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## We Made Exceptional Progress on our Strategy in 2003 

• Launching eight new markets – Omaha, Neb.; St. Joseph, Mo.; Council Bluffs, Iowa; Rochester, Minn.; South Bend and Fort Wayne, Ind.; and Stillwater and Enid, Okla. 

• Exchanging our Georgia and north Florida properties with AT &T Wireless for 10 and 20 MHz PCS licen ses, which are adjacent to or in our existing markets in 13 states. 

• Negotiating – and completing in February 2004 – the divestiture of our south Texas markets for cash that will help fund the build-out of our new markets. 

• Continuing the integration of our new Chicago market, generating rapid brand awareness in our first year of service and establishing ourselves as a committed hometown corpor ate citizen. 

• Strengthening the U.S. Cellular brand through effective advertising and marketing – including securing the naming rights to the home of the Chicago White Sox, now officially U.S. Cellular Field. 

• Converting to a single billing and customer care system across the company, so that all of our customers are now on our own Customer Acquisition and Retention System (CARES). 

• Effectively managing the industry-wide introduction of wireless number portability (WNP), with more customers signing on than leaving the company. 

• Building and opening a state-of-the-art net- work operations center in Schaumburg, Ill. 

• Successfully launching our most advanced data product, easy edge SM …a versatile, easy-to-use service with more than 150 downloadable applications . 

• Continuingto upgrade our network to Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) 1X technology, ahead of schedule and below budget for our three-year systemwide initiative . 

• Placing a $444 million, 30-year bond offering at a very attractive rate, and securing additional financing, increasing the size of our revolving credit facility to $700 million. 

All of these efforts support our customer satisfaction strategy. Our success is amply demonstrated by our enviable postpay churn rate of 1.5 percent, one of the best in the wireless industry. 

## The People Behind the Results 

Smart planning, disciplined execution and a clear sense of purpose are key to achieving our twin goals of customer satisfaction and 

profitable growth. Having the right people is essential to our strategy. That’s the essence behind our Dynamic Organization. Our associates embrace the five key values on which the Dynamic Organization is based: 

ethics, pride, empowerment, respect for one another and a total focus on the customer. 

These values are embedded in everything we do at U.S. Cellular. 

## Looking Ahead 

We’re enthusiastic about our prospects for 2004. We will continue to strengthen our markets, building out several of the markets we acquired in 2003, including Oklahoma City, Okla.; Lincoln, Neb.; and Portland, Maine. 

We will complete the final phase of our network improvement initiative, and we will continue to build on and enhance our data- service products. 

And we’re ready for the second phase of WNP. Consumers want number portability, so we’re committed to making the portability process as smooth as possible on our end. 

To ensure this, we’ve invested $50 million over the last two years. We believe our focus on customer satisfaction will serve us well in this respect, helping us expand our business. 

We began this letter by noting our associates’ great achievements in 2003. U.S. Cellular associates are the main reason we feel so good about our business. Our thanks go to them, as well as to our customers, share- holders, communities and other partners. We are honored by the support all of you have given us, and we pledge to work hard to keep that support. 

Customers expect it. We deliver! 

Cordially yours, 

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