TDS
#Good morning.
Boy, lots of things can go either way, but in terms of how we're thinking about it right now.
As I said good quarter, but I would have liked to have seen more adds and kind of ---+ the model that you know all too well, growth costs money on the front end whether it be commissions, subsidies, whatever.
So if we get the growth that we are targeting I expect to be right in the range on cash flow to the extent that growth turns out to be lighter, growth driven by fewer gross adds, then we could be at the top end.
If we get more growth we can push that down.
It's all it's all going to the growth is the single variance of what I'm looking at right now.
It's just a market where, boy the consumer really is extraordinarily cautious right now, and so we're just going to continue to kind of monitor the market an when we see opportunities I want to be able to move and still be within my guidance and if things change dramatically we'll be talking to you a couple more times this year and change as we go.
I'll let <UNK> talk about how we're thinking about it longer-term for the rest of the year.
But I think you touched upon something there which was you can be higher if you incent it.
Our approach to the marketplace is what we call relationship-based sales and our sales force is instructed and taught and trained to make sure they explore and understand the customer's needs and then get them in the right product or service.
We don't push one product, rate plan, one service over another but make sure that we do a good job of understanding what those customer needs are.
Yes.
So <UNK> as far as the guidance is concerned, as we disclosed in our prepared comments, we were at about 39% for the quarter.
<UNK> had also mentioned that percentage was affected to some degree by that special tablet promotion we were running.
So depending on whether similar promotions are running the balance of the year, there would be some impact on that number, but we built the guidance around an assumption of about 45% to 50% for the balance the year.
Boy.
You got the subs, you got the rev, you got the cash flow, and now you want more yet.
And so do I.
So do I.
That's my message to the organization.
I would say the big question on operating ---+ on free cash flow that I want to be careful we're early into it, is really going to be driven by what changes we have to or don't have to make in the network as we move from LTE to voice over LTE.
We are doing a three-market commercial test this year.
It will be later this year by the time we turn that on and we need to make sure that we have a network in VoLTE world that is the same quality that we have in a CDMA world, CDMA voice world at least.
And CDMA has been a wonderful, wonderful technology.
To the extent that the difference between those technologies impacts capital spending for a year or two is just uncertain right now, and so more I would say later this year when we start seeing those test results which would help us kind of set the path for our capital going forward.
But between now and then the focus on growing both topline and operating cash flow is what we are really centered in on.
Thank you.
Well, I've never seen a metric that I said was optimal.
I always want more.
And one of the big changes we've built over the last year.
You go back was it, was it 15 months now, 18 months ago, and we had less than 40% of our customers under contracts.
And between changes to our offerings, changes to EIPs, we're up to, gosh, 75% plus of our customers and now or either on EIP plans.
And we're seeing really good results in terms of customer satisfaction, all of the drivers.
We're seeing customers that had left us in the past coming back to us because of the network quality.
So I'm optimistic that we can continue to improve on that metric.
Well, I would say that that's pretty typical in our geographies.
Between the northeast up in Maine and New Hampshire and the northwest out in Washington and Oregon, there's not a lot of construction projects going on in January, February and March, so first quarter is typically a little bit lighter and we are not moving off guidance.
We still expect to complete all the projects we have laid out for the year.
<UNK>, those are unanswerable at this time.
Our ---+ our partner actually invested I think about ---+ a little bit over $300 million on a net base.
$300 million ---+ almost $340 million, just to kind of get the facts out there.
And we constantly are evaluating our spectrum positions.
We are working with that partner right now to look at where we sit today and that's more of a market-by-market analysis than it is a general kind of across the board, and our strategy is to make sure that we have access to both high and low band spectrum so we can be prepared for carrier aggregation, which Mike would tell you we're going to be testing later this year.
So once we get through that cycle later this year, I think we'll be better positioned to understand where we need it.
But as a starting point I would say in most of our markets our ---+ we start with a low band 850, we have 700 in many of our markets.
So right now I'm feeling pretty good about our low band position.
Yes, I think I ---+ I was pretty clear with my comments and the progress that we have seen.
We're very pleased with our performance so far.
Cable overall in the first quarter was the organic growth in our connections of 7%.
It is meeting our expectations.
I'm very pleased with our BendBroadband acquisition as well.
That's exceeding our expectations, and yes, we ---+ we are actively pursuing to grow that parts of our business and ---+ and are pleased with the activity in our pipeline.
Yes <UNK>.
This is <UNK>.
You're touching upon the uncertainty that's out there for the next nine months.
From a strategic standpoint, I would like to get bigger.
While we are doing a great job attracting back customers that left ---+ left us over the last couple of years, mathematically we don't have them all back yet, right.
And those are people that know our network, they know our service it's met their needs.
We either didn't have the right products or services or disappointed them in the past.
So I would like to ---+ like to get them back.
I would like to improve my market share position in some of my markets, but only ---+ only at a level of spend that is still economical.
Now to the extent that the US consumer continues to stay extraordinarily cautious and the switching pool shrinks, we won't have that opportunity.
We, therefore, won't spend those marketing dollars and you are going to see a little bit more cash flow.
But if I think about long-term I would still like it see the company grow from where it's at today and have built that into our strategies for the year and built that into our guidance.
How the year plays out over the next few months.
Stay tuned we'll both know.
I'd just like to thank you all for joining us.
If you have any follow-up questions please reach out.
Thanks.
