cibc communication and technology conference david a wittwer executive vice president staff operations chief financial officer james w butman clec business units safe harbor tds overview diversified telecommunication company with 5 6 million customers us cellular 82 owned wireless telecom ilec wireline 1969 founded 1983 commenced 1998 cont fortune 500 s & p mid cap index 60 strong balance sheet investment grade debt ratings equivalent access lines largest concentrations at ye 2003 7th independent telco rural status 116 service locations 78 residential 22 sme 722 400 line equivalents up 1 2 yy 27 300 dsl 113 600 isp accounts 266 ld resale 43 7 penetration vertical services overall strategy our competitive advantage customer satisfactionthird party validation strategic focus market development grow in clusters through combination of acquisition build out variations new technologies fortification proactively address substitution increase share profitability high speed data product develop products within its existing markets
