TDS Telecom reports strong second quarter top-line growth
The telecommunications company announces it is accelerating and upsizing fiber expansion program
TDS Telecommunications LLC (TDS®) is reporting strong revenue growth during its second quarter earnings call with parent company, Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE: TDS). Total revenues for the Madison, Wisconsin-based company increased 5% from the prior year, largely driven by the robust growth in residential revenues that increased by 10% in total. Growth in residential revenues is driven by increased broadband connections and higher revenues per connection due to customers choosing faster internet speeds. Confirming its commitment to its fiber investment strategy, TDS Telecom indicated it is accelerating and upsizing the number of new markets it intends to overbuild with fiber in the years ahead, in addition to increasing its investment in fiber into existing markets.
“We continue to be very bullish on our fiber strategy and how it will transform TDS Telecom in a very meaningful way over the next several years,” said Vicki Villacrez, senior vice president of Finance and CFO. “Fiber is the most economical, long-term solution to deliver the best broadband experience. We continue to refine our market selection criteria and are highly confident in this process.”
TDS Telecom also reported that performance of its launched fiber markets continues to meet or exceed the company’s business cases. The most recent announcement of Spokane Valley, Washington, is expected to add 33,000 planned service addresses to the Spokane cluster. The company has 338,000 service addresses in the fiber expansion program, covering 39% of its wireline footprint.
“Our focus on broadband connection growth and fast, reliable service has generated a 16% increase in total residential broadband revenue,” said Villacrez. “We are offering up to 1Gig broadband speeds to 56% of our total footprint, including both our fiber and DOCSIS 3.1 markets.”
The more rural incumbent markets continue to see faster speeds due to TDS Telecom’s commitment to meeting Alternative-Connect America Cost Model (A-CAM) build obligations and utilizing state broadband grants. TDS Telecom has made great progress by reaching over half of the approximately 160,000 service addresses under the A-CAM program and believes these broadband services bring essential educational and economic opportunities to rural areas of the country.
TDS Telecom is a rapidly growing technology company with 1.2 million connections. It delivers high-speed internet, TV entertainment, and phone services to more than 1,000 rural, suburban, and metropolitan communities.
