TELEPHONE & DATA SYSTEMS INC /DE/ (TDS)

Executive Overview

The following discussion and analysis compares Telephone and Data Systems, Inc.’s (TDS) financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2026, to the three and six months ended June 30, 2025. It should be read in conjunction with TDS’ interim consolidated financial statements and notes included herein, and with the description of TDS’ business, its audited consolidated financial statements and Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (MD&A) included in TDS’ Annual Report on Form 10-K (Form 10-K) for the year ended December 31, 2025. Certain numbers included herein are rounded to thousands or millions for ease of presentation; however, certain calculated amounts and percentages are determined using the unrounded numbers.

This report contains statements that are not based on historical facts, which may be identified by words such as “believes,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “expects,” “plans,” “intends,” “projects,” “will” and similar expressions. These statements constitute and represent “forward looking statements” as this term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, events or developments to be significantly different from any future results, events or developments expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. See the disclosure under the heading Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 Safe Harbor Cautionary Statement elsewhere in this report for additional information.

The accounting policies of TDS conform to accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP). However, TDS uses certain “non-GAAP financial measures” in the MD&A and the business segment information. A discussion of the reasons TDS determines these metrics to be useful and reconciliations of these measures to their most directly comparable measures determined in accordance with GAAP are included in the disclosure under the heading Supplemental Information Relating to Non-GAAP Financial Measures within the MD&A of this report.

General

TDS is a diversified telecommunications company that provides high-quality communications services. TDS provides broadband, video, voice and wireless services through its wholly-owned subsidiary, TDS Telecommunications LLC (TDS Telecom). Array Digital Infrastructure, Inc. (Array), an 81.9%-owned subsidiary of TDS, leases tower space to tenants and provides ancillary services, holds noncontrolling interests in primarily wireless operating companies and holds certain wireless spectrum licenses. TDS operates entirely in the United States. See Note 11 — Business Segment Information in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information about TDS' segments.

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TDS Mission and Strategy

TDS’ mission is to provide outstanding communications services to its customers and meet the needs of its shareholders, its people, and its communities. In pursuing this mission, TDS seeks to grow its businesses, create opportunities for its associates, support the communities it serves, and build and return value for its shareholders. Since its founding, TDS has been committed to bringing high-quality communications services to rural and underserved communities.

TDS’ strategy has been to re-invest the majority of its operating capital in its businesses to strengthen their competitive positions and financial performance, while also returning value to TDS shareholders.

TDS plans to build shareholder value by continuing to execute on its strategies to build strong, competitive businesses providing high-quality, data-focused services and products. Strategic efforts include:

▪TDS Telecom strives to provide high-quality broadband services in its markets with the ability to provide value-added bundling with video, voice and wireless service options.

▪TDS Telecom seeks to drive growth by investing in fiber deployment and growing its operations by creating clusters of markets in attractive, growing locations and may seek to acquire and/or divest of assets to support its strategy.

▪Array seeks to grow tower revenue primarily through increasing colocations on existing towers and amendments to existing colocations. Array seeks to provide unique tower locations, attractive terms and streamlined implementation to wireless network operators, internet service providers, government and public safety agencies, broadcast and media companies, and other businesses.

▪Array holds noncontrolling interests in primarily wireless operating companies that generate material amounts of income and cash distributions.

▪Array holds wireless spectrum that is subject to sale agreements described below, and additional wireless spectrum not subject to pending sale agreements that Array seeks to opportunistically monetize.

Strategic Alternatives Review

On August 1, 2025, Array sold its wireless operations and select spectrum assets to T-Mobile US, Inc. (T-Mobile) under a Securities Purchase Agreement (Securities Purchase Agreement). Total consideration received was $4,293.8 million after adjustments which included a combination of $2,628.8 million in cash proceeds and $1,665.0 million in debt assumed by T-Mobile through an exchange offer made to Array's debtholders. The final cash proceeds are subject to adjustment according to the terms and conditions of the Securities Purchase Agreement. As of June 30, 2026, Array recorded an estimated purchase price true-up payable to T-Mobile of $24.9 million. The wireless operations and select spectrum assets sold to T-Mobile are presented as discontinued operations throughout this report. See Note 2 — Discontinued Operations in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information.

In addition to the sale of Array's wireless operations and select spectrum assets to T-Mobile pursuant to the Securities Purchase Agreement, Array also separately entered into the following material agreements to sell spectrum assets.

1     This license transaction involves multiple closing dates. The first group of spectrum licenses received regulatory approval and closed on May 5, 2026. The additional spectrum licenses remain subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions.

2    This license transaction remains subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions.

See Note 6 — Acquisitions and Divestitures in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information related to the spectrum license transactions.

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The strategic alternatives review process is ongoing as Array works toward closing the remaining T-Mobile spectrum transactions signed during 2025 and 2026. Array also continues to seek to opportunistically monetize its remaining spectrum assets that are not subject to executed agreements.

Recent Development

On May 7, 2026, TDS delivered to the Array Board of Directors a letter setting forth a non-binding proposal to acquire all of the outstanding Array Common Shares that are not owned by TDS (the “Array Proposal”). A special committee of independent and disinterested directors of the Array Board of Directors has been formed to evaluate this proposal. For additional information on the Array Proposal, see TDS’ Current Report on Form 8-K, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on May 8, 2026.

In addition to the spectrum transactions at Array and the Array Proposal, TDS continues to explore opportunities to transform its business operations given the change in scale of the overall TDS organization following the divestiture of the wireless operations. Together, these initiatives are referred to as the strategic alternatives review throughout this report. TDS incurred third-party expenses related to the strategic alternatives review of $8.6 million and $9.8 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2026, respectively, and $0.8 million and $2.1 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2025, respectively, which are included in Selling, general and administrative expenses for continuing operations and excluded from Adjusted OIBDA and Adjusted EBITDA non-GAAP financial measures.

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Terms Used by TDS

The following is a list of definitions of certain industry terms that are used throughout this document:

▪Adjusted EBITDA – non-GAAP metric referring to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and accretion, gains and losses and other specified items. See Supplemental Information Relating to Non-GAAP Financial Measures within this MD&A for additional information.

▪Adjusted OIBDA – non-GAAP measure referring to operating income before depreciation, amortization and accretion, gains and losses and other specified items. See Supplemental Information Relating to Non-GAAP Financial Measures within this MD&A for additional information.

▪Broadband Connections – refers to the individual customers provided internet access through various transmission technologies, including fiber, coaxial and copper.

▪Cable Markets – markets where TDS provides service as the cable provider using coaxial cable and fiber technologies.

▪Colocations – represents instances where a third-party leases space on a company-owned tower.

▪Enhanced Alternative Connect America Cost Model (E-ACAM) – a USF support mechanism for certain carriers, which provides revenue support through 2038. This support comes with an obligation to provide 100 megabits per second (Mbps) of download speed and 20 Mbps of upload speed (100/20 Mbps) to a certain number of locations.

▪Expansion Markets – markets utilizing fiber networks in areas where TDS does not serve as the cable or incumbent service provider.

▪Free Cash Flow – non-GAAP metric defined as Cash flows from operating activities less Cash paid for additions to property, plant and equipment and less Cash paid for software license agreements. See Supplemental Information Relating to Non-GAAP Financial Measures within this MD&A for additional information.

▪Incumbent Markets – markets where TDS is positioned as the traditional local telephone company.

▪IPTV – internet protocol television.

▪Residential Revenue per Connection – metric which is calculated by dividing total residential revenue by the average number of residential connections and by the number of months in the period.

▪Residential Fiber Churn Rate – represents the percentage of incumbent and expansion fiber connections that disconnected service each month. These rates represent the average monthly churn rate for each respective period.

▪Service Addresses – number of single residence homes, multi-dwelling units, and business locations that are capable of being connected to the TDS network, based on best available information.

▪Tower Tenancy Rate – calculated as total number of colocations divided by total number of towers.

▪Universal Service Fund (USF) – a system of telecommunications collected fees and support payments managed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) intended to promote universal access to telecommunications services in the United States.

▪Video Connections – represents the individual customers

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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

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Executive Overview

The following Management’s Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and notes of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (TDS) for the year ended December 31, 2025, and with the description of TDS’ business included herein. Certain numbers included herein are rounded to thousands or millions for ease of presentation; however, certain calculated amounts and percentages are determined using the unrounded numbers.

This report contains statements that are not based on historical facts, which may be identified by words such as “believes,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “expects,” “plans,” “intends,” “projects,” “will” and similar expressions. These statements constitute and represent “forward looking statements” as this term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, events or developments to be significantly different from any future results, events or developments expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. See the disclosure under the heading Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 Safe Harbor Cautionary Statement elsewhere in this report for additional information.

The accounting policies of TDS conform to accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP). However, TDS uses certain “non-GAAP financial measures” in the MD&A and the business segment information. A discussion of the reasons TDS determines these metrics to be useful and reconciliations of these measures to their most directly comparable measures determined in accordance with GAAP are included in the disclosure under the heading Supplemental Information Relating to Non-GAAP Financial Measures within the MD&A of this report.

On August 1, 2025, United States Cellular Corporation, a 82.0%-owned subsidiary of TDS, changed its name to Array Digital Infrastructure, Inc. (Array). Array is used throughout this report even when referring to historical periods.

General

TDS is a diversified telecommunications company that provides high-quality communications services. TDS provides broadband, video, voice and wireless services through its wholly-owned subsidiary, TDS Telecommunications LLC (TDS Telecom). Array leases tower space to tenants and provides ancillary services, holds noncontrolling interests in primarily wireless operating companies and holds certain wireless spectrum licenses. TDS operates entirely in the United States. See Note 20 — Business Segment Information in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information about TDS' segments.

2025 Operating Revenues by Segment*

*Represents revenues related to continuing operations.

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TDS Mission and Strategy

TDS’ mission is to provide outstanding communications services to its customers and meet the needs of its shareholders, its people, and its communities. In pursuing this mission, TDS seeks to grow its businesses, create opportunities for its associates, support the communities it serves, and build and return value for its shareholders. Since its founding, TDS has been committed to bringing high-quality communications services to rural and underserved communities.

TDS’ strategy has been to re-invest the majority of its operating capital in its businesses to strengthen their competitive positions and financial performance, while also returning value to TDS shareholders.

Strategic Alternatives Review

On August 1, 2025, Array sold its wireless operations and select spectrum assets to T-Mobile US, Inc. (T-Mobile) under a Securities Purchase Agreement (Securities Purchase Agreement). Total consideration received was $4,293.8 million after adjustments which included a combination of $2,628.8 million in cash proceeds and $1,665.0 million in debt assumed by T-Mobile through the preliminary results of an exchange offer made to Array's debtholders, which subsequently closed on August 5, 2025. The final cash proceeds are subject to adjustment according to the terms and conditions of the Securities Purchase Agreement. As of December 31, 2025, Array recorded an estimated purchase price true-up due to T-Mobile of $20.2 million. At closing, a $16.7 million deferral of the purchase price was recorded related to certain spectrum licenses included in the transaction that did not transfer to T-Mobile and are subject to FCC approval. In addition, at closing, Array and T-Mobile entered into a Short-Term Spectrum Manager Lease Agreement and Short-Term Spectrum Manager Sublease Agreements which provide T-Mobile with an exclusive license to use certain Array spectrum assets and leases at no cost for up to one-year for the sole purpose of providing continued, uninterrupted service to customers. Further, at closing, Array and T-Mobile entered into a Master License Agreement (MLA), pursuant to which, among other things, T-Mobile has agreed to license from Array space on towers owned by Array. The wireless operations and select spectrum assets sold to T-Mobile are presented as discontinued operations throughout this report. See Note 2 — Discontinued Operations in Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information.

In addition to the sale of Array's wireless operations and select spectrum assets sold to T-Mobile pursuant to the Securities Purchase Agreement, Array also separately entered into the following agreements to sell spectrum license assets.

1These license transactions remain subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions, and in the case of the sale to Verizon, the termination of the T-Mobile Short-Term Spectrum Manager Lease Agreement. See Note 7 — Acquisitions and Divestitures in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information.

2Following the close of the transaction on January 13, 2026, TDS expects to record a book gain on the transaction of approximately $150.0 million ($114.0 million net of tax expense) during the first quarter of 2026. The expected book gain recorded at TDS is lower than the expected book gain recorded at Array due primarily to transaction costs paid by TDS.

The strategic alternatives review process is ongoing as Array works toward closing the Verizon and T-Mobile spectrum transactions signed during 2024 and 2025, and seeks to opportunistically monetize its remaining spectrum assets that are not subject to executed agreements. In addition to the transactions at Array, TDS continues to explore opportunities to transform its business operations given the change in scale of the overall TDS organization following the divestiture of the wireless operations. These processes are collectively referred to as the strategic alternatives review throughout this report.

TDS incurred expenses related to the announced transactions and strategic alternatives review of $9.1 million, $33.3 million and $13.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively, which are included in Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) and Cost of operations expenses for continuing operations.

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Index to MD&A

Terms Used by TDS

The following is a list of definitions of certain industry terms that are used throughout this document:

▪Adjusted EBITDA – non-GAAP metric referring to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and accretion, gains and losses and other nonrecurring expenses. See Supplemental Information Relating to Non-GAAP Financial Measures within this MD&A for additional information.

▪Adjusted OIBDA – non-GAAP measure referring to operating income before depreciation, amortization and accretion, gains and losses and other nonrecurring expenses. See Supplemental Information Relating to Non-GAAP Financial Measures within this MD&A for additional information

▪Alternative Connect America Cost Model (ACAM) – a USF support mechanism for certain carriers, which provides revenue support through 2028. This support comes with an obligation to build defined broadband speeds to a certain number of locations.

▪Broadband Connections – refers to the individual customers provided internet access through various transmission technologies, including fiber, coaxial and copper.

▪Broadband Penetration – metric which is calculated by dividing total broadband connections by total service addresses.

▪Cable Markets – markets where TDS provides service as the cable provider using coaxial cable and fiber technologies.

▪Colocations – represents instances where a third-party leases space on a company-owned tower.

▪DOCSIS – Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification is an international telecommunications standard that permits the addition of high-bandwidth data transfer to an existing cable TV (CATV) system. DOCSIS 3.1 is a system specification that increases data transmission rates.

▪Enhanced Alternative Connect America Cost Model (E-ACAM) – a USF support mechanism for certain carriers, which provides revenue support through 2038. This support comes with an obligation to provide 100 megabits per second (Mbps) of download speed and 20 Mbps of upload speed (100/20 Mbps) to a certain number of locations.

▪Expansion Markets – markets utilizing fiber networks in areas where TDS does not serve as the cable or incumbent service provider.

▪Free Cash Flow – non-GAAP metric defined as Cash flows from operating activities less Cash paid for additions to property, plant and equipment and less Cash paid for software license agreements. See Supplemental Information Relating to Non-GAAP Financial Measures within this MD&A for additional information.

▪Incumbent Markets – markets where TDS is positioned as the traditional local telephone company.

▪IPTV – internet protocol television.

▪Residential Revenue per Connection – metric which is calculated by dividing total residential revenue by the average number of residential connections and by the number of months in the period.

▪Residential Fiber Churn Rate – represents the percentage of incumbent and expansion fiber connections that disconnected service each month. These rates represent the average monthly churn rate for each respective period.

▪Service Addresses – number of single residence homes, multi-dwelling units, and business locations that are capable of be

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