"Reaching this milestone indicates that consumers in Sacramento clearly see the value in the triple-play. We're adding about 200 subscribers a week, a manageable pace," said Brian Strom, president and CEO, SureWest. "We began the year with 5,600 subscribers, so demand has been exceptional. The key to operational success is controlling costs, so we're pacing the buildout."
“We began the year with 5,600 subscribers, so demand has been exceptional. The key to operational success is controlling costs, so we're pacing the buildout.”
Christina Rios, Carmichael, Calif., is the 10,000th subscriber, having signed up for the full triple-play service of digital television, Internet and telephone service. Ms. Rios will receive three months free triple-play service from SureWest and a color television. "I am excited to be the lucky person to sign up for SureWest's exciting triple-play package and win these prizes," said Ms. Rios.
SureWest launched triple-play service in July of 2002 by acquiring fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) assets in a bankruptcy acquisition. The company's Sacramento service packages over 260 channels of digital television (featuring video-on-demand and pay-per-view), 10 Mbps high-speed Internet, and local and long distance phone. SureWest remains the only company in Sacramento to bundle all three services together, and on one bill.
"While many large FTTH builds are in progress across the country, SureWest is currently the national leader in such service of the U.S. homes directly fed by fiber today," said Mike Render, president, Render Vanderslice & Associates, Tulsa, Okla., a leading FTTH market research authority. "The build-out of an all-fiber network in Sacramento should be a strong competitive advantage for the company."
"SureWest's strategy of providing high-quality and cost-effective broadband services has already positioned the company as service bundling innovator on a national level," said Tom Reiman, president, The Broadband Group, a Sacramento technology and telecommunications consulting firm. "A key to future success will be SureWest maximizing the capabilities of its pure fiber network while expanding its video entertainment packages."
In Sacramento, over 80 percent of SureWest's subscribers take at least two services with approximately 50 percent of the customers taking the full triple-play service.
SureWest recently was authorized by the Sacramento Metropolitan Cable Television Commission to launch its triple-play service in the city of Elk Grove as part of the company's continuing buildout of Sacramento County. In addition, SureWest will launch its digital television service in Roseville in late 2003 or early 2004.
About SureWest
With nearly 90 years in Northern California, SureWest and its family of companies represent an integrated network of highly reliable advanced communications products and services with the highest standards of customer care. Founded as Roseville Telephone Company, the company has expanded to provide digital cable TV, fiber optics, PCS wireless, DSL, high-speed Internet access, data transport, local and long distance telephone service, and directories. For more information, visit the SureWest web site at www.surewest.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
Statements made in this news release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, assumptions and uncertainties that could cause the company's actual results to differ from those projected in such forward-looking statements.
Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: advances in telecommunications technology, changes in the telecommunications regulatory environment, changes in competition in markets in which the company operates, changes affecting the California economy in general and the Sacramento, California region in particular, the availability of future financing, changes in the demand for services and products, new product and service development and introductions, pending and future litigation and unanticipated changes in the growth of the company's emerging businesses, including the PCS, Internet and CLEC operating entities.
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