Madison’s TDS Telecommunications LLC (TDS Telecom) recently shared several positive third-quarter developments. The company is raising its 2023 fiber service address goal to 200,000, up from 175,000, and plans to have all fiber expansion markets launched this year.
The election of the federal Enhanced A-CAM broadband support program is also expected to provide the company with about $1.3B in revenue over the next 15 years in exchange for delivering increased speeds of 100/20 Mbps to about 270,000 locations in 24 states.
TDS Telecom remains on track to reach its 2026 fiber program goals. The company is targeting 1.2 million marketable fiber service addresses by 2026; it ended the quarter with 709,000. It is also targeting 60% of total service addresses to be served with fiber by 2026; it ended the quarter with 44%. The company also plans to offer speeds of 1 Gig or higher to at least 80% of its footprint by 2026; it finished the quarter with 69% at Gig speeds.
TDS Telecom saw an 11% growth year over year in total service addresses. The company is seeing growth in customer take rates on higher speeds with 14% of its customer base on 1 Gig or higher.
Year over year, TDS Telecom saw a 10% increase in total residential broadband revenues and a 5% increase in residential broadband connections for the quarter. Average residential revenue per connection was up 3% for the same period due to price increases and product mix, partially offset by promotions.
TDS Telecom had another quarter of 4% growth in residential revenues, with expansion market residential revenues increasing to $20 million in the quarter. Operating revenues were flat, as growth in residential revenues was largely offset by the decline in commercial and wholesale revenues.
