CTE Successfully Concludes Rights Offering -- Company Raises Approximately $77 Million in Accordance with its Recapitalization Plan.

DALLAS, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 26, 1998--Commonwealth Telephone Enterprises, Inc. (the "Company" or "CTE") (NASDAQ: CTCO, CTCOB) announced that its rights offering of 3.68 million shares of its Common Stock expired at 5:00 p.m. EST Friday, Oct. 23, and that shareholders fully subscribed for all shares of Common Stock offered. Shareholders of record at the close of business on September 25, 1998, received one transferable subscription right for every five shares of Common Stock or Class B Common Stock held. Rights holders were permitted to purchase one share of Common Stock for each right held at a subscription price of $21.25 per share.

To the extent rights were not exercised, holders exercising their rights were permitted to oversubscribe for the unpurchased shares at the same $21.25 price. The number of shares requested persuant to the oversubscription privilege was significantly greater, by several times, than the number of shares available. The available shares will be allocated to the holders exercising the oversubscription privilege pro rata based on the number of shares requested. Although final allocations are not expected to be completed for several days, it is anticipated that each holder exercising the oversubscription privilege will receive approximately 10% of the shares requested.

The Company expects to use the net proceeds from the rights offering, which are approximately $77 million, to repay outstanding indebtedness. The rights offering was the last step for the Company in the recapitalization plan that resulted in the Company spinning off its former subsidiaries RCN Corporation (NASDAQ: RCNC) and Cable Michigan, Inc. (NASDAQ: CABL).

Level 3 Telecom Holdings, Inc., which owned approximately 48% of the outstanding Common Stock and approximately 48% of the outstanding Class B Common Stock prior to the rights offering, exercised the 1,776,065 rights it received in respect of the shares it held.

About CTE

Headquartered in Dallas, PA, Commonwealth Telephone Enterprises, Inc., is a diversified telecommunications company providing advanced solutions to deliver communications, information and entertainment services to business and residential users in select United States markets.

CTE is organized into two principal operating segments: Commonwealth Telephone Company ("CT"), the nation's 11th largest independent incumbent local exchange carrier ("ILEC") which has been operating in various rural Pennsylvania markets since 1897, and CTSI, Inc. ("CTSI"), a competitive local exchange carrier ("CLEC") which formally commenced operations in 1997. Additionally, CTE operates three support businesses that provide expertise to its two principal operating segments. These businesses consist of Commonwealth Communications, a telecommunications engineering and consulting business, epixr Internet Services (www.epix.net) and Commonwealth Long Distance Company.

A web site featuring current information regarding CTE can be reached at www.ct-enterprises.com