SureWest Offers 20 Mbps Residential Internet Access; Fastest Internet Connection in Sacramento

ROSEVILLE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 1, 2005--Leading independent telecommunications holding company SureWest Communications (Nasdaq:SURW) has announced an incredibly fast, residential Internet connection of up to 20 Mbps (megabits per second)(1) available in selected areas of the Sacramento market including Natomas, Carmichael and the surrounding areas of Lincoln and Elk Grove.

The company is delivering the new service over its fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) network currently expanding in the greater Sacramento market. The new 20 Mbps service will be added to SureWest's lineup that already includes a 10 Mbps residential Internet connection.

"The future of high-speed Internet is more bandwidth and we've got it," said Fred Arcuri, senior vice president and COO, SureWest Broadband. "SureWest is setting the standard in Sacramento by offering unprecedented speeds for residential consumers at very competitive prices."

When combined with a home telephone or television package, the 10 Mbps service is $49.95 a month and the 20 Mbps service is only $89.95 a month.

Arcuri added that both the 10 and 20 Mbps services are "synchronous" which means that users will get 10 or 20 Mbps upstream as well as downstream.

"Internet users have an increasing need to upload files as well as download them. Activities like sending e-mails with photos attached are common enough. But the trend is toward two-way broadband communications such as live game playing or telecommuting. Our customers can do these things with tremendous efficiency."

"Our new offering of 20 Mbps is a strong response to customer demand for bandwidth for ever-evolving broadband content and computer applications. We've made a serious and long-standing commitment to provide our customers with the most advanced services and responsive customer care," said Brian Strom, SureWest president and CEO. Strom added that the development of new products and services is a component of the company's strategy to continue growing revenues while simultaneously cutting costs and running a more efficient operation. The company anticipates that its cost cutting initiatives, including a plan to reduce the number of employees that has resulted in a more than 10% workforce reduction since December 2004, will result in a meaningful reduction in operating expenses in 2005.

Customers seeking availability of SureWest's high-speed Internet service and the opportunities to bundle Internet, television and home or wireless phone services under the InfinitAccess brand for even more savings, may contact a SureWest customer service representative or visit the SureWest Web site at www.surewest.com.

(1) Actual (throughput) speeds will vary.

About SureWest

With 90 years in Northern California, SureWest and its family of companies represent an integrated network of highly reliable advanced communications products and services. SureWest provides digital TV, fiber optics, PCS wireless, DSL, high-speed Internet access, data transport, local and long distance telephone service, and directories with the highest standards of customer care. 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. In some cases, these forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as may, will, should, expect, plan, anticipate, or project or the negative of those words or other comparable words. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. 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 the financial stability of other telecommunications providers who are customers of the company, changes in competition in markets in which the company operates, adverse circumstances affecting the economy in California in general, and in the Sacramento, California Metropolitan area 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, the internal control issues recently identified by the company, and unanticipated changes in the growth of the company's emerging businesses, including the wireless, Internet, video and Competitive Local Exchange Carrier operating entities.