Business Services Industry

PaeTec CEO Selected Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst and Young

Business Wire, July 2, 2001

Business Editors

FAIRPORT, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 2, 2001

PaeTec Corp., a holding company whose principal subsidiary is PaeTec Communications, Inc., an integrated communications provider, today announced that Arunas A. Chesonis, PaeTec's Chairman of the Board and CEO, was named Upstate New York's 2001 Entrepreneur Of The Year.

The annual award, sponsored by Ernst and Young, was presented at a formal banquet held on June 28th at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Rochester, NY.

Ernst and Young's Entrepreneur Of The Year (R) award is one of the nation's premier recognition programs honoring and celebrating entrepreneurial innovators. The award recognizes those individuals whose ingenuity, entrepreneurial talent, and business leadership have created and sustained successful, growing business ventures. In addition to receiving this prestigious Upstate New York honor, Chesonis also will be eligible for the National Entrepreneur Of The Year award, as well as National Entrepreneur Of The Year category awards. As a regional Entrepreneur Of The Year recipient, Chesonis will be inducted into the Entrepreneur Of The Year Hall of Fame.

"I am truly honored to have been selected from such a distinguished group of business leaders," said Chesonis. "However, this distinction is not a reflection of merely one individual's efforts. I am thrilled, and very proud, to share this honor with the entire PaeTec team. It is their commitment to excellence, their hard work, and their unwavering dedication that is responsible for PaeTec's success and the reason behind this tremendous recognition. They are PaeTec's foundation and the key to PaeTec's future prosperity. I am immensely fortunate to work side by side with such innovative, driven, and caring professionals."

PaeTec was born out of simple vision -- to establish the most customer and employee-oriented integrated communications provider in the country. A company in which customers' needs are paramount and the wealth derived from the company's successes are shared with the people who create the value. In only three years, PaeTec has grown into a company that employs almost 1,000 individuals and serves business customers in 26 markets across the country. During 2000, PaeTec had achieved over $123 million in revenue.

The Entrepreneur Of The Year program was founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP and nationally co-sponsored by USA Today, CNN, the Nasdaq Stock Market, and the Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. Entrepreneur Of The Year is sponsored locally by Bowne, Buffalo Niagara Partnership, The Central New York Business Journal, The Citibank Private Bank, Marsh USA, Inc., Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation and the Rochester Business Journal.

About PaeTec

Based in Fairport, NY, PaeTec Communications, Inc. is an integrated communications provider offering broadband services, including advanced voice and video, enhanced data, and communications management services to medium-sized and large businesses, colleges and universities, hospitals, governmental organizations and affinity groups. PaeTec serves customers in 26 markets, including: Albany, Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Connecticut, Fort Lauderdale, Long Island, Los Angeles, Miami, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York City, Orlando, Orange County, Philadelphia, Rhode Island, Rochester, San Diego, Northern Virginia, Syracuse, Washington, DC, and Western Massachusetts. PaeTec currently has over 950 employees. For further information, please visit the PaeTec website at http://www.paetec.com.

About Ernst & Young

Ernst & Young, a global leader in professional services, helps clients quickly and confidently make financial decisions designed to enhance value. Its 77,000 people in more than 130 countries have the industry and financial experience to provide fresh perspectives on operating successfully in the new economy. Ernst & Young offers traditional audit and tax services, as well as customized services in corporate finance, online security, risk management, the valuation of intangibles and e-business acceleration. In addition, legal services are available in various parts of the world where permitted. A collection of Ernst & Young's latest ideas on the new economy can be found at www.ey.com/thoughtcenter.> Ernst & Young refers to the U.S. firm of Ernst & Young LLP and other members of the global Ernst & Young organization.

Entrepreneur Of The Year (R) is a registered service mark of Ernst & Young LLP.