction and related assets			2012-2013		11,000		15,000		10,894		222
	Employee related costs including severance, retention and outplacement			2012-2014		16,000		25,000		15,659		3,050
	Contract termination costs			2012-2014		125,000		175,000		2,959		2,900
	Transaction costs			2012-2013		4,000		6,000		2,055		918
		Total (Gain) loss on sale of business and other exit costs, net			$	(264,000)	$	(229,000)	$	31,567	$	7,090
Depreciation, amortization and accretion expense
	Incremental depreciation, amortization and accretion, net of salvage values			2012-2013		175,000		210,000		58,104		38,046
Other Operating expenses
	Non-cash charges for the write-off and write-down of various operating assets and liabilities			2013		-		10,000		-		-
(Increase) decrease in Operating income					$	(89,000)	$	(9,000)	$	89,671	$	45,136

		As a result of the transaction, U.S. Cellular recognized the following amounts in the Consolidated Balance Sheet:
					Three Months Ended March 31, 2013
(Dollars in thousands)			Balance December 31, 2012		Costs Incurred		Cash Settlements (1)		Non-cash Settlements		Adjustments		Balance March 31, 2013
Accrued compensation
	Employee related costs including severance, retention, outplacement		$	12,305	$	3,050	$	(1,607)	$	-	$	-	$	13,748
Other current liabilities
	Contract termination costs		$	30	$	2,900	$	(784)	$	-	$	-	$	2,146
(1)		Cash settlement amounts are included in either the Net income or changes in Other assets and liabilities line items as part of Cash flows from operating activities on the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows.

Assets and liabilities held for sale

		At March 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012, the following assets and liabilities were classified in the Consolidated Balance Sheet as "Assets held for sale" and "Liabilities held for sale":
			Licenses		Goodwill		Property, Plant and Equipment		Total Assets Held for Sale		Liabilities Held for Sale (1)
(Dollars in thousands)
March 31, 2013
Divestiture Transaction			$	140,599	$	72,994	$	-	$	213,593	$	18,360
December 31, 2012
Divestiture Transaction			$	140,599	$	72,994	$	-	$	213,593	$	19,594
Bolingbrook Customer Care Center (2)				-		-		3,170		3,170		-
	Total		$	140,599	$	72,994	$	3,170	$	216,763	$	19,594
(1)		Liabilities held for sale primarily consisted of Customer deposits and deferred revenues.
(2)		Effective January 1, 2013, U.S. Cellular transferred its Bolingbrook Customer Care Center operations to an existing third party vendor.

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Commitments and Contingencies, purchase commitments (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013
BOSS Installation
Long Term Purchase Commitment [Line Items]
Purchase commitment agreement description	As previously disclosed, on August 17, 2010, U.S. Cellular and Amdocs Software Systems Limited (“Amdocs”) entered into a Software License and Maintenance Agreement (“SLMA”) and a Master Service Agreement (“MSA”) (collectively, the “Amdocs Agreements”) to develop a Billing and Operational Support System (“B/OSS”).  Pursuant to an updated Statement of Work dated June 29, 2012, the implementation of B/OSS is expected to take until the end of 2013 to complete and total payments to Amdocs are estimated to be approximately $179.0 million (subject to certain potential adjustments) over the period from commencement of the SLMA in 2010 through the second half of 2013.  As of March 31, 2013, $114.0 million had been paid to Amdocs.
Purchase commitment required payments	$ 179,000,000
Purchase commitment required payments made	114,000,000
Apple Products
Long Term Purchase Commitment [Line Items]
Purchase commitment agreement description	In March 2013, U.S. Cellular entered into an agreement with Apple to purchase an estimated $1.2 billion of Apple iPhone products over a three-year period beginning later in 2013.
Purchase commitment period	three-year
Purchase commitment estimated payments	$ 1,200,000,000

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Investment in Unconsolidated Entities (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2013

Equity Method Investment, Summarized Financial Information [Abstract]

Equity method investments, summarized results of operations

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2013		2012
(Dollars in thousands)
Revenues	$	1,492,726	$	1,431,372
Operating expenses		1,066,967		1,071,887
Operating income		425,759		359,485
Other income		588		916
Net income	$	426,347	$	360,401

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Basis of Presentation

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2013

Disclosure Text Block

Basis of Presentation

1.Basis of Presentation

United States Cellular Corporation (“U.S. Cellular”), a Delaware Corporation, is an 85%-owned subsidiary of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (“TDS”).

The accounting policies of U.S. Cellular conform to accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) as set forth in the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”). The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of U.S. Cellular, its majority-owned subsidiaries, general partnerships in which U.S. Cellular has a majority partnership interest and certain entities in which U.S. Cellular has a variable interest that require consolidation under GAAP.  All material intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated.

The consolidated financial statements included herein have been prepared by U.S. Cellular, without audit, pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Certain information and disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such rules and regulations. However, U.S. Cellular believes that the disclosures included herein are adequate to make the information presented not misleading.  These consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto included in U.S. Cellular's Annual Report on Form 10-K (“Form 10-K”) for the year ended December 31, 2012.

The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements contain all adjustments (consisting of only normal recurring items, unless otherwise disclosed) necessary fora fair statement of the financial position as of March 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012,and the results of operations, cash flows and changes in equity for the three months ended March 31, 2013 and 2012. The Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income was not included because comprehensive income for the threemonths ended March 31, 2013 and 2012 equaled net income.  These resultsare not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

As of March 31, 2013, there are no recent accounting pronouncements that are expected to have a material impact on U.S. Cellular's financial position or results of operations.

Agent Liabilities

U.S. Cellular has relationships with agents, which are independent businesses that obtain customers for U.S. Cellular. At March 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012, U.S. Cellular had accrued $63.9 million and $88.2 million, respectively, for amounts due to agents, including rebates and commissions. These amounts are included in Other current liabilities in the Consolidated Balance Sheet.

Amounts Collected from Customers and Remitted to Governmental Authorities

If a tax is assessed upon the customer and U.S. Cellular merely acts as an agent in collecting the tax on behalf of the imposing governmental authority, then amounts collected from customers and remitted to governmental authorities are recorded on a net basis within a tax liability account in the Consolidated Balance Sheet. If the tax is assessed upon U.S. Cellular, then amounts collected from customers as recovery of the tax are recorded in Service revenues and amounts remitted to governmental authorities are recorded in Selling, general and administrative expenses in the Consolidated Statement of Operations. The amounts recorded gross in revenues that are billed to customers and remitted to governmental authorities totaled $32.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2013, and $35.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012.

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Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013	Mar. 31, 2012
Cash flows from operating activities
Net income	$ 10,710	$ 69,012
Add (deduct) adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash flows from operating activities
Depreciation, amortization and accretion	189,845	146,685
Bad debts expense	16,910	13,850
Stock-based compensation expense	5,036	5,391
Deferred income taxes, net	7,048	6,283
Equity in earnings of unconsolidated entities	(26,835)	(21,614)
Distributions from unconsolidated entities	5,836	2,822
Loss on asset disposals, net	5,434	2,003
(Gain) loss on sale of business and other exit costs, net	6,931	(4,213)
Noncash interest expense	262	451
Other operating activities	250	449
Changes in assets and liabilities from operations
Accounts receivable	33,611	36,621
Inventory	16,750	(4,410)
Accounts payable - trade	4,644	(17,689)
Accounts payable - affiliate	(1,933)	2,989
Customer deposits and deferred revenues	8,862	9,512
Accrued taxes	6,175	79,765
Accrued interest	9,201	9,167
Other assets and liabilities	(75,122)	(80,107)
Cash flows from operating activities	223,615	256,967
Cash flows from investing activities
Cash used for additions to property, plant and equipment	(151,024)	(209,160)
Cash paid for acquisitions and licenses	(14,150)	(11,096)
Cash paid for investments		(10,000)
Cash received from divestitures		49,786
Cash received for investments		10,000
Other investing activities	3,654	296
Cash flows from investing activities	(161,520)	(170,174)
Cash flows from financing activities
Repayment of long-term debt	(61)	(12)
Common shares reissued for benefit plans, net of tax payments	123	357
Common shares repurchased	(18,425)
Distributions to noncontrolling interests	(2,396)	(218)
Other financing activities	2	3
Cash flows from financing activities	(20,757)	130
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents	41,338	86,923
Cash and cash equivalents
Beginning of period	378,358	424,155
End of period	$ 419,696	$ 511,078

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Noncontrolling Interests

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2013

Disclosure Text Block

Noncontrolling Interests

11. Noncontrolling Interests

U.S. Cellular's consolidated financial statements include certain noncontrolling interests that meet the GAAP definition of mandatorily redeemable financial instruments. These mandatorily redeemable noncontrolling interests represent interests held by third parties in consolidated partnerships and limited liability companies (“LLCs”), where the terms of the underlying partnership or LLC agreement provide for a defined termination date at which time the assets of the subsidiary are to be sold, the liabilities are to be extinguished and the remaining net proceeds are to be distributed to the noncontrolling interest holders and U.S. Cellular in accordance with the respective partnership and LLC agreements. The termination dates of these mandatorily redeemable noncontrolling interests range from2085 to 2107.

The settlement value or estimate of cash that would be due and payable to settle these noncontrolling interests, assuming an orderly liquidation of the finite-lived consolidated partnerships and LLCs on March 31, 2013, net of estimated liquidation costs, is $167.9 million. This amount excludes redemption amounts recorded in Noncontrolling interests with redemption features in the Consolidated Balance Sheet.The estimate of settlement value was based on certain factors and assumptions which are subjective in nature. Changes in those factors and assumptions could result in a materially larger or smaller settlement amount. U.S. Cellularcurrently has no plans or intentions relating to the liquidationof any of the related partnerships or LLCs prior to their scheduled termination dates. The corresponding carrying value of the mandatorily redeemablenoncontrolling interests in finite-lived consolidated partnerships and LLCs at March 31, 2013was $61.3 million, and is included in Noncontrolling interests in the Consolidated Balance Sheet. The excess of the aggregate settlement value over the aggregate carrying value of these mandatorily redeemable noncontrolling interests isprimarily due to the unrecognized appreciation of the noncontrolling interest holders' share of the underlying net assets in the consolidated partnerships and LLCs. Neither the noncontrolling interest holders' share, nor U.S. Cellular's share, of the appreciation of the underlying net assets of these subsidiaries is reflected in the consolidated financial statements.

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Document And Entity Information	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013
Entity Registrant Name	United States Cellular Corporation
Entity Central Index Key	0000821130
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2013
Amendment Flag	false
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2013
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Trading Symbol	USM
Series A Common Shares
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding	33,005,877
Common Shares
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding	50,685,294

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Supplemental Cash Flow Disclosures

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2013

Disclosure Text Block

Supplemental Cash Flow Disclosures

12. Supplemental Cash Flow Disclosures

Following are supplemental cash flow disclosures regarding transactions related to stock-based compensation awards. In certain situations, U.S. Cellular withholds shares that are issuable upon the exercise of stock options or the vesting of restricted shares to cover, and with a value equivalent to, the exercise price and/or the amount of taxes required to be withheld from the stock award holder at the time of the exercise or vesting. U.S. Cellular then pays the amount of the required tax withholdings to the taxing authorities in cash.

	Three Months Ended
	March 31,
	2013		2012
(Dollars and shares in thousands)
Common Shares withheld		9		-
Aggregate value of Common Shares withheld	$	328	$	-
Cash receipts upon exercise of stock options	$	129	$	357
Cash disbursements for payment of taxes		(6)		-
Net cash receipts (disbursements) from exercise of stock options and vesting of other stock awards	$	123	$	357

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Consolidated Balance Sheet (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
Current assets
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 419,696	$ 378,358
Short-term investments	110,585	100,676
Accounts receivable
Customers and agents, less allowances of $24,106 and $24,290, respectively	314,463	349,424
Roaming	29,132	31,782
Affiliated	44	375
Other, less allowances of $1,692 and $2,612, respectively	51,062	63,639
Inventory	139,136	155,886
Income taxes receivable	2,776	1,612
Prepaid expenses	64,365	62,560
Net deferred income tax asset	36,302	35,419
Other current assets	17,111	16,745
Total current assets	1,184,672	1,196,476
Assets held for sale	213,593	216,763
Investments
Licenses	1,470,944	1,456,794
Goodwill	421,743	421,743
Customer lists, net of accumulated amortization of $96,844 and $96,809, respectively	68	102
Investments in unconsolidated entities	165,529	144,531
Long-term investments	40,142	50,305
Total investments	2,098,426	2,073,475
Property, plant and equipment
In service and under construction	7,562,931	7,478,428
Less: Accumulated depreciation	4,614,423	4,455,840
Property, plant and equipment, net	2,948,508	3,022,588
Other assets and deferred charges	78,436	78,148
Total assets	6,523,635	6,587,450
Current liabilities
Current portion of long-term debt	93	92
Accounts payable
Affiliated	8,792	10,725
Trade	281,762	310,936
Customer deposits and deferred revenues	202,209	192,113
Accrued taxes	43,357	35,834
Accrued compensation	50,698	90,418
Other current liabilities	98,657	114,881
Total current liabilities	685,568	754,999
Liabilities held for sale	18,360	19,594	[1]
Deferred liabilities and credits
Net deferred income tax liability	857,439	849,818
Other deferred liabilities and credits	292,687	288,441
Long-term debt	878,975	878,858
Commitments and contingencies
Noncontrolling interests with redemption features	466	493
U.S. Cellular shareholders' equity
Series A Common and Common Shares	88,074	88,074
Additional paid-in capital	1,417,308	1,412,453
Treasury Shares, at cost, 4,383 and 3,906 Common Shares, respectively	(183,385)	(165,724)
Retained earnings	2,403,325	2,399,052
Total U.S. Cellular shareholders' equity	3,725,322	3,733,855
Noncontrolling interests	64,818	61,392
Total equity	3,790,140	3,795,247
Total liabilities and equity	$ 6,523,635	$ 6,587,450

[1] Liabilities held for sale primarily consisted of Customer deposits and deferred revenues.

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Intangible Assets

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2013

Disclosure Text Block

Intangible Assets

6. Intangible Assets

Changes in U.S. Cellular's Licenses for the three months ended March 31, 2013 and 2012 are presented below. There were no significant changes to Goodwill or Customer lists during the periods presented.

Licenses
		March 31, 2013		March 31, 2012
(Dollars in thousands)
Balance, beginning of period		$	1,456,794	$	1,470,769
	Acquisitions		14,150		11,096
Balance, end of period		$	1,470,944	$	1,481,865

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Acquisitions, Divestitures and Exchanges

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2013

Disclosure Text Block

Acquisitions, Divestitures and Exchanges

5. Acquisitions, Divestitures and Exchanges

U.S. Cellular assesses its existing wireless interests on an ongoing basis with a goal of improving the competitiveness of its operations and maximizing its long-term return on investment. As part of this strategy, U.S. Cellular reviews attractive opportunities to acquire additional operating markets and wireless spectrum. In addition, U.S. Cellular may seek to divest outright or include in exchanges for other wireless interests those interests that are not strategic to its long-term success.

Divestiture Transaction

On November 6, 2012, U.S. Cellular entered into a Purchase and Sale Agreement with subsidiaries of Sprint Nextel Corporation (“Sprint”). The Purchase and Sale Agreement provides that U.S. Cellular will transfer customers and certain PCS licensed spectrum to Sprint in U.S. Cellular's Chicago, central Illinois, St. Louis and certain Indiana/Michigan/Ohio markets (“Divestiture Markets”) in consideration for $480 million in cash at closing, subject to pro-rations of certain assets and liabilities. The Purchase and Sale Agreement also contemplates certain other agreements, together with the Purchase and Sale Agreement collectively referred to as the “Divestiture Transaction.” The transaction was approved by the FCC in March 2013 and the closing is expected to occur in the second quarter of 2013.

U.S. Cellular will retain other assets and liabilities related to the Divestiture Markets, including network assets, retail stores and related equipment, and other buildings and facilities. The transaction does not affect spectrum licenses held by U.S. Cellular or variable interest entities (“VIEs”) that are not currently used in the operations of the Divestiture Markets. The Purchase and Sale Agreement also contemplates certain other agreements, including customer and network transition services agreements, which will require that U.S. Cellular provide customer, billing and network services to Sprint for a period of up to 24 months after the closing date. Sprint will reimburse U.S. Cellular for providing such services at an amount equal to U.S. Cellular's cost, including applicable overhead allocations. In addition, these agreements will require Sprint to reimburse U.S. Cellular up to $200 million (the “Sprint Cost Reimbursement”) for certain network decommissioning costs, network site lease rent and termination costs, network access termination costs, and employee termination benefits for specified engineering employees.

Financial impacts of the Divestiture Transaction are classified in the Consolidated Statement of Operations within Operating income. The table below describes the amounts U.S. Cellular has recognized, and expects to recognize, in the Consolidated Statement of Operations between the date the Purchase and Sale Agreement was signed and the end of the transition services period, as a result of the transaction.

(Dollars in thousands)			Expected Period of Realization/ Incurrence		Projected Range				Cumulative Amount Incurred as of March 31, 2013		Actual Amount Incurred Three Months Ended March 31, 2013
(Gain) loss on sale of business and other exit costs, net
	Proceeds from Sprint
		Purchase price		2013	$	(480,000)	$	(480,000)	$	-	$	-
		Sprint Cost Reimbursement		2013-2014		(150,000)		(200,000)		-		-
	Net assets transferred			2013		210,000		230,000		-		-
	Non-cash charges for the write-off and write-down of property under construction and related assets			2012-2013		11,000		15,000		10,894		222
	Employee related costs including severance, retention and outplacement			2012-2014		16,000		25,000		15,659		3,050
	Contract termination costs			2012-2014		125,000		175,000		2,959		2,900
	Transaction costs			2012-2013		4,000		6,000		2,055		918
		Total (Gain) loss on sale of business and other exit costs, net			$	(264,000)	$	(229,000)	$	31,567	$	7,090
Depreciation, amortization and accretion expense
	Incremental depreciation, amortization and accretion, net of salvage values			2012-2013		175,000		210,000		58,104		38,046
Other Operating expenses
	Non-cash charges for the write-off and write-down of various operating assets and liabilities			2013		-		10,000		-		-
(Increase) decrease in Operating income					$	(89,000)	$	(9,000)	$	89,671	$	45,136

Incremental depreciation, amortization and accretion, net of salvage values represents anticipated amounts to be recorded in the specified time periods as a result of revising the useful life of certain assets and revising the settlement dates of certain asset retirement obligations in conjunction with the Divestiture Transaction. Specifically, for the years indicated, this is estimated depreciation, amortization and accretion recorded on assets and liabilities of the Divestiture Markets after the November 6, 2012 transaction date less depreciation, amortization and accretion that would have been recorded on such assets and liabilities in the normal course, absent the Divestiture Transaction.

		As a result of the transaction, U.S. Cellular recognized the following amounts in the Consolidated Balance Sheet:
					Three Months Ended March 31, 2013
(Dollars in thousands)			Balance December 31, 2012		Costs Incurred		Cash Settlements (1)		Non-cash Settlements		Adjustments		Balance March 31, 2013
Accrued compensation
	Employee related costs including severance, retention, outplacement		$	12,305	$	3,050	$	(1,607)	$	-	$	-	$	13,748
Other current liabilities
	Contract termination costs		$	30	$	2,900	$	(784)	$	-	$	-	$	2,146
(1)		Cash settlement amounts are included in either the Net income or changes in Other assets and liabilities line items as part of Cash flows from operating activities on the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows.

		At March 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012, the following assets and liabilities were classified in the Consolidated Balance Sheet as "Assets held for sale" and "Liabilities held for sale":
			Licenses		Goodwill		Property, Plant and Equipment		Total Assets Held for Sale		Liabilities Held for Sale (1)
(Dollars in thousands)
March 31, 2013
Divestiture Transaction			$	140,599	$	72,994	$	-	$	213,593	$	18,360
December 31, 2012
Divestiture Transaction			$	140,599	$	72,994	$	-	$	213,593	$	19,594
Bolingbrook Customer Care Center (2)				-		-		3,170		3,170		-
	Total		$	140,599	$	72,994	$	3,170	$	216,763	$	19,594
(1)		Liabilities held for sale primarily consisted of Customer deposits and deferred revenues.
(2)		Effective January 1, 2013, U.S. Cellular transferred its Bolingbrook Customer Care Center operations to an existing third party vendor.

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Intangible Assets (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2013

Licenses

Licenses

Licenses
		March 31, 2013		March 31, 2012
(Dollars in thousands)
Balance, beginning of period		$	1,456,794	$	1,470,769
	Acquisitions		14,150		11,096
Balance, end of period		$	1,470,944	$	1,481,865

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Subsequent Events

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2013

Disclosure Text Block

Subsequent events

13. Subsequent Event

On April 3, 2013, U.S. Cellular entered into an agreement relating to the Partnerships (as defined below) with Cellco Partnership d/b/a Verizon Wireless (“Verizon Wireless”). U.S. Cellular holds a 60.00% interest in St. Lawrence Seaway RSA Cellular Partnership (“NY1”) and a 57.14% interest in New York RSA 2 Cellular Partnership (“NY2” and, together with NY1, the “Partnerships”). The remaining interests are held by Verizon Wireless. The Partnerships are operated by Verizon Wireless under the Verizon Wireless brand. Because U.S. Cellular owns a greater than 50% interest in each of these markets and based on U.S. Cellular's rights under the Partnership Agreements, prior to April 3, 2013, U.S. Cellular consolidated the financial results of these markets in accordance with GAAP. The agreement amends the Partnership Agreements in several ways, which provide Verizon Wireless with substantive participating rights that allow Verizon Wireless to make decisions that are in the ordinary course of business of the Partnerships and which are significant to directing and executing the activities of the business. Accordingly, as required by GAAP, effective April 3, 2013, U.S. Cellular will deconsolidate the Partnerships and thereafter will report them as equity method investments in its consolidated financial statements (the “Deconsolidation”). After the Deconsolidation, U.S. Cellular will continue to record only its share of the net income of the Partnerships in Net income attributable to U.S. Cellular shareholders. In accordance with GAAP, U.S. Cellular will recognize a non-cash pre-tax gain in the range of $16 million to $32 million in the second quarter of 2013.

Amounts recorded in U.S. Cellular's consolidated financial statements related to the Partnerships as of or for the three months ended March 31, 2013 are shown below:

(Dollars in thousands)	NY1 & NY2
Total assets	$	117,142
Total liabilities		10,847
Operating revenues		43,302
Total operating expenses		31,690
Net income		11,619
Net income attributable to U.S. Cellular shareholders		6,824

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Variable Interest Entities

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2013

Disclosure Text Block

Variable Interest Entities

9. Variable Interest Entities (VIEs)

Consolidated VIEs

As of March 31, 2013, U.S. Cellular holds a variable interest in and consolidates the following VIEs under GAAP:

• Aquinas Wireless L.P. (“Aquinas Wireless”); and
• King Street Wireless L.P. (“King Street Wireless”) and King Street Wireless, Inc., the general partner of King Street Wireless.

The power to direct the activities that most significantly impact the economic performance of Aquinas Wireless and King Street Wireless (collectively, the “limited partnerships”) is shared. Specifically, the general partner of these VIEs has the exclusive right to manage, operate and control the limited partnerships and make all decisions to carry on the business of the partnerships; however, the general partner of each partnership needs consent of the limited partner, a U.S. Cellular subsidiary, to sell or lease certain licenses, to make certain large expenditures, admit other partners or liquidate the limited partnerships. Although the power to direct the activities of the VIEs is shared, U.S. Cellular has a disproportionate level of exposure to the variability associated with the economic performance of the VIEs, indicating that U.S. Cellular is the primary beneficiary of the VIEs in accordance with GAAP. Accordingly, these VIEs are consolidated.

The following table presents the classification of the consolidated VIEs' assets and liabilities in U.S. Cellular's Consolidated Balance Sheet.

		March 31, 2013		December 31, 2012
(Dollars in thousands)
Assets
	Cash and cash equivalents	$	3,465	$	5,849
	Other current assets		178		120
	Licenses		308,091		308,091
	Property, plant and equipment, net		15,899		16,443
	Other assets and deferred charges		1,449		887
	Total assets	$	329,082	$	331,390
Liabilities
	Current liabilities	$	82	$	1,013
	Deferred liabilities and credits		3,015		3,024
	Total liabilities	$	3,097	$	4,037

Other Related Matters

Aquinas Wireless and King Street Wireless were formed to participate in FCC auctions of wireless spectrum and to fund, establish, and provide wireless service with respect to any FCC licenses won in the auctions. As such, these entities have risks similar to the business risks described in the “Risk Factors” in U.S. Cellular's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012.

U.S. Cellular may agree to make additional capital contributions and/or advances to Aquinas Wireless and King Street Wireless and/or to their general partners to provide additional funding for the development of licenses granted in various auctions. U.S. Cellular may finance such amounts with a combination of cash on hand, borrowings under its revolving credit agreement and/or long-term debt. There is no assurance that U.S. Cellular will be able to obtain additional financing on commercially reasonable terms or at all to provide such financial support.

There were no capital contributions or advances made to Aquinas Wireless and King Street Wireless and/or their general partners in the three months ended March 31, 2013 and 2012.

U.S. Cellular began offering fourth generation Long-term Evolution (“4G LTE”) service in certain cities within its service areas during the first quarter of 2012 and has plans to continue the deployment of 4G LTE. U.S. Cellular currently provides 4G LTE service in conjunction with King Street Wireless. Aquinas Wirelessis still in the process of developing long-term business plans.

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Investment in Unconsolidated Entities

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2013

Disclosure Text Block

Investment in Unconsolidated Entities

7. Investments in Unconsolidated Entities

Investments in unconsolidated entities consist of amounts invested in wireless entities in which U.S. Cellular holds a noncontrolling interest. These investments are accounted for using either the equity or cost method.

Equity in earnings of unconsolidated entities totaled $26.8 million and $21.6 million in the three months ended March 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively; of those amounts, U.S. Cellular's investment in the Los Angeles SMSA Limited Partnership (“LA Partnership”) contributed $20.6 million and $17.1 million in the three months ended March 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively. U.S. Cellular held a 5.5% ownership interest in the LA Partnership during these periods.

The following table, which is based on information provided in part by third parties, summarizes the combined results of operations of U.S. Cellular's equity method investments:

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2013		2012
(Dollars in thousands)
Revenues	$	1,492,726	$	1,431,372
Operating expenses		1,066,967		1,071,887
Operating income		425,759		359,485
Other income		588		916
Net income	$	426,347	$	360,401

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Commitments and Contingencies

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2013

Disclosure Text Block

Commitments and Contingencies

8. Commitments, Contingencies and Other Liabilities

Agreements

As previously disclosed, on August 17, 2010, U.S. Cellular and Amdocs Software Systems Limited (“Amdocs”) entered into a Software License and Maintenance Agreement (“SLMA”) and a Master Service Agreement (“MSA”) (collectively, the “Amdocs Agreements”) to develop a Billing and Operational Support System (“B/OSS”).  Pursuant to an updated Statement of Work dated June 29, 2012, the implementation of B/OSS is expected to take until the end of 2013 to complete and total payments to Amdocs are estimated to be approximately $179.0 million (subject to certain potential adjustments) over the period from commencement of the SLMA in 2010 through the second half of 2013.  As of March 31, 2013, $114.0 million had been paid to Amdocs.

Indemnifications

U.S. Cellular enters into agreements in the normal course of business that provide for indemnification of counterparties. The terms of the indemnifications vary by agreement. The events or circumstances that would require U.S. Cellular to perform under these indemnities are transaction specific; however, these agreements may require U.S. Cellular to indemnify the counterparty for costs and losses incurred from litigation or claims arising from the underlying transaction. U.S. Cellular is unable to estimate the maximum potential liability for these types of indemnifications as the amounts are dependent on the outcome of future events, the nature and likelihood of which cannot be determined at this time. Historically, U.S. Cellular has not made any significant indemnification payments under such agreements.

Legal Proceedings

U.S. Cellular is involved or may be involved from time to time in legal proceedings before the FCC, other regulatory authorities, and/or various state and federal courts. If U.S. Cellular believes that a loss arising from such legal proceedings is probable and can be reasonably estimated, an amount is accrued in the financial statements for the estimated loss.  If only a range of loss can be determined, the best estimate within that range is accrued; if none of the estimates within that range is better than another, the low end of the range is accrued. The assessment of the expected outcomes of legal proceedings is a highly subjective process that requires judgments about future events. The legal proceedings are reviewed at least quarterly to determine the adequacy of accruals and related financial statement disclosures. The ultimate outcomes of legal proceedings could differ materially from amounts accrued in the financial statements.

U.S. Cellular has accrued $1.7 million with respect to legal proceedings and unasserted claims as of both March 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012. U.S. Cellular has not accrued any amount for legal proceedings if it cannot reasonably estimate the amount of the possible loss or range of loss. U.S. Cellular does not believe that the amount of any contingent loss in excess of the amounts accrued would be material.

Apple iPhone Products Purchase Commitment

In March 2013, U.S. Cellular entered into an agreement with Apple to purchase an estimated $1.2 billion of Apple iPhone products over a three-year period beginning later in 2013.

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Common Share Repurchases

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2013

Disclosure Text Block

Common Shareholders' Equity

10. Common Share Repurchases

On November 17, 2009, the Board of Directors of U.S. Cellular authorized the repurchase of up to 1,300,000 Common Shares on an annual basis beginning in 2009 and continuing each year thereafter, on a cumulative basis. These purchases will be made pursuant to open market purchases, block purchases, private purchases, or otherwise, depending on market prices and other conditions. This authorization does not have an expiration date.

Share repurchases made under this authorization were as follows:

	Three Months Ended
	March 31,
	2013		2012
(Dollars and shares in thousands, except cost per share)
Number of shares		496		-
Average cost per share	$	37.16	$	-
Total cost	$	18,425	$	-

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Intangible Assets (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013	Mar. 31, 2012
Licenses
Balance, beginning of period	$ 1,456,794	$ 1,470,769
Acquisitions	14,150	11,096
Balance, end of period	$ 1,470,944	$ 1,481,865

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Earnings Per Share (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2013

Earnings Per Share Abstract

Earnings per share

		Three Months Ended March 31,
		2013		2012
(Dollars and shares in thousands, except per share amounts)
Net income attributable to U.S. Cellular shareholders		$	4,914	$	62,492
Weighted average number of shares used in basic earnings per share			83,838		84,570
Effects of dilutive securities:
	Stock options		44		135
	Restricted stock units		521		428
Weighted average number of shares used in diluted earnings per share			84,403		85,133
Basic earnings per share attributable to U.S. Cellular shareholders		$	0.06	$	0.74
Diluted earnings per share attributable to U.S. Cellular shareholders		$	0.06	$	0.73

Summary of antidilutive shares

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2013	2012
(Shares in thousands)
Stock options	2,468	1,444

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Common Share Repurchases (Table)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2013

Shareholders' Equity Note [Abstract]

Share repurchases

	Three Months Ended
	March 31,
	2013		2012
(Dollars and shares in thousands, except cost per share)
Number of shares		496		-
Average cost per share	$	37.16	$	-
Total cost	$	18,425	$	-

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Supplemental Cash Flows (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013	Mar. 31, 2012
Supplemental cash flows, stock based compensation
Net cash receipts (disbursements) from exercise of stock options and vesting of other stock awards	$ 123	$ 357
Common Shares
Supplemental cash flows, stock based compensation
Shares withheld	9
Aggregate value of shares withheld	328
Cash receipts upon exercise of stock options	129	357
Cash disbursements for payments of taxes	(6)
Net cash receipts (disbursements) from exercise of stock options and vesting of other stock awards	$ 123	$ 357

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Consolidated Balance Sheet Parenthetical (USD $) In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
Current assets
Customers and agents, less allowances of $24,106 and $24,290, respectively	$ 24,106	$ 24,290
Other, less allowances of $1,692 and $2,612, respectively	1,692	2,612
Investments
Customer lists, net of accumulated amortization of $96,843 and $96,809, respectively	96,843	96,809
U.S. Cellular shareholders' equity
Authorized shares	190,000	190,000
Issued shares	88,074	88,074
Outstanding shares	83,691	84,168
Par value	88,074	88,074
Treasury shares, at cost, 4,383 and 3,906 Common Shares, respectively	4,383	3,906
Common Shares
U.S. Cellular shareholders' equity
Authorized shares	140,000	140,000
Issued shares	55,068	55,068
Outstanding shares	50,685	51,162
Par value per share	$ 1.00	$ 1.00
Par value	55,068	55,068
Treasury shares, at cost, 4,383 and 3,906 Common Shares, respectively	4,383	3,906
Series A Common Shares
U.S. Cellular shareholders' equity
Authorized shares	50,000	50,000
Issued shares	33,006	33,006
Outstanding shares	33,006	33,006
Par value per share	$ 1.00	$ 1.00
Par value	$ 33,006	$ 33,006

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Earnings Per Share

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2013

Disclosure Text Block

Earnings per Share

4. Earnings Per Share

Basic earnings per share attributable to U.S. Cellular shareholders is computed by dividing Net income attributable to U.S. Cellular shareholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted earnings per share attributable to U.S. Cellular shareholders is computed by dividing Net income attributable to U.S. Cellular shareholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period adjusted to include the effects of potentially dilutive securities. Potentiallydilutive securities primarily include incremental shares issuable upon exercise of outstanding stock options and the vesting of restricted stock units.

The amounts used in computing earnings per Common and Series A Common Share and the effects of potentially dilutive securities on the weighted average number of Common and Series A Common Shares were as follows:

		Three Months Ended March 31,
		2013		2012
(Dollars and shares in thousands, except per share amounts)
Net income attributable to U.S. Cellular shareholders		$	4,914	$	62,492
Weighted average number of shares used in basic earnings per share			83,838		84,570
Effects of dilutive securities:
	Stock options		44		135
	Restricted stock units		521		428
Weighted average number of shares used in diluted earnings per share			84,403		85,133
Basic earnings per share attributable to U.S. Cellular shareholders		$	0.06	$	0.74
Diluted earnings per share attributable to U.S. Cellular shareholders		$	0.06	$	0.73

Certain Common Shares issuable upon the exercise of stock options or vesting of restricted stock units were not included in average diluted shares outstanding for the calculation of Diluted earnings per share attributable to U.S. Cellular shareholders because their effects were antidilutive. The number of such Common Shares excluded, if any, is shown in the table below.

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2013	2012
(Shares in thousands)
Stock options	2,468	1,444

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Supplemental Cash Flow (Table)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2013

Supplemental Cash Flow Information [Abstract]

Supplemental cash flow disclosures

	Three Months Ended
	March 31,
	2013		2012
(Dollars and shares in thousands)
Common Shares withheld		9		-
Aggregate value of Common Shares withheld	$	328	$	-
Cash receipts upon exercise of stock options	$	129	$	357
Cash disbursements for payment of taxes		(6)		-
Net cash receipts (disbursements) from exercise of stock options and vesting of other stock awards	$	123	$	357

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Variable Interest Entities VIEs (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Mar. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 419,696	$ 378,358	$ 511,078	$ 424,155
Other current assets	17,111	16,745
Licenses	1,470,944	1,456,794	1,481,865	1,470,769
Property, plant and equipment, net	2,948,508	3,022,588
Other assets and deferred charges	78,436	78,148
Liabilities
Customer deposits and deferred revenues	202,209	192,113
Current liabilities	685,568	754,999
Variable Interest Entities (VIE's)
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents	3,465	5,849
Other current assets	178	120
Licenses	308,091	308,091
Property, plant and equipment, net	15,899	16,443
Other assets and deferred charges	1,449	887
Total assets	329,082	331,390
Liabilities
Current liabilities	82	1,013
Deferred liabilities and credits	3,015	3,024
Total liabilities	$ 3,097	$ 4,037

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Fair Value Measurements (Table)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2013

Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]

Fair value measurements

		Level within the Fair Value Hierarchy	March 31, 2013				December 31, 2012
			Book Value			Fair Value	Book Value		Fair Value
(Dollars in thousands)
Cash and cash equivalents		1	$	419,696	$	419,696	$	378,358	$	378,358
Short-term investments
	Government-backed securities	1		110,585		110,585		100,676		100,676
Long-term investments
	Government-backed securities	1		40,142		40,175		50,305		50,339
Long-term debt
	6.95% Senior Notes	1		342,000		363,067		342,000		376,610
	6.7% Senior Notes	2		532,256		585,423		532,194		582,744