Cincinnati Bell Ranked Nation's Number One Provider in Residential Long Distance Customer Satisfaction Among Mainstream Users

Business Wire, July 18, 2001

Business Editors and High Tech Writers

CINCINNATI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 18, 2001

Cincinnati Bell Any Distance Achieves Top Ranking In First Year Of

Eligibility In J.D. Power and Associates Study

Cincinnati Bell, a wholly owned subsidiary of Broadwing Inc. (NYSE:BRW), today received the number one ranking by J.D. Power and Associates for Residential Long Distance Customer Satisfaction among Mainstream Users. This is the first year that Cincinnati Bell's long distance service, Any Distance, was included in J.D. Power and Associates' study that included all major national carriers.

According to study results released today by J.D. Power and Associates, Cincinnati Bell Any Distance received higher than industry average rankings among mainstream users in all seven categories in the customer satisfaction index and ranked higher than other providers in five of the seven factors: cost of service/value for price, corporate image, billing, call quality and bundled services.

"It brings me great pride to receive this award in recognition of our employees' uncompromising commitment to serving customers," said Jack Cassidy, president and chief operating officer of Cincinnati Bell. "There is no greater authority in the consumer market today than J.D. Power and Associates. We are extremely pleased that our customers have awarded us this honor, and have spoken to us through the national voice of J.D. Power and Associates."

"Cincinnati Bell Any Distance is an example of what's possible when a company combines the superior network of Broadwing Communications, with actions that are in direct response to the needs of its customers," Cassidy continued. Cassidy has directed operations at Cincinnati Bell since 1999, and attributes the success of Any Distance and the recognition from Cincinnati Bell customers to the strength of his organization. "This award is the result of the commitment our employees bring to their jobs every day - to always put the customer first," said Cassidy.

Cincinnati Bell introduced Any Distance in January 2000 and was the first phone company in the nation to offer one free month of long distance to its customers, and one of the first to offer local and long distance together on one monthly bill. Greater Cincinnati responded in record-breaking fashion: after only 18 months in the marketplace, Any Distance captured more than 65 percent of the residential market, and today continues to provide straightforward, no-strings-attached rate plans to 413,000 residential customers.

"We believe this award validates Broadwing's mission," said Rick Ellenberger, president and CEO of Broadwing Inc. "The unparalleled strengths of Cincinnati Bell combined with Broadwing Communications' network technology and performance has resulted in an outstanding value for our customers and shareholders alike."

Note: J.D. Power and Associates 2001 Residential Long Distance Satisfaction Study(SM). Study conducted among 12,008 residential long distance users. Mainstream is defined as an average of less than $50 spent on long distance calls each month. www.jdpower.com.

About Cincinnati Bell and Broadwing

As one of the nation's most respected and best performing telecommunications company with a legacy of unparalleled customer service excellence and financial strength, Cincinnati Bell provides a wide range of telecommunications products and services to residential and business customers in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. Cincinnati Bell is a wholly owned subsidiary of Broadwing Inc. (NYSE:BRW).

Broadwing combines quality customer service with the industry's most advanced and flexible 18,500-mile next-generation fiber optic network and award-winning IP backbone, to create data and Internet solutions that are innovative, reliable, and provide businesses a competitive advantage. Broadwing will be the first provider with a fully deployed optical network and sets the standard for customer accountability with the industry's only Installation Guarantee. Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio and Austin, Texas with 6,000 employees in 56 sales and service offices across the country, Broadwing can be found on the Web at www.broadwing.com.