MPOWER COMMUNICATIONS UNAFFECTED BY COURT'S LINE SHARING DECISION
ROCHESTER, NY — May 28, 2002— Mpower Communications Corp., (AMEX:MPE), a provider of broadband high-speed Internet access and telephone services to business customers, stated today that it is unaffected by Friday's action by the U.S. Court of Appeals remanding the FCC's "line sharing" rules.
Mpower has provided DSL and voice services to business customers using a facilities-based business model since 1996. As such, the company owns and operates its own switches and collocation facilities and is not a reseller.
"We have never utilized line sharing in our DSL deployment and have never been in favor of the UNE-P reselling approach," said Rolla P. Huff, Mpower Communications Chief Executive Officer. "The control, flexibility and underlying economics of our facilities-based strategy has allowed us to be a viable competitor and a high-quality service provider."
"We hope that the FCC will not be strong-armed by the incumbent carriers and will continue to look for opportunities to foster competition, especially between competitive providers such as Mpower and the incumbent carriers," added Huff.
About Mpower Communications
Mpower Communications (AMEX:MPE) is a facilities-based broadband communications provider offering a full range of data, telephony, Internet access and Web hosting services for small and medium-size business customers. Further information about the company can be found at www.mpowercom.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Under the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Mpower Holding Corporation cautions investors that certain statements contained in this press release that state management's intentions, hopes, beliefs, expectations or predictions of the future are forward-looking statements. Management wishes to caution the reader these forward-looking statements are not historical facts and are only estimates or predictions. Actual results may differ materially from those projected as a result of risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, receipt of the requisite support pursuant to federal bankruptcy laws for the proposed recapitalization plan from those entitled to vote on the proposed recapitalization plan, meeting the requirements of the federal bankruptcy code for confirmation of the proposed recapitalization plan, judicial approval of the proposed recapitalization plan in accordance with all relevant bankruptcy laws, projections of future sales, market acceptance of our product offerings, our ability to secure adequate financing or equity capital to fund our operations, network expansion and proposed recapitalization plan, our ability to reduce our outstanding indebtedness, our ability to manage rapid growth and maintain a high level of customer service, the performance of our network and equipment, the cooperation of incumbent local exchange carriers in provisioning lines and interconnecting our equipment, regulatory approval processes, changes in technology, price competition and other market conditions and risks detailed from time to time in Mpower's Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
