US Cellular 2009 Annual Report Download - page 75

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UNITED STATES CELLULAR CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)
NOTE 14 COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES (Continued)
Following completion of its review of the matter, on December 30, 2009, the FCC issued a public notice
announcing the grant to King Street Wireless, L.P. of all licenses with respect to which it had been the
high bidder in Auction 73.
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.
NOTE 15 COMMON SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Tax-Deferred Savings Plan
U.S. Cellular has reserved 67,215 Common Shares for issuance under the TDS Tax-Deferred Savings
Plan, a qualified profit-sharing plan pursuant to Sections 401(a) and 401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code.
Participating employees have the option of investing their contributions in a U.S. Cellular Common Share
fund, a TDS Common Share fund, a TDS Special Common Share fund, or certain unaffiliated funds.
Series A Common Shares
Series A Common Shares are convertible on a share-for-share basis into Common Shares. In matters
other than the election of directors, each Series A Common Share is entitled to ten votes per share,
compared to one vote for each Common Share. The Series A Common Shares are entitled to elect 75%
of the directors (rounded down), and the Common Shares elect 25% of the directors (rounded up). As of
December 31, 2009, a majority of U.S. Cellular’s Common Shares and all of U.S. Cellular’s outstanding
Series A Common Shares were held by TDS.
Common Share Repurchase Program
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.
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