Madison River Communications

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For Immediate Release: May 22, 2000
Mebane, North Carolina
Bond Ticker: MADRIV
MADISON RIVER COMMUNICATIONS ANNOUNCES
FIRST QUARTER FINANCIAL AND OPERATING RESULTS
Contact: Paul Sunu, Chief Financial Officer at (919) 563-8222 or Kevin Hancock, Marketing Manager at (919) 563-8227

2000 First Quarter Highlights - Pro Forma (* see Note below)

* Pro forma revenues of $41.0 million, a 1.1% increase over    pro forma 1999 first quarter revenues of $40.5 million

* Pro forma EBITDA of $13.7 million, a 14.6% decrease from    pro forma 1999 first Quarter EBITDA of $16.1 million

On a pro forma basis, the Company reported revenues of $41.0 million in the first quarter of 2000. This is a 1.1% increase over pro forma revenues of $40.5 million for the first quarter of 1999. Excluding the effects of $1.7 million in fiber construction revenue reported in the 1999 results for which no comparable revenues were earned for 2000, the increase was 5.5%.

For the first quarter, the Company reported pro forma EBITDA of $13.7 million as compared to $16.1 million in 1999, a decrease of 14.6%. Pro forma EBITDA in the first quarter of 2000 was lower by $2.9 million as a result of the Company's expenditures towards its expansion operations, which did not exist in the first quarter of 1999. Excluding the effects of a $0.4 million contribution to pro forma EBITDA from fiber construction operations reported in the 1999 results for which no comparable earnings were reported for 2000, the decrease was 12.5%.

2000 First Quarter Highlights

·  91.7% increase in revenues to $31.6 million from $16.5    million

·  32.2% increase in EBITDA to $9.3 million from $7.0 million

·  Coastal Communications acquisition closed ahead of    planned schedule

·  Phase I of fiber network, approximately 900 miles, lit and    operational

·  Strategic reorganization into Rural Local Exchange Carrier Division ("RLEC") and Integrated Communications Division    ("ICD") completed

· Approximately 193,700 access lines and 28 PRI's in service

Mebane, North Carolina - May 22, 2000 -- Madison River Communications, an established and rapidly growing integrated communications provider, today announced the results for its first quarter of 2000. Revenues grew to $31.6 million in the first quarter of 2000 from $16.5 million reported for the same period in 1999, reflecting an increase of 91.7%. The growth in revenues came primarily from reporting a full quarter of operating results in 2000 for Gulf Coast Services, which was acquired in September 1999. Excluding the effect of the Gulf Coast Services acquisition, the Company saw a 7.6% increase in revenues over the prior year. EBITDA (earnings before interest expense, depreciation, amortization and income taxes) increased 32.2% to $9.3 million in the first quarter of 2000 from $7.0 million in the same period of 1999.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, J. Stephen Vanderwoude, stated, "We are very pleased with the results that our Company attained in the first quarter of 2000. One key step we took was the successful reorganization of our business into the Rural Local Exchange Carrier Division and the Integrated Communications Division. With experienced management teams leading each of these divisions, we are really beginning to exploit the potential of our existing and expansion markets. In addition, during the first quarter we successfully closed the Coastal acquisition ahead of schedule, lit Phase I of our fiber network and completed a private placement of $200.0 million in senior notes. Looking forward, during the second quarter, we will begin ramping up revenues on Phase I of our fiber network, and we are on schedule to bring our network operations center in Dallas online. We now anticipate lighting the remaining western portion of our fiber network in the third quarter of 2000."

The Company also reported that access lines grew 29.2%, from approximately 150,000 at December 31, 1999 to approximately 193,700 at March 31, 2000 primarily due to the acquisition of Coastal Communications. Of the 193,700 total access lines, approximately 139,000 are residential and 54,700 are business lines. In addition, the Company has approximately 43,400 long distance customers, 25,700 Internet access customers and 1,200 DSL accounts at March 31, 2000.

Recent Announcements

On March 30, 2000, the Company completed the acquisition of all of the outstanding stock of Coastal Utilities, Inc., a rural local exchange carrier in Hinesville, Georgia, ahead of its anticipated schedule. Paul Sunu, Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer, commented, "The acquisition was a successful negotiation for both parties. We were able to close the transaction ahead of schedule and obtain the cash flows from this business sooner than expected. An added benefit was our ability to improve our liquidity position through the conversion of certain assets of Coastal to cash."

As of March 2000, Coastal served approximately 41,000 access lines and employed approximately 190 people. The acquisition of Coastal furthers the Company's business strategy to be a leading provider of integrated communication services to customers in the southeast United States and provides a strategic link in the Company's 2,200 route-mile fiber optic network. The acquisition was financed primarily with borrowings from the Rural Telephone Finance Cooperative.

On February 17, 2000, the Company completed the private placement of $200.0 million of senior notes. The proceeds of the offering were used to retire a portion of the indebtedness that the Company incurred in the acquisition of Gulf Coast Services, to fund the Coastal Communications acquisition and for ongoing operations. The offering was led by Goldman, Sachs & Co. and was co-managed by Chase Securities, Inc., Bear, Stearns & Co. Incorporated and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter.

During the first quarter of 2000, the Company completed a strategic reorganization of its internal structure into two operating divisions, the Rural Local Exchange Carrier Division ("RLEC") and the Integrated Communications Division ("ICD"). The reorganization allows the Company the ability to leverage its experienced management team and focus its resources on its two primary businesses.

The RLEC Division is led by its Chairman and CEO, James D. Ogg, an experienced manager with over 40 years of telecommunications experience. The primary focus for the RLEC Division will be to integrate the recent acquisitions (Gulf Coast Services in September 1999 and Coastal Communications in March 2000) and to develop the existing markets of the Company's four local exchange carriers. Ogg explained, "We have acquired excellent companies with solid reputations in their service areas. Our goal now is to expand the services available to our existing customers and attract new ones through the delivery of high quality services and by being responsive to our customers needs. Our strategy will center around bundling our products to provide our customers a full range of communications products in these markets."

The ICD is under the direction of its Chairman and CEO, Donald K. Roberton. Roberton has over 39 years of telecommunications experience. The ICD will grow the Company's CLEC operations and build new markets for the Company's transport business around its state of the art 2,200 route-mile fiber optic network. The network, a state of the art fiber communications backbone capable of reaching over 20 major points of presence in six southeastern states, will allow the Company to deliver high speed broadband services utilizing advanced bandwidth enhancing technologies such as asynchronous transfer mode ("ATM") and digital subscriber line ("DSL"). The division will focus on serving customers in the southeastern United States. Roberton remarked, "The ICD's goal is to be the preeminent regional provider of integrated communications services. We have assembled an experienced, qualified management team devoted to supporting the development of this division and capitalizing on the potential that exists in the markets we will serve. In the first quarter, we lit Phase I of our network, which was approximately 900 route miles running south of Montgomery, Alabama to just east of New Orleans and will begin ramping up revenues on this portion of our network during the second quarter. Also in the second quarter, we are on schedule to complete our state of the art network support center located in Dallas. We now anticipate lighting the remaining western portion of our fiber network in the third quarter of 2000."

Unaudited Selected Financial Results and Operating Data

Unaudited selected financial results for the first quarter of 2000 and 1999 were (dollars in millions):

	As Reported		Pro Forma*
	1st Qtr	1st Qtr	1st Qtr	1st Qtr
	2000	1999	2000	1999
Net Revenues	$31.6	16.5	$41.0	40.5
RLEC	31.2	16.5	40.6	40.5
ICD	0.4	-	0.4	-
Operating expenses	30.6	13.7	38.9	35.8
RLEC	26.5	13.7	34.8	35.8
ICD	4.1	-	4.1	-
EBITDA	9.3	7.0	13.7	16.1
RLEC	12.6	7.0	16.6	16.1
ICD	(3.3)	-	(2.9)	-
EBITDA margin	29.3%	42.5%	33.5%	39.7%
Cash and cash equivalents	90.5	5.4	n/a	n/a
Long-term debt	672.3	218.7	n/a	n/a
Member's capital	185.7	59.9	n/a	n/a
Accumulated deficit	(32.2)	(4.9)	n/a	n/a
Selected Operating Data:
Access lines	193,726	93,756	n/a	n/a
RLEC	193,337	93,756	n/a	n/a
ICD	389	-	n/a	n/a
PRI's-ICD	28	-	n/a	n/a
Route miles	2,195	108	n/a	n/a
Host Voice Switches owned	9	5	n/a	n/a
ATM Switches	5	-	n/a	n/a
Network Operations Centers	2	-	n/a	n/a
Employees	923	248	n/a	n/a

* Note: The unaudited pro forma results for the first quarter of 2000 assume that the Coastal Communications acquisition in March 2000 and the senior notes offering in February 2000 each occurred as of January 1, 2000. The unaudited pro forma results for the first quarter of 1999 assume that the acquisitions of Gulf Coast Services in September 1999 and Coastal Communications in March 2000 and the senior notes offering in February 2000, each occurred as of January 1, 1999. In addition, the pro forma EBITDA results exclude non-cash charges for the Company's Long-Term Incentive Plan expenses. The pro forma information is not intended to be indicative of the actual results that would have been achieved had the transactions occurred at the beginning of 2000 or 1999, respectively, nor does it purport to be indicative of the future consolidated operating results of the Company.

The statements, other than statements of historical fact, included in this press release are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as ''may,'' ''will,'' ''expect,'' ''intend,'' ''estimate,'' ''anticipate,'' ''plan,'' ''seek'' or ''believe.'' We believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are accurate. However, we cannot assure you that such expectations will occur. Our actual future performance could differ materially from such statements. Factors that could cause such or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to:

·  the uncertainties and potential delays associated with     integrating the operations of Gulf Coast Services and     Coastal Communications;

·  the uncertainties and potential delays associated with our     planned expansion into competitive local service;

·  the passage of legislation or court decisions adversely     affecting the telecommunications industry;

·  our ability to repay our outstanding indebtedness;

·  competition in the telecommunications industry; and

·  the advent of new technology.

For more information, see the "Risk Factors" section beginning on page 11 of our Registration Statement on Form S-4 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

You should not unduly rely on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Except as required by law, we are not obligated to publicly release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this press release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

Madison River Capital, LLC operates as Madison River Communications and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Madison River Telephone Company, LLC. Madison River Communications operates and enhances rural telephone companies, and uses advanced technology to provide competitive communications services in nearby markets. Headquartered in Mebane, NC, Madison River Telephone Company, LLC is owned by affiliates of Madison Dearborn Partners Inc., Goldman, Sachs & Co., Providence Equity Partners and members of management.