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UNITED STATES CELLULAR CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)
NOTE 2 NONCONTROLLING INTERESTS (Continued)
The settlement value of U.S. Cellular’s mandatorily redeemable noncontrolling interests in finite-lived
subsidiaries is estimated to be $184.9 million at December 31, 2010. This amount represents the
estimate of cash that would be due and payable to settle these noncontrolling interests assuming an
orderly liquidation of the finite-lived consolidated partnerships and LLCs on December 31, 2010, net of
estimated liquidation costs. This amount excludes redemption amounts recorded in Noncontrolling
interests with redemption features in the Consolidated Balance Sheet. U.S. Cellular currently has no
plans or intentions relating to the liquidation of any of the related partnerships or LLCs prior to their
scheduled termination dates. The corresponding carrying value of the mandatorily redeemable
noncontrolling interests in finite-lived consolidated partnerships and LLCs at December 31, 2010 was
$60.9 million, and is included in Noncontrolling interests in the Consolidated Balance Sheet. The excess
of the aggregate settlement value over the aggregate carrying value of these mandatorily redeemable
noncontrolling interests is primarily due to the unrecognized appreciation of the noncontrolling interest
holders’ share of the underlying net assets in the consolidated partnerships and LLCs. Neither the
noncontrolling interest holders’ share, nor U.S. Cellular’s share, of the appreciation of the underlying net
assets of these subsidiaries is reflected in the consolidated financial statements. The estimate of
settlement value was based on certain factors and assumptions which are subjective in nature. Changes
in those factors and assumptions could result in a materially larger or smaller settlement amount.
NOTE 3 FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS
As of December 31, 2010 and 2009, U.S. Cellular did not have any financial assets or liabilities that were
required to be recorded at fair value in its Consolidated Balance Sheet in accordance with GAAP.
However, U.S. Cellular has applied the provisions of fair value accounting for purposes of computing the
fair value of financial instruments for disclosure purposes as displayed below.
December 31, 2010 December 31, 2009
Book Value Fair Value Book Value Fair Value
(Dollars in thousands)
Cash and cash equivalents ................ $294,426 $294,426 $294,411 $294,411
Short-term investments(1)(2)
Certificates of deposit .................. 250 250 330 330
Government-backed securities(3) .......... 146,336 146,336 — —
Long-term investments(1)(4)
Government-backed securities(3) .......... 46,033 46,034 — —
Long-term debt(5) ...................... 863,657 850,374 863,202 853,937
(1) Designated as held-to-maturity investments and are recorded at amortized cost in the
Consolidated Balance Sheet.
(2) Maturities are less than twelve months from the respective balance sheet dates.
(3) Includes U.S. treasuries and corporate notes guaranteed under the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation’s Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program.
(4) Maturities range between 14 and 24 months from the balance sheet date.
(5) Excludes capital lease obligations and current portion of Long-term debt.
The fair values of Cash and cash equivalents and Short-term investments approximate their book values
due to the short-term nature of these financial instruments. The fair values of Long-term investments were
estimated using quoted market prices for the individual issuances. The fair value of long-term debt,
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