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Telephone and Data Systems acquires Vital Support Systems

06/11/2012

For more information, contact:
DeAnne Boegli, National Public Relations Manager
TDS Telecommunications Corporation
608.664.4428 / deanne.boegli@tdstelecom.com
www.tdstelecom.com/mediaroom

Solutions Provider transaction expands portfolio of hosted and managed services.

MADISON, Wis. (June 11, 2012) – Telephone and Data Systems, Inc., (NYSE: TDS) parent company to TDS Telecommunications Corp., today announced the acquisition of Vital Support Systems, LLC (Vital), headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa for a purchase price of $45 million. Vital generated annual revenues of $76 million in 2011. The acquisition brings deep IT Solution Provider capabilities and strong customer relationships to the portfolio of TDS Hosted & Managed Services, LLC (TDS HMS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fortune 500®, Telephone and Data Systems.

“The combination of TDS’ data center infrastructure, hosting and cloud solutions coupled with Vital Support Systems’ core field technology solutions creates a unique and compelling long-term value proposition,” says Jeff Sparling, CEO of Vital Support Systems. “Now, our customers can depend on Vital to deliver an infrastructure solution whether it be installed or managed on-site, at a hosted site, or from the cloud. This is a proud moment in our company’s history.” 

Vital Support Systems, through its team of 140 employees, offers a comprehensive suite of products and services, including: planning, engineering, procurement, installation, and management of IT infrastructure hardware solutions from world-class Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). The breadth and depth of technical certifications held by team members has allowed Vital to achieve the highest level partner status with its vendors, including: Cisco Gold, HP Elite, EMC Velocity Premier, VMWare Premier and Microsoft Gold. 

President of TDS HMS, William Megan, states, “As a Solution Provider, Vital adds a critical dimension to our HMS service offerings and greatly expands our engineering and sales capabilities.”

Vital has grown its service offerings beyond its Value Added Reseller (VAR) roots to include hosted and managed IT services that complement the TDS HMS portfolio of products. Vital has leveraged its market leadership position in Iowa to expand within the Midwest region, and now has offices in Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, and Davenport, Iowa; as well as Omaha, Neb., Kansas City, Mo., and Rockford, Ill.  

In March, Vital Support Systems was named to CRN’s 2012 List of Elite 250 for the second year in a row. The company also won Cisco’s prestigious Central Region Commercial Partner of the Year award in 2011.

Sparling and the Vital executive team, along with their employees, will maintain their roles within the organization as TDS HMS seeks to enhance their momentum. 

During the last two years, TDS Hosted & Managed Services, LLC has made multiple strategic acquisitions to position itself in the fast-growing hosted and managed services arena by adding: ERP leader OneNeck IT Services in June of 2011; VISI Incorporated in March 2010; and TEAM Technologies, LLC in Dec. 2010 to build its portfolio of Tier III data center and hosted service operations.

TDS Telecommunications Corp. maintains management responsibility for the operations of OneNeck IT Services, VISI Incorporated and TEAM Technologies LLC through its newly formed TDS Hosted & Managed Services, LLC division.

TDS Telecommunications Corp. (TDS®) is the seventh largest telecom provider in the U.S. For more than 40 years, the company has been connecting people with high-speed Internet, phone, and TV entertainment services in hundreds of rural, suburban, and metropolitan communities across 31 states. Today, TDS has more than 1.1 million equivalent access lines in service and 2,700 employees. Business customers select from the latest technologies, including: VoIP (managedIP) phone service, dedicated Internet, data networking, and hosted-managed services. Visit www.tdstelecom.com or www.tdsbusiness.com for more information.

TDS Telecommunications Corp. also manages the operations of VISI Incorporated, TEAM Technologies, and OneNeck IT Services Corp. through TDS Hosted & Managed Services, LLC. These companies employ more than 400 people who specialize in providing hosted application management, managed hosting, cloud services, and next generation data centers. Visit www.visi.com, www.team-companies.com, and www.oneneck.com for details.

TDS Telecommunications Corp. headquartered in Madison, Wis. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. [NYSE: TDS]. A Fortune 500® company, Telephone and Data Systems provides wireless, local and long-distance telephone and broadband services to approximately 7 million customers in 36 states through TDS Telecommunications Corp. and U.S. Cellular [NYSE: USM], its majority owned wireless subsidiary. Founded in 1969 and headquartered in Chicago, Telephone and Data Systems employed 12,300 people as of March 31, 2012. Visit www.teldta.com for investor information.

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About Vital Support Systems:
Founded in 1998, Vital Support Systems^™ (Vital) is a leading provider of enterprise networking, systems, storage and managed services. Vital combines its expertise in the HP^® product set with its knowledge of: VMware^®, Cisco, EMC^®, Oracle^®, Citrix^® and Microsoft^® products to deliver mission-critical solutions to businesses nationwide. Vital joined TDS Hosted & Managed Services, LLC in June of 2012.

TDS Hosted & Managed Services, LLC (TDS HMS) supports the operations of OneNeck IT Services Corp., Vital Support Systems, and VISI Incorporated. Each of these companies is a wholly owned subsidiary of Telephone and Data Systems Inc., a Fortune 500^® company. TDS HMS is growing rapidly; now employing more than 500 people throughout the U.S. TDS HMS companies specialize in engineering and management of IT infrastructure, including: hosted application management, managed hosting, and ReliaCloud^™ enterprise cloud services. TDS HMS also owns and operates Tier III data centers in Iowa, Minn., and Wis. Visit oneneck.com, vitalsite.com, and visi.com for more information.

Telephone and Data Systems [NYSE: TDS] provides wireless, broadband, TV and landline telephone services to approximately 7 million customers in 36 states through TDS Telecommunications Corp. and U.S. Cellular [NYSE: USM], its majority owned wireless subsidiary. Telephone and Data Systems was named one of Forbes' Most Trustworthy Companies in 2012. Founded in 1969, and headquartered in Chicago, the company employs more than 12,300 people. Visit teldta.com for investment information.

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