Integra Telecom Named One of Oregon's Most Admired Companies for Fourth Consecutive Year

Business Wire, Dec 9, 2008

Oregon CEOs and the Portland Business Journal Select Integra as Oregon's Third Most Admired Technology Company

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Integra Telecom Inc. was once again recognized by the Oregon business community at today's luncheon for Oregon's Most Admired Companies. Integra has been named to the Portland Business Journal's list every year since its inception in 2005; the company moved from tenth most admired technology company in 2005 to eighth in 2006, sixth in 2007, and now to third in 2008. Integra was selected from among 97 technology companies and was the only telecom company recognized.

"We're honored to once again be named among the most admired companies in Oregon," said Dudley Slater, CEO of Integra Telecom. "The past year has been a period of tremendous growth and adaptation for Integra as we continued to integrate our acquired Eschelon Telecom employees, customers and systems. I'm extremely proud that these achievements have been recognized by the broader business community."

More than 2,000 Oregon CEOs were asked to vote for the greatest companies in Oregon. Voters ranked each company based on attributes such as innovation, customer service and community involvement. Award recipients were selected from eight industry categories including: technology, professional services, commercial real estate, health care, nonprofits, agriculture and forest products, financial services and traditional manufacturing.

Oregon's Most Admired Companies is an annual Portland Business Journal event. Hosted by publisher Craig Wessel, the event is one of the publication's business programs aimed at recognizing Oregon's leading businesses.

About Integra Telecom Inc.

Integra Telecom Inc. provides voice, data and Internet communications to thousands of business and carrier customers in 11 Western states, including: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, Utah and Washington. The company owns and operates a best-in-class fiber-optic network composed of metropolitan access networks, a nationally acclaimed tier one Internet and data network, and a 4,700-mile high-speed long haul network. The company has earned some of the highest customer loyalty and customer satisfaction ratings in the telecommunications industry. Primary equity investors in the company include Warburg Pincus, Banc of America Capital Investors and Boston Ventures. Integra Telecom and Electric Lightwave, Eschelon Telecom, Unicom and OneEighty Communications are registered trademarks of Integra Telecom Inc. For more information, visit www.integratelecom.com.