US LEC Surpaces the 20,000th Customer Mark

September 2, 2004 - Charlotte, N.C. - Further establishing itself as a leading competitive carrier for businesses, US LEC Corp. (Nasdaq: CLEC), a super-regional telecommunications carrier providing integrated voice, data and Internet services to businesses and enterprise organizations throughout the Eastern United States, announced that it has recently reached a major growth milestone by surpassing the 20,000th customer mark. The company's customer base of medium and large business-class customers has increased 54 percent year-over-year and has more than doubled in less than two years.

According to a recent survey of US LEC customers conducted by David Sparks and Associates, overall customer satisfaction increased to 94 percent, and the likelihood of customers to recommend US LEC to others for services also increased to 94 percent. US LEC attributes the steady customer growth and high customer satisfaction levels to a proven business model and outstanding customer care, which is reflected in US LEC's exceptional customer retention rate of more than 98 percent per quarter.

"US LEC has been able to achieve this major milestone because of our unwavering commitment to excellence for our customers," said Aaron Cowell, president and CEO for US LEC. "That commitment, combined with a proven business plan, has provided US LEC with the platform to steadily grow our base, retain customers at industry-leading levels and increase recurring end-customer revenue while controlling costs. As we continue to gain market share throughout our Eastern U.S. footprint, it's evident that businesses need a reliable communications partner and are making US LEC their carrier of choice."

US LEC successfully targets business customers across 15 states in more than 100 markets throughout the Eastern United States. The company is focused on vertical industries that include the automotive, construction, education, entertainment, financial, government, hospitality, manufacturing, medical, professional/legal, real estate and transportation sectors.