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Wednesday, August 17, 2005

Optimum Voice(R) Adds Valuable New Features, Debuts Enhanced and User-Friendly Web Portal

Optimum Voice(R) Adds Valuable New Features, Debuts Enhanced and User-Friendly Web Portal

Nation's Most Successful VoIP Service Delivers Improved Web Portal To Manage

New Calling Features, Including VIP Ringing, Call Waiting On Caller ID
And An Innovative 'Find Me' Feature

BETHPAGE, N.Y., Aug. 17 /PRNewswire. -- Optimum Voice, the New York metropolitan area's best value in voice and most highly-penetrated VoIP service in the nation, today announced the addition of several innovative features at no additional cost. These features include VIP Ringing, Call Waiting on Caller ID and a "Find Me" function that can route incoming calls to up to four designated locations, completing the call on the first line that answers. Optimum Voice has also launched an enhanced version of its groundbreaking "My Optimum Voice" Web portal, which harnesses the power of the Web to control and manage these new calling features and other current benefits including retrieving voicemail messages and reviewing calling detail.

New features introduced this week at no additional cost to customers are VIP Ringing, Find Me, Caller ID on Call Waiting, Busy Redial, Anonymous Calling and Anonymous Call Blocking. These new features join existing Optimum Voice features available at the all-inclusive price of $34.95 per month.

"With these new features and our significantly enhanced Web portal, we are moving far beyond replicating traditional telephone company service, and using technology to deliver a powerful and highly functional voice experience at a value price that has never been seen in our market," said Joe Varello, Cablevision's vice president of digital voice product management. "The breakaway success and consumer acceptance of Optimum Voice is clear indication we have deployed a competitive voice service that is delivering an unprecedented combination of value, reliability and functionality. We look forward to continuing to evolve the Optimum Voice experience and also to increase its integration with our Optimum-branded video and high-speed Internet services, so it becomes even more valuable for our customers."

Additional features now available to all Optimum Voice customers at no additional cost include:

* VIP Ringing gives up to 32 designated telephone numbers a distinctive
"VIP" ring tone to help customers easily identify certain callers
before answering the phone. This feature also applies to call waiting.

* Find Me enables customers to stay connected to their Optimum Voice
phone at all times so they never miss an important call. Customers
simply program up to three additional phone numbers and their incoming
Optimum Voice calls will ring to all of the designated phones
simultaneously. The first phone to pick up will receive the call.

* Call Waiting on Caller ID reveals the name and number of incoming calls
while customers are on the phone so they can decide whether or not to
interrupt their current conversation. This feature requires a
compatible telephone to display call waiting ID information.

* Anonymous Calling allows customers to block personal information on
outgoing calls to protect privacy when making calls. This function can
be disabled on a call-by-call basis by dialing *82 before the number if
a particular number does not accept anonymous calls.

* Anonymous Call Blocker rejects incoming calls from phone numbers marked
"private" or "anonymous" on customers' caller-ID screen. Anonymous
callers will hear an announcement that our customer is not accepting
private calls and should call back after disabling their anonymous
calling setting.

* Busy Redial will continue to dial a busy number for up to 30 minutes,
or until the number is available and the call can be completed. To

activate this feature, customers simply hang up after hearing a
busy signal, pick up the receiver, dial *66 and hang up. Optimum Voice
will continue to try to connect, and when successful the customer's
phone will ring.

* Redesigned My Optimum Voice Web Portal provides a new dashboard
interface with a summary of available features and the activation
status of each, voicemail notification, single click access to Optimum
Online web mail, a summary of recent calling details and much more.

* Flash Tutorials offer customers helpful videos for guidance and
information on key Optimum Voice service features.

Optimum Voice is available exclusively to Optimum Online(R) high-speed Internet customers for a flat monthly fee of $34.95. Optimum Voice provides fully-functional E911 service to every customer, unlimited calling to the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico, enhanced voicemail, call waiting, caller ID, caller ID blocking (*67), call return (*69), three-way calling and call forwarding, in addition to directory assistance (411), all at no additional cost. The service's "My Optimum Voice" innovative web portal allows customers to easily activate account features, listen to voicemail messages through any web browser, review and sort calling history and manage other settings.

Optimum Voice recently began providing local number portability to new customers who wish to keep their existing phone number. Through the Optimum Store Online (www.optimumstore.com), Optimum Voice offers customers a battery back-up option that would allow hours of stand-by or talk time in the event of a power outage. Cablevision's network remains powered for several hours during a loss of electrical current, so with the battery back-up option Optimum Voice customers would continue to have service during an electrical interruption as long as they are using non-electric telephones.

With nearly 480,000 customers as of June 30, Optimum Voice is the most highly penetrated VoIP service in the nation. Optimum Voice service is carried over Cablevision's world class broadband network, not the public Internet, and offers customers a highly reliable voice service with superior value.

About Optimum

Optimum, Cablevision Systems Corporation's (NYSE:CVC) suite of advanced digital cable services includes iO: Interactive Optimum digital cable, Optimum Online high-speed Internet and Optimum Voice digital voice-over-cable. Built upon the company's state-of-the-art, fully rebuilt network, Optimum delivers the most highly reliable and comprehensive voice, high-speed Internet and video packages available throughout the New York metropolitan area. All Optimum services have achieved industry-leading penetrations with more than 1.7 million iO customers, or nearly 58 percent penetration of cable customers, more than 1.5 million Optimum Online customers at 34 percent penetration of homes-past and 478,000 Optimum Voice customers, with more than 1,000 new voice customers each day. Optimum customers receive unprecedented value from Optimum's award-winning digital cable service, the nation's top rated high- speed Internet service and a dependable and feature-rich voice service.

About Cablevision

Cablevision Systems Corporation is one of the nation's leading entertainment and telecommunications companies. Its cable television operations serve 3 million households in the New York metropolitan area. The company's advanced telecommunications offerings include its iO: Interactive Optimum digital television, Optimum Online high-speed Internet, Optimum Voice digital voice-over-cable, and its Lightpath integrated business communications services. Cablevision's Rainbow Media Holdings LLC operates several successful programming businesses, including AMC, IFC, WE and other national and regional networks. In addition to its telecommunications and programming businesses, Cablevision owns Madison Square Garden and its sports teams, the New York Knicks, Rangers and Liberty. The company also operates New York's famed Radio City Music Hall, and owns and operates Clearview Cinemas.

Source: Cablevision Systems Corporation

CONTACT: Jim Maiella, +1-516-803-3947, or Marie Stenberg,
+1-516-803-2352, both of Cablevision Systems Corporation

Web site: http://www.cablevision.com/
http://www.optimumstore.com/

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