Conestoga Enterprises, Inc. Announces 1st Quarter 2000 Earnings and 2nd Quarter Common Dividend and Semi-annual Preferred Dividend.

BIRDSBORO, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 28, 2000

At its monthly meeting held on April 28, 2000, the Conestoga Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ National Market: "CENI") Board of Directors declared a quarterly common stock dividend of $.21 per share, payable on June 15, 2000 to common shareholders of record at the close of business on May 31, 2000. The Board also declared the semi-annual preferred stock dividend of $1.71 per share, payable on June 1, 2000 to preferred shareholders of record at the close of business on May 15, 2000.

At the meeting Conestoga also reported its first quarter 2000 operating results. The following are selected financial highlights (in thousands except per share data):

                             First Quarter

                                         2000         1999(1)   Change
                                         ----         -----     ------
Operating Revenues                      $21,947      $20,553      + 7%
Operating Income                          1,592        3,132      -49%
EBITDA                                    5,704        6,896      -17%
Net Income                                  381        1,055      -64%
Basic Earnings per
Common Share                            $  0.03      $  0.12      -75%

Cash Flow from Operations                 3,447        2,121      +63%

(1) All 1999 results have been restated to include the TeleBeam
    acquisition which was recorded as a pooling of interest.

Conestoga's operating revenues for the first quarter of 2000 increased 7% due to increases in the local service revenues of its local exchange carriers, increases in the revenues from its competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC), increases in the wireless service revenues of its provider of personal communications services (PCS), and increases in equipment sales.

The 49% decline in operating income reflects development and expansion costs of the CLEC and PCS businesses and over $800,000 in one-time costs associated with the acquisition of TeleBeam, Incorporated, a telecommunications provider, based in State College, Pennsylvania, which Conestoga acquired on January 31, 2000.

Other income includes an $806,000 before tax gain from the sale of certain investment marketable securities.

Conestoga Wireless Company provides wireless communication services to over 11,000 PCS customers in southeast and central Pennsylvania. Its operating revenues during the first quarter were $852,000, a 172% increase over the first quarter of 1999. It showed an operating loss of $2.2 million, which loss, however, was in line with projections.

Conestoga Communications, Inc. (CCI), as of March 31, 2000, provided long distance services to over 25,000 customers and had over 3,900 CLEC lines in service in neighboring Bell of Pennsylvania territories. CCI's operating

revenues increased to $2.4 million, a 37% increase over the first quarter of 1999, and its operating loss decreased to $24,800, a 65% decrease from its loss in the first quarter of 1999.

Conestoga Telephone and Telegraph Company and Buffalo Valley Telephone Company, the local exchange carrier subsidiaries, during the first quarter generated $4.6 million in operating income and added 1,137 access lines, bringing total access lines to 80,000. Both Companies will be offering high-speed data digital subscriber line (DSL) service to their customers in May of this year.

Infocore, Inc., which is primarily a provider of customer premise equipment, generated $2.7 million in revenue during the first quarter of 2000, a 55.9% increase over the first quarter of 1999, primarily due to a one time sale and installation of security equipment to a major account.

TeleBeam, Inc., a provider of telecommunication services in State College, Pennsylvania, generated $3.4 million in operating revenues during the first quarter of 2000, but showed an operating loss of $592,000 for the period, primarily due to transaction costs arising from its acquisition by Conestoga.

Conestoga Enterprises, Inc. (CEI) is a Birdsboro, Pennsylvania based diversified telecommunications company with subsidiaries providing local telephone service, telephone equipment sales and service, long distance service, CLEC service, wireless PCS service, paging and Internet access. The Company provides services in southeastern and central Pennsylvania, serving in excess of 75,000 customers.

This news release may contain forward looking statements. while the Company believes they are expressed in good faith, there are no assurances that the actual outcome or results will not differ materially from any forward looking statement contained within.