CTC Communications Emerges from Chapter 11 and is Acquired by Columbia Ventures Corporation.

Business Editors

WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 17, 2003

CTC Communications Group, Inc., the largest competitive local exchange carrier in New England with over 10,000 customers and over 370,000 access line equivalents, announced that its Second Amended Joint Plan of Reorganization has become effective and that its acquisition by Washington-based Columbia Ventures Corporation (CVC) has been completed. As previously announced, the Plan was accepted by an overwhelming majority of CTC's creditors and was confirmed by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware on November 24, 2003.

Kenneth D. Peterson, Jr., CVC's Chairman and the new President of CTC Communications stated, "I am very pleased to welcome CTC Communications to the Columbia Ventures family of companies. I am certain that CTC's IP-based PowerPath(R) Network, coupled with some of the best employees in the industry and a very strong balance sheet, will enable CTC to expand its position as a preeminent competitive telecommunications provider in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions."

Peterson added, "We wish to thank all of CTC's customers for their ongoing commitment during the past 15 months and look forward to expanding CTC's customer base and providing all of its customers with CTC's industry leading customer service and a comprehensive suite of fixed line products and services ."

Michael Katzenstein, CTC's outgoing Interim CEO and a principal of restructuring and turnaround manager CXO, L.L.C., said "CTC's turn-around was the result of the efforts of all involved -- CTC's dedicated employees, its creditors, its investment banker, Miller, Buckfire, Lewis & Ying, and the professionals from CXO, L.L.C. Katzenstein added, "It's been a pleasure working with CTC's Board and management and with new owner Columbia Ventures. With its valuable customer base, world-class network, strong team - and new sponsorship - I am confident of CTC's future success."

Further Information:
John Pittenger
Finance and Chief Financial Officer,
CTC Communications
[phone]

Richard A. Roman
Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer,
Columbia Ventures Corporation
[phone]

About CTC

CTC is a "next generation" integrated communications carrier utilizing advanced technology and providing its customers with converged voice, data, Internet and video services on a broadband, packet-based network, called the PowerPath(R) Network. The Company serves medium and larger business customers from Virginia to Maine, which includes the most robust telecommunications region in the world -- the Washington D.C. to Boston corridor. CTC's Cisco Powered IP+ATM packet network and its top-tier sales and service teams provide contiguous marketing and technology coverage throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic States. The Company, through its dedicated commitment to exceptional customer service, has achieved an industry-leading market share in the Northeast. CTC can be found on the web at www.ctcnet.com.

About Columbia Ventures

Columbia Ventures Corporation owns and operates telecommunications and industrial businesses, including Hibernia Atlantic, a transatlantic fiber optic network with landing stations in Boston, Halifax, Liverpool and Dublin. The Hibernia Atlantic system includes a fully protected terrestrial system linking Boston via New York City. CVC also operates a fiber optic metropolitan network in Spokane, Washington and is the largest shareholder in Og Vodafone, the second largest telecommunications provider in Iceland. The industrial businesses of CVC include Nordural, an aluminum smelter developed and constructed by CVC in Iceland, as well as aluminum manufacturing and fabrication operations in the United States ands Mexico. CVC and its related businesses began operations in 1987. The company's headquarters are located in Vancouver, Washington.