SureWest Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2007 Results Support Transformation to a Triple-play Communications Provider

Broadband Revenues Grow 15% Annually; Double Digit Annual Residential RGU Increase

ROSEVILLE, CALIFORNIA — Leading independent communications holding company SureWest Communications (NASDAQ: SURW) today announced operating results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2007. During the year, the Company made great progress in its transformation to an advanced broadband voice, video and data provider, reporting excellent Broadband and subscriber count growth to offset Telecom access line declines. SureWest also acquired bandwidth leader Everest Broadband, Inc. while divesting non-core assets.

Broadband

Broadband segment revenues increased 13% in the fourth quarter of 2007 compared to the prior year quarter as a result of growth in both business and residential services. Broadband subscriber counts grew 11% from the prior year, with a 10% growth in RGUs. Consistent with the strategy of focusing on broadband data, voice and video, Broadband RGUs increased on a year-over-year basis, as detailed in the chart below.

In the CLEC triple-play footprint, average revenue per unit (ARPU) increased by $5.36 year-over-year to $108.91 as new features were added to SureWest’s superior fiber-optic network resulting in an increase in triple-play subscribers.

“Mid-way through the fourth quarter we responded to outside influences with special sales and marketing efforts that resulted in the highest level of sales call volume of the year, elevated take rates and significant subscriber increases in the month of December alone,” Oldham said. “The end-of-year introduction of our DVR, which exceeded our adoption rate expectations, and our enhanced HDTV channel lineup resulted in a considerable increase in HD take rate in December over the average of the first 11 months of 2007. Additionally, at year end, SureWest HD customers averaged 1.3 HD receivers per home. The combination of these events strengthens our position in the market place and emphasizes our ability to continue the growth of our Broadband business.”

• Data: Data RGUs increased 12% in the fourth quarter compared to the prior year, indicating continued strong demand for SureWest’s high-speed data services across its fiber and copper platforms. Over its fiber network alone, which offers symmetrical Internet speeds of up to 10, 20 and 50 megabits per second, RGUs grew by 21% compared to the prior year.
• Video: Video RGUs increased 7% in the fourth quarter compared to the prior year, validating SureWest’s overbuilding strategy and reflecting growth in residential digital cable subscribers and increased demand for premium, digital features including video on demand (VOD), HDTV and HD DVR. During the quarter, SureWest launched its first multi-stream HD DVR and currently offers 50 premium HD channels, up from 17 at the beginning of 2007. Due to its virtually unlimited bandwidth capabilities, the Company expects to continue adding high-quality HD channels as they become available.
• Voice: Voice RGUs increased 8% in the fourth quarter from the prior year, reflecting the strength of the triple-play bundle. On March 10, 2008, SureWest launched its Voice over IP (VoIP) Digital Phone product, which provides a technologically-advanced voice product that allows for more flexibility with packages and offers, and an anticipated increase in triple-play RGUs.

Fiber marketable homes increased by 15% to 114,200 at the end of the fourth quarter of 2007, from 98,900 at the end of the fourth quarter of 2006. This increase was comprised of 5,750 new homes, and 9,550 homes upgraded from copper to fiber. The increase in fiber marketable homes is a result of the continued expansion and upgrading of the fiber footprint into regions where the expectation is to achieve greater than 35% penetration. In addition to the increase in total marketable homes, penetration in fiber markets continued to increase during 2007 with fiber penetration of 24.1%.

Broadband business revenues saw significant growth due to the continued rollout of business services. The Company increased its marketable business footprint through the addition of its new Integrated Access services across leased transport throughout the Sacramento metropolitan region, substantially increasing the number of marketable businesses in 2007 compared to previous years.