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July 2006

Inside this issue: Digital Telephone in Charleston/Huntington, Summer Care, Our most important tool – Our People

New Digital Phone Service Area

On July 10th, Citynet conducted a news conference at the Charleston Civic Center announcing the kick-off of our expanded coverage area for our new Digital Telephone Service. Citynet’s residential and business Digital Phone Service was first introduced in the North Central West Virginia areas of Morgantown, Fairmont, Clarksburg, and Bridgeport. "Hundreds of customers are now saving up to 50% off the cost of their telephone service thanks to the feature rich service offered by Citynet. Our service includes so many of the features that customers previously had to pay for additionally; plus we offer many additional features – including unlimited local and long distance calls at no additional cost. At just $24.95 a month, most folks will see huge savings from the first month," said Luther Toney, COO, Citynet Retail Division.

"Hundreds and hundreds of residential and business customers have signed up for Citynet’s Digital Phone Service since it was first introduced on May 9th in North Central West Virginia. Now it will be available throughout West Virginia for the same low price. All that is needed is a high speed connection to the internet," said Ben Randolph, Director, Digital Phone Partner Program, Citynet Retail Division.

Randolph goes on to say, "There is no requirement to purchase new phones, and customers can even keep the same telephone number that they have now. Along with unlimited local and long distance calls, we provide the usual features like voice mail, caller ID, and call forwarding. We also provide complete control of the telephone allowing customers to select calling rules that sends calls directly to voice mail when they do not wish to be bothered; or calls can be routed to different numbers – even a cell phone – to make certain that important calls get through. This feature is especially important in case you loose your internet connection or you loose electricity – your calls still get to you. Our customers can even receive their voice mail messages via their email inbox giving them the ability to check, save, and easily forward them while online."

Ben and Citynet President and CEO Jim Martin conducted the press conference attended by all of the media outlet representatives from the Charleston and Huntington areas. Reporters were shown a demonstration of how Citynet’s Online Phone Manager provides customers complete control of their phone; and how customers can decide when and where their phone rings – and when it shouldn’t. For the first time, this new service will give customers in West Virginia complete control of their own telephone service while saving them a considerable amount each month.

To find out more about the introduction of Citynet’s new Digital Phone Service, or to sign up, please visit our website at www.citynet.net and click on the home phone icon. Customers can also call our 24x7x365 Customer Care Center at 1-800-903-8906 to sign up and acquire more information.

Special Note: If you are a former Citynet ISP (dialup) customer and now enjoy high speed internet, we have a very special offer for you to try our new Digital Phone Service. Call us today to find out all the details. 1-800-903-8906

Summer Care

Some things in life are worth repeating - Now that summer is in full swing, the following item from a previous newsletter deserves another look.

Here are some things that you can do should a major weather event come your way so that you are able to stay in touch with loved ones.

- Get a good electric surge protector. A surge protector can help in protecting your valuable electronics from destructive forces inadvertently caused by lightning and power surges from electric sources. Don’t get a cheap one either – they do not react quickly enough and do not provide the volume of protection necessary. Most "box" stores and nearly all electronic stores sell good surge protectors that will help prevent a meltdown. Remember, nothing is better than simply unplugging your equipment during a storm. And while you are unplugging, remember to disconnect the incoming telephone line too. Lightning can follow both your electric and telephone wires to damage your equipment.

- Many people today like the convenience of cordless telephones. Keep in mind that they will not work if your power is interrupted, but an old fashioned corded telephone will. Did you know that telephone companies provide very low voltage over their lines to ensure that your phone works properly? Think of how many times you’ve been able to call the electric company to report an interruption when you had a telephone that plugged directly into the phone jack. Don’t rely on only cordless phones in your home or business. Keep at least one corded phone handy. You can purchase a corded phone for under $10.00. Pretty cheap insurance to help you stay in touch. Of course, if a tree or storm takes out the telephone wires, nothing is going to help.

- Finally, don’t think that you are completely safe if you have a cell phone! All cellular and PCS phone systems rely on wire line telephone operations to "complete" a call. If phone service is out or if the electric service to the nearest tower is out – you may loose cell service also. If you are lucky enough to have cell service during a major outage it is extremely important that you remember to keep your conversations brief. If too many cell users hit the system at the same time, the system will not be able to handle the volume. Ensure your safety and the safety of your friends and neighbors – keep it short!

Our People

Each month we showcase a couple of our most important assets, our people. This month you’ll meet our leader, Jim Martin, and a Director in our Retail Division.

James R.J. Martin II, President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Martin, a West Virginia native and graduate of West Virginia University, is considered one of West Virginia's "Young Guns" and has been selected as one of West Virginia's leading Entrepreneurs of the Year. His reputation is one of the state's most respected Internet and Telecommunications leaders.

Immediately after graduation, Mr. Martin founded Marcom, a web development company that eventually became part of City National Bank. He later formed an investor group to purchase the Bank's internet service division (Citynet).

Mr. Martin was named the 1998 SBA Young Entrepreneur of the Year. He served six years in the U.S. Army Reserves (military intelligence/chemical warfare/armor). In addition, he has served seven years on both the Board of the Harrison County Development Authority (two years as vice president) and the West Virginia Hospitality and Travel Association. West Virginia Executive Magazine named him as one of its Young Guns in 2001.

Since 2001, Jim's leadership of the new Citynet has established the company as a rapidly growing integrated communications provider (ICP). Citynet now serves customers in 17 states. Corporate growth and acquisitions of internet development and provisioning companies such as MountainNet and other regional ISP's has provided the base for continued expansion.

Further growth came from the timely purchase of many strategically based operations including Gateway Columbus, a fiber network in Columbus, Ohio. Shortly after the Gateway Columbus integration, Mr. Martin led Citynet's purchase of many of the former Adelphia Business Solutions markets in the Midwest. The most recent addition has been America's Fiber Network (AFN), formerly constructed by a group of energy companies, with fiber running from the Mid-Atlantic to the Midwest.

Today, Citynet has over 9,000 miles of carrier grade fiber with support offices in key communities such as: Bridgeport, WV; Charleston, WV; Cincinnati, OH; Columbus, OH; Pittsburgh, PA; Tulsa, OK; and Chicago, IL.

Jim Martin's dynamic leadership has forged an innovative company, flexible and responsive to market conditions. Citynet's current growth represents a strong vision for the future. jim.martin@citynet.net

Randy Showalter, Director – Switch Engineering and Operations, Retail Operations. Randy’s 21 year telecommunications career began while he was stationed in Hawaii with the US Navy.

Since then, he has held management positions at companies supplying services to Indiana Bell and AT&T, and later with Litel, which became Qwest. He holds a number of professional certifications.

At Citynet, Randy is responsible for maintaining switch integrity and ensuring that scaleable, reliable technologies are deployed to our voice customers. randy.showalter@citynet.net