Consolidated Communications Holdings Reports Second Quarter 2008 Results

Consolidated Communications Holdings Reports Second Quarter 2008 Results

- Delivers strong financial results -

- Pennsylvania integration continues ahead of schedule -

- Broadband connections exceed 100,000 -

- IPTV in Pennsylvania and DVR in all markets are off to strong start -

MATTOON, Ill., Aug. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNSL) reported results for the second quarter and six-month period ended June 30, 2008.

Second quarter highlights:

* Revenues were $106.4 million.
* Adjusted EBITDA was $48.3 million.
* Net cash provided by operations was $17.1 million.
* Dividend payout ratio was 68.4%.

"With revenues of $106.4 million and Adjusted EBITDA of $48.3 million, we continue to deliver strong financial results," said Bob Currey, Consolidated's president and CEO. "In the quarter, we celebrated a key milestone by breaking the 100,000 mark for total broadband connections. Both our broadband and VOIP offerings continue to demonstrate excellent growth. Additionally, we are pleased with the strong start and customer reaction to the April DVR launch and IPTV rollout in Pennsylvania."

"Our Pennsylvania integration remains ahead of schedule and we are confident we will exceed our original synergy projections of $7.0 million. To date, we have already taken action to achieve an annualized $5.5 million of the projection."

"As anticipated, our cable competitors launched voice services in our Texas markets during the quarter. The steps we have already taken with our triple play bundle, our industry leading DSL penetration and our consumer VOIP offering have us well positioned to compete," Currey concluded.

Operating Statistics at June 30, 2008, Compared to June 30, 2007.

* Total connections were 455,281, an increase of 10,694, or 2.4%.
* Total local access lines were 276,793, a decrease of 16,740, or
5.7%.
o Our existing Illinois and Texas operations had a decrease of
12,576, or 5.5%.
o Our Pennsylvania operations had a decrease of 4,164, or 6.5%.
* ILEC Broadband connections were 100,687, an increase of 18,750, or
22.9%.
o DSL subscribers were 86,575, an increase of 14,215, or 19.6%.
o IPTV subscribers were 14,112, an increase of 4,535, or 47.4%.
* ILEC VOIP lines were 4,088, an increase of 2,266, or 124.4%.
* CLEC access line equivalents were 73,713, an increase of 6,418, or
9.5%.

Steve Childers, Consolidated's Chief Financial Officer, stated, "Due to our strong second quarter financial results and improved capital structure we continue to lower our dividend payout ratio. As previously announced, on April 1, we completed the redemption of $130.0 million of our 9.75% senior notes. Although the related redemption penalty and the associated write off of deferred financing costs resulted in a $9.2 million pre-tax charge to second quarter earnings, by limiting borrowing to $120.0 million from a delayed term facility, we effectively paid down $10.0 million of debt and we will realize $4.0 million in annualized cash interest savings."

Cash Available to Pay Dividends

For the second quarter 2008, cash available to pay dividends, or CAPD, was $16.6 million and the dividend payout ratio was 68.4%. At June 30, 2008, cash and cash equivalents were $10.4 million. The Company made capital expenditures of $13.0 million during the first quarter, which included $0.3 million in integration related capital.

Financial Highlights for the Second Quarter Ended June 30, 2008

* Revenues were $106.4 million, compared to $80.9 million in the
second quarter of 2007. Revenues excluding the impact from the
North Pittsburgh acquisition were $82.4 million, an increase of
$1.5 million. The increase was primarily driven by gains in Data
and Internet revenue associated with our continued growth in DSL,
IPTV and VOIP subscribers.
* Depreciation and amortization was $22.4 million, compared to
$16.6 million in the second quarter of 2007. The $5.8 million
increase was primarily driven by increased depreciation associated
with the fixed assets acquired and the amortization of intangible
assets recognized in conjunction with the acquisition of North
Pittsburgh.
* Income from operations was $21.1 million, compared to $16.3 million
in the second quarter of 2007.
* Interest expense, net was $16.0 million, compared to $11.5 million
in the same quarter last year. The increase was primarily driven by
the incremental debt and terms of the new credit facility associated
with the North Pittsburgh acquisition.
* Loss on extinguishment of debt was $9.2 million in the second
quarter. As a result of the April 1, redemption of $130 million of
9.75% senior notes, we incurred a $6.3 million redemption penalty
and recognized the write off of $2.9 million in previously deferred
finance costs.
* Other income, net was $4.6 million, compared to $1.8 million for the
same period in 2007. As part of the acquisition of North
Pittsburgh, the company acquired interests in three additional
cellular partnerships, which accounted for approximately
$2.9 million of income during the period.
* Income tax expense was $0.3 million, compared to $1.1 million in
2007.
* Net income was $0.2 million, compared to $5.5 million in the second
quarter of 2007. "Adjusted net income" excludes certain items in
the manner described in the table provided in this release. On that
basis, "adjusted net income" was $6.4 million for the second quarter
ended June 30, 2008, compared to $4.9 million in the second quarter
of 2007.
* Net income per common share was $0.01, compared to $0.21 in the same
quarter of 2007. "Adjusted net income per share" excludes certain
items in the manner described in the table provided in this release.
On that basis, "adjusted net income per share" for the second
quarter ended June 30, 2008 was $0.22, compared to $0.19 in the
second quarter of 2007.
* Adjusted EBITDA was $48.3 million, compared to $36.1 million for the
same period in 2007. The increase was primarily driven by the
impact of the North Pittsburgh acquisition. Net cash provided from
operating activities was $17.1 million, compared to $19.1 million
for the same period in 2007.
* The total net debt to last twelve month Adjusted EBITDA coverage
ratio was 4.6 times to one, and all coverage ratios were in
compliance with our credit facility.

Financial Highlights for the Six Months Ended June 30, 2008

* Revenues were $211.9 million, compared to $163.9 million for the
prior year period. Revenues excluding the impact from the North
Pittsburgh acquisition were $163.9 million for the first six months
of 2008. Increases in Data and Internet revenue from DSL, IPTV and
VOIP growth were offset by declines in Local Calling Services and
Network Access Services.
* Net income was $3.9 million, compared to $10.1 million for the same
six months of 2007. This decrease was driven by the charges
associated with the senior notes redemption.
* Net income per common share was $0.13, compared to $0.39 in the same
period of 2007. "Adjusted net income per share" excludes certain
items in the manner described in the table provided in this release.
On that basis, "adjusted net income per share" for the six months
ended June 30, 2008 was $0.37, compared to $0.40 for the prior year
period.
* Adjusted EBITDA was $97.4 million, compared to $73.3 million for the
same period in 2007. The increase was primarily driven by the
impact of the North Pittsburgh acquisition.
* Net cash provided from operating activities was $42.2 million,
compared to $37.1 million for the six month period in 2007.

Financial Guidance

For 2008, the Company provides the following updated full year guidance: Capital expenditures are now expected to be in the range of $46.5 million to $48.0 million, including $2.0 million associated with integration related capital expenditures. This has been lowered from previous guidance of $46.5 million to $49.5 million. The cash interest expense continues to be in the expected range of $64.0 million to $67.0 million. Cash income taxes are expected to be in the range of $12.0 million to $15.0 million.

Dividend Payments

On August 5, 2008, the Company's board of directors declared its next quarterly dividend of $0.38738 per common share, which is payable on November 1, 2008 to stockholders of record at the close of business on October 15, 2008.

Conference Call Information

The Company will host a conference call today at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time / 10:00 a.m. Central Time to discuss second quarter earnings and developments in the business. The call is being webcast and can be accessed from the "Investor Relations" section of the Company's website at http://www.consolidated.com/. The webcast will also be archived on the Company's website. If you do not have internet access, the conference call dial-in number is 1-800-642-1783. International parties can access the call by dialing 1-706-679-5600. A telephonic replay of the conference call will also be available starting two hours after completion of the call until August 11, 2008 at midnight Eastern Time. To hear the replay, parties in the United States and Canada should call 1-800-642-1687 and international parties should call 1-706-645-9291 and enter pass code 55055634.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures This press release, as well as the conference call, includes disclosures regarding "Adjusted EBITDA", "cash available to pay dividends", "total net debt to last twelve month Adjusted EBITDA coverage ratio", "adjusted net income," and "adjusted net income per share", all of which are non-GAAP financial measures. Accordingly, they should not be construed as alternatives to net cash from operating or investing activities, cash and cash equivalents, cash flows from operations, net income (loss) or net income (loss) per share as defined by GAAP and are not, on their own, necessarily indicative of cash available to fund cash needs as determined in accordance with GAAP. In addition, not all companies use identical calculations, and these non-GAAP financial measures may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies. A reconciliation of the differences between these non-GAAP financial measures and the most directly comparable financial measures presented in accordance with GAAP is included in the tables that follow.

Adjusted EBITDA is comprised of historical EBITDA, as adjusted for certain items permitted or required by the lenders under the credit facility in place at the end of each quarter in the periods presented. The tables that follow include an explanation of how Adjusted EBITDA is calculated for each of the periods presented.

EBITDA is defined as net earnings (loss) before interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization on an historical basis. We believe net cash provided by operating activities is the most directly comparable financial measure to EBITDA under GAAP. EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure.

Cash available to pay dividends represents Adjusted EBITDA plus cash interest income less (1) cash interest expense, (2) capital expenditures, (3) cash taxes and (4) stock repurchases.

We present Adjusted EBITDA and cash available to pay dividends for several reasons. Management believes Adjusted EBITDA and cash available to pay dividends are useful as a means to evaluate our ability to fund our estimated uses of cash (including interest on our debt) and pay dividends. In addition, we have presented Adjusted EBITDA and cash available to pay dividends to investors in the past because they are frequently used by investors, securities analysts and other interested parties in the evaluation of companies in our industry, and management believes presenting them here provides a measure of consistency in our financial reporting. Adjusted EBITDA and cash available to pay dividends, referred to as Available Cash in our credit agreement, are also components of the restrictive covenants and financial ratios contained in the agreements governing our debt that require us to maintain compliance with these covenants and limit certain activities, such as our ability to incur debt and to pay dividends. The definitions in these covenants and ratios are based on Adjusted EBITDA and cash available to pay dividends after giving effect to specified charges. Other information related to these non-GAAP financial measures, specifically "total net debt to last twelve month Adjusted EBITDA coverage ratio", help put these measures in context. As a result, management believes the presentation of Adjusted EBITDA and cash available to pay dividends, as supplemented by "total net debt to last twelve months Adjusted EBITDA coverage ratio," provides important additional information to investors. In addition, Adjusted EBITDA and cash available to pay dividends provide our board of directors with meaningful information to determine, with other data, assumptions and considerations, our dividend policy and our ability to pay dividends under the restrictive covenants in the agreements governing our debt and to measure our ability to service and repay debt.

These non-GAAP financial measures have certain shortcomings. In particular, Adjusted EBITDA does not represent the residual cash flows available for discretionary expenditures, since items such as debt repayment and interest payments are not deducted from such measure. Similarly, while we may generate cash available to pay dividends, we are not required to use any such cash to pay dividends, and the payment of any dividends is subject to declaration by our board of directors, compliance with applicable law and the terms of our credit agreement.

Because Adjusted EBITDA is a component of the Dividend Payout Ratio and the ratio of total net debt to last twelve month Adjusted EBITDA, these measures are also subject to the material limitations discussed above. In addition, the ratio of total net debt to last twelve month Adjusted EBITDA is subject to the risk that we may not be able to use the cash on the balance sheet to reduce our debt on a dollar-for-dollar basis. Management believes these ratios are useful as a means to evaluate our ability to incur additional indebtedness in the future and, together with adjusted net income and adjusted net income per share, assist investors, securities analysts and other interested parties in evaluating both our company over time and the relative performance of the companies in our industry.

About Consolidated

Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc. is an established rural local exchange company providing voice, data and video services to residential and business customers in Illinois, Texas and Pennsylvania. Each of the operating companies has been operating in its local market for over 100 years. With approximately 276,793 ILEC access lines, 73,713 Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC) access line equivalents, 86,575 DSL subscribers, and 14,112 IPTV subscribers, Consolidated Communications offers a wide range of telecommunications services, including local and long distance service, custom calling features, private line services, high-speed Internet access, digital TV, carrier access services, and directory publishing. Consolidated Communications is the 13th largest local telephone company in the United States.

Safe Harbor

Any statements contained in this press release other than statements of historical fact, including statements about management's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements and should be evaluated as such. These statements are made on the basis of management's views and assumptions regarding future events and business performance. Words such as "estimate," "believe," "anticipate," "expect," "intend," "plan," "target," "project," "should," "may," "will" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements (including oral representations) involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. These risks and uncertainties include our ability to successfully integrate North Pittsburgh's operations and realize the synergies from the acquisition, as well as a number of other factors related to our business, including various risks to shareholders of not receiving dividends and risks to Consolidated's ability to pursue growth opportunities if Consolidated continues to pay dividends according to the current dividend policy; various risks to the price and volatility of Consolidated's common stock; the substantial amount of debt and Consolidated's ability to incur additional debt in the future; Consolidated's need for a significant amount of cash to service and repay the debt and to pay dividends on the common stock; restrictions contained in the debt agreements that limit the discretion of management in operating the business; the ability to refinance the existing debt as necessary; regulatory changes, rapid development and introduction of new technologies and intense competition in the telecommunications industry; risks associated with Consolidated's possible pursuit of acquisitions; economic conditions in the Consolidated service areas in Illinois, Texas and Pennsylvania; system failures; losses of large customers or government contracts; risks associated with the rights-of-way for the network; disruptions in the relationship with third party vendors; losses of key management personnel and the inability to attract and retain highly qualified management and personnel in the future; changes in the extensive governmental legislation and regulations governing telecommunications providers and the provision of telecommunications services; telecommunications carriers disputing and/or avoiding their obligations to pay network access charges for use of Consolidated's network; high costs of regulatory compliance; the competitive impact of legislation and regulatory changes in the telecommunications industry; and liability and compliance costs regarding environmental regulations. These and other risks and uncertainties are discussed in more detail in Consolidated's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q. Many of these risks are beyond management's ability to control or predict. All forward-looking statements attributable to Consolidated or persons acting on behalf of us are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements and risk factors contained in this press release and Consolidated's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Because of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Furthermore, forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Except as required under the federal securities laws or the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Consolidated does not undertake any obligation to update or review any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

- Tables Follow -

Consolidated Communications
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
(Dollars in thousands)
(Unaudited)

June 30, December 31,
2008 2007
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $10,433 $34,341
Accounts receivable, net 44,777 44,001
Prepaid expenses and other current assets 24,968 21,273
Total current assets 80,178 99,615

Property, plant and equipment, net 403,780 411,647
Intangibles and other assets 779,883 793,329
Total assets $1,263,841 $1,304,591

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Current portion of capital lease obligation $1,048 $1,010
Accounts payable 12,798 17,386
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities 59,015 66,547
Total current liabilities 72,861 84,943

Capital lease obligation less current portion 1,102 1,636
Long-term debt 880,000 890,000
Other long-term liabilities 167,979 168,324
Total liabilities 1,121,942 1,144,903

Minority interests 4,727 4,322
Stockholders' equity:
Common stock, $0.01 par value 295 294
Paid in capital 279,026 278,175
Accumulated deficit (136,455) (117,452)
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) (5,694) (5,651)
Total stockholders' equity 137,172 155,366
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity $1,263,841 $1,304,591

Consolidated Communications
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
(Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)
(Unaudited)

Three Months Ended Six Months Ended
June 30, June 30,
2008 2007 2008 2007

Revenues $106,444 $80,944 $211,858 $163,924
Operating expenses:
Cost of services and
products 36,108 25,788 69,971 51,417
Selling, general and
administrative
expenses 26,911 22,296 55,055 44,595
Depreciation and
amortization 22,350 16,606 45,221 33,235
Income from operations 21,075 16,254 41,611 34,677
Other income (expense):
Interest expense,
net (15,984) (11,461) (34,038) (22,861)
Loss on
extinguishment
of debt (9,224) - (9,224) -
Other income, net 4,583 1,757 8,688 3,040
Income before income taxes 450 6,550 7,037 14,856
Income tax expense 270 1,057 3,148 4,744

Net income $180 $5,493 $3,889 $10,112

Diluted net income per
common share $0.01 $0.21 $0.13 $0.39

Consolidated Communications
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(Dollars in thousands)
(Unaudited)

Three Months Ended Six Months Ended
June 30, June 30,
2008 2007 2008 2007
OPERATING ACTIVITIES
Net income $180 $5,493 $3,889 $10,112
Adjustments to reconcile
net income to cash provided
by operating activities:
Depreciation and
amortization 22,350 16,606 45,221 33,235
Non-cash stock
compensation 476 972 860 1,706
Loss on redemption of
senior notes 9,224 - 9,224 -
Other adjustments,
net (1,510) 3,619 (4,344) 4,037
Changes in operating
assets and liabilities,
net (13,573) (7,552) (12,670) (11,981)
Net cash provided
by operating
activities 17,147 19,138 42,180 37,109
INVESTING ACTIVITIES
Securities purchased - (10,625) - (10,625)
Capital expenditures (13,001) (8,486) (26,286) (16,673)
Net cash used for
investing
activities (13,001) (19,111) (26,286) (27,298)
FINANCING ACTIVITIES
Proceeds from
issuance of stock - - - 12
Proceeds from issuance
of long-term
obligations 120,000 - 120,000 -
Payments made on
long-term
obligations (136,587) - (136,833) -
Payment of deferred
financing costs (59) - (240) (320)
Purchase and retirement
of common stock - - (8) -
Dividends on common
stock (11,362) (10,048) (22,721) (20,093)
Net cash used in
financing
activities (28,008) (10,048) (39,802) (20,401)
Net decrease in cash
and cash equivalents (23,862) (10,021) (23,908) (10,590)
Cash and cash
equivalents at
beginning of period 34,295 26,103 34,341 26,672
Cash and cash
equivalents at end
of period $10,433 $16,082 $10,433 $16,082

Consolidated Communications
Consolidated Revenue by Category
(Dollars in thousands)
(Unaudited)

Three Months Ended Six Months Ended
June 30, June 30,
2008 2007 2008 2007
Telephone Operations
Local calling
services $26,533 $20,940 $53,483 $42,252
Network access
services 24,648 17,481 49,106 35,799
Subsidies 13,395 11,100 27,194 22,697
Long distance services 6,202 3,575 12,453 7,211
Data and Internet
services 15,209 9,103 29,610 17,734
Other services 9,650 8,807 18,764 17,821
Total Telephone
Operations 95,637 71,006 190,610 143,514
Other Operations 10,807 9,938 21,248 20,410
Total operating
revenues $106,444 $80,944 $211,858 $163,924

Consolidated Communications
Schedule of Adjusted EBITDA Calculation
(Dollars in thousands)
(Unaudited)

Three Months Ended Six Months Ended
June 30, June 30,
2008 2007 2008 2007
Historical EBITDA:
Net cash provided by
operating activities $17,147 $19,138 $42,180 $37,109
Adjustments:
Compensation from
restricted share plan (476) (972) (860) (1,706)
Loss on redemption of
senior notes (9,224) - (9,224) -
Other adjustments,
net 1,510 (3,619) 4,344 (4,037)
Changes in operating
assets and liabilities 13,573 7,552 12,670 11,981
Interest expense, net 15,984 11,461 34,038 22,861
Income taxes 270 1,057 3,148 4,744
Historical EBITDA (1) 38,784 34,617 86,296 70,952

Adjustments to EBITDA (2):
Integration and
restructuring (3) 1,021 301 2,103 473
Other, net (4) (4,716) (1,575) (9,093) (3,030)
Investment
distributions (5) 3,466 1,758 8,056 3,153
Non-cash
compensation (6) 476 972 860 1,706
Loss on redemption of
senior notes (7) 9,224 - 9,224 -

Adjusted EBITDA $48,255 $36,073 $97,446 $73,254

Footnotes for Adjusted EBITDA:

(1) Historical EBITDA is defined as net earnings (loss) before interest
expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization on a historical
basis.
(2) These adjustments reflect those required or permitted by the lenders
under the credit facility in place at the end of each of the quarters
included in the periods presented.
(3) Represents certain expenses associated with integrating and
restructuring the Texas, Illinois and Pennsylvania businesses. For
the second quarter of 2008, this is comprised of $0.9 million of
integration costs and $0.1 million of severance costs. For the
second quarter of 2007, this is comprised of $0.2 million of
integration costs and $0.1 million of severance costs.
(4) Other, net includes the equity earnings from our investments,
dividend income and certain other miscellaneous non-operating items.
(5) For purposes of calculating adjusted EBITDA, we include all cash
dividends and other cash distributions received from our investments.
(6) Represents compensation expenses in connection with our Restricted
Share Plan, which because of the non-cash nature of the expenses are
being excluded from adjusted EBITDA.
(7) This includes approximately $6.3 million as a call premium and
$2.9 million in write offs of deferred financing costs incurred with
the redemption of the 9.75% senior notes on April 1, 2008.

Consolidated Communications
Cash Available to Pay Dividends
(Dollars in thousands)
(Unaudited)

Three Months Six Months
Ended Ended
June 30, June 30,
2008 2008

Adjusted EBITDA $48,255 $97,446

- Cash interest expense (15,718) (33,520)
- Capital Expenditures (13,001) (26,286)
- Cash income taxes (3,000) (5,585)
+ Cash interest income 64 288

Cash available to pay dividends $16,600 $32,343

Quarterly Dividend $11,362 $22,721
Payout Ratio 68.4% 70.3%

Total Net Debt to LTM Adjusted EBITDA Ratio
(Dollars in thousands)
(Unaudited)

Summary of Outstanding Debt
Term loan $880,000
Capital leases 2,150
Total debt as of June 30, 2008 $882,150
Less cash on hand (10,433)
Total net debt as of June 30, 2008 $871,717

Adjusted EBITDA for the last twelve
months ended June 30, 2008 (1) $189,546

Total Net Debt to last twelve months
Adjusted EBITDA 4.6 x

(1) Per the new credit facility adjusted EBITDA has been agreed upon for
the third quarter of 2007 at $43,800 and reflects a combined pro
forma number for the fourth quarter 2007. Adjusted EBITDA for the
fourth quarter 2007 is the sum of $11,264 for the Pennsylvania
operations and $37,036 for the Illinois and Texas operations.
Adjusted EBITDA reflects actual results for the first six months of
2008.

Consolidated Communications
Adjusted Diluted Net Income and Net Income Per Share
(Dollars in thousands)
(Unaudited)

Three Months Ended Six Months Ended
June 30, June 30, June 30, June 30,
2008 2007 2008 2007
Reported net income
applicable to common
stockholders $180 $5,493 $3,889 $10,112
Deferred tax adjustment - (1,731) - (1,731)
Bond Redemption charge,
net of tax 5,193 - 5,087 -
Severance, net of tax 57 60 187 63
Billing integration, net
of tax - 111 - 202
Integration and
restructuring charges,
net of tax 517 - 996 -
Non-cash compensation 476 972 860 1,706
Adjusted income
applicable to common
stockholders $6,423 $4,905 $11,019 $10,352

Weighted average
number of shares
outstanding 29,529,290 26,130,618 29,514,570 26,080,203
Adjusted diluted
net income per share $0.22 $0.19 $0.37 $0.40

Calculations above assume a 43.7 percent and 43.0 percent effective tax rate for the three months ended June 30, 2008 and 2007, respectively, and 44.9 percent and 44.0 percent effective tax rate for the six months ended June 30, 2008 and 2007, respectively.

Consolidated Communications
Key Operating Statistics

June 30, March 31, June 30, (5)
2008 2008 2007
Local access lines in service
Residential 174,641 179,864 190,187
Business 102,152 102,777 103,346
Total local access lines 276,793 282,641 293,533

Total IPTV subscribers 14,112 13,026 9,577
ILEC DSL subscribers (1) 86,575 84,313 72,360
ILEC Broadband Connections 100,687 97,339 81,937
ILEC VOIP subscribers (2) 4,088 2,938 1,822
CLEC Access Line Equivalents (3) 73,713 72,827 67,295

Total connections 455,281 455,745 444,587

Long distance lines (4) 167,767 167,360 166,506
Dial-up subscribers 5,687 6,042 11,189

IPTV Homes passed 129,872 107,631 107,631

(1) Includes only ILEC DSL. CLEC DSL is included in CLEC access line
equivalents.
(2) VOIP subscribers are now included in total connections for all periods
presented.
(3) CLEC access line equivalents represent a combination of voice services
and data circuits. The calculations represent a conversion of data
circuits to an access line basis. Equivalents are calculated by
converting data circuits (basic rate interface (BRI), primary rate
interface (PRI), DSL, DS-1, DS-3, and Ethernet) and SONET-based
(optical) services (OC-3 and OC-48) to the equivalent of an access
line.
(4) Reflects the inclusion of long distance service provided as part of
the VOIP offering while excluding CLEC long distance subscribers.
North Pittsburgh included company and toll-free long distance lines in
their counts. In order to be consistent with our IL and TX
operations, we are excluding these from the lines and have reflected
this in all above periods.
(5) Presented on a pro forma basis to include the aggregate operating
statistics of IL, TX and PA as of June 30, 2007, as if the acquisition
of North Pittsburgh had occurred prior to that date.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc.

CONTACT: Matt Smith, Director - Investor Relations of Consolidated
Communications Holdings, Inc., +1-217-258-9522,
investor.relations@consolidated.com; or Investor Relations, Kirsten Chapman of
Lippert | Heilshorn & Associates, +1-415-433-3777, kchapman@lhai.com, for
Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc.

Web site: http://www.consolidated.com/

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