 |
Great
service begins with great products. Keeping one
eye on the road and one on the horizon has long been our
way of life at TDS Telecom. Technology is constantly evolving,
and our teams are focused on harnessing the latest technical
advancements to improve our networks and expand our product
offerings.
Voice, data and video services
based on such technologies as Voice over Internet Protocol
(VoIP), Passive Optical Networks (PON), and Wi-Fi are
in planning stages. We continue to work and rework business
cases for new offerings until they are proven profitable,
reviewing them yet again to ensure a successful launch.
Our strategy of being a fast follower is in sync with
our customers, who demand high quality and yet present
unique challenges due to their location in rural America.
And while the rural markets are ever-changing and becoming
more urban-like, our customers’ demands are what
determine our new offerings, not the technologies themselves.
We know our customers well and are committed to providing
them the products they need and want.
The 2003 launch of TDS
Accelerator addressed a clear customer need—faster
speeds online at an attractive price. Using compression
technologies, this product enables speeds up to five times
faster for dialup Internet users. Customer adoption of
TDS Accelerator exceeded launch expectations. Product
enhancements like these build customer confidence and
loyalty.
DSL
continues to find success in our markets. Demand for high-speed
Internet in both rural and metro markets continues to
climb. In 2003, our ILEC
operations offered DSL to 19 new markets. By year-end,
our ILEC and CLEC
operations offered DSL service in 54 and 15 markets, respectively,
with lines increasing 159 percent to 23,600 for the ILEC
and 70 percent to 20,100 for the CLEC.
Our focus in 2004. TDS Telecom is focused on achieving
three strategic objectives to ensure a successful 2004:
producing double-digit revenue growth;
sustaining a position of market leadership
with outstanding customer service and satisfaction as
our competitive differentiator; and meeting our financial
commitments through growth and a steadfast focus on profitability.
| |
|
Specifically, we
aim to: |
| • |
Strengthen our
existing ILEC markets by maintaining customer satisfaction
and developing new revenue streams; |
| • |
Continue to grow
our CLEC operations, with a focus on profitable
growth; |
| • |
Create
efficiencies and productivity improvements by optimizing
cross-functional processes in our ILEC and CLEC
operations; |
|
| • |
Expand
operating-cluster service areas where existing assets
can best be leveraged; and |
|
| • |
Champion
public-policy positions that are in our customers’
best interest. |
|
We are confident we have the right strategy and, more
importantly, the ability to execute it. TDS Telecom has
responded extremely well to its ever-changing environment.
United by a common vision, sharing resources, talent and
ideas, we will continue delivering on our strategy and
provide strong operating results in 2004.1
|
