Tier 2 carrier U.S. Cellular continues to thrive. In second quarter, the carrier's subscriber base topped 6 million, up 5.4 percent year over year and posted revenues of $978.6 million, up 14.8 percent.

The operator, which is known for its superior customer service and low churn, had a postpay churn rate of 1.4 percent and an average revenue per user of $50.42.

Like many Tier 2 carriers, data services are finally starting to impact the bottom line. U.S. Cellular reported second quarter data revenue of $85.4 million, which is 9.4 percent of service revenues.

U.S. Cellular is one of the few remaining standalone Tier 2 carriers. Dobson Communications was snatched up by AT&T July 2 for $5.1 billion and Verizon Wireless announced July 30 that it was purchasing Rural Cellular Corp. for $2.8 billion.

For more on U.S. Cellular's second-quarter earnings:
- see this release [1]

Related articles:
Verizon Wireless income up, buys RCC. Article [2]
AT&T buys Dobson in a deal worth $5.1B. Article [3]