CORE COMMUNICATIONS, INC. COMPLETES MODEM
COVERAGE THROUGHOUT MARYLAND
-- Annapolis-based company opens new Data
Center in Damascus to service customers --

Annapolis, MD, December 20, 2000 -- Core Communications, Inc. announced today that the company’s managed modem service is now available to Internet Service Providers (ISPs) throughout the state of Maryland.

The addition of the Washington, D.C. suburbs, a zone stretching from northern Montgomery County to Saint Mary’s County in southern Maryland, means that Core Communications’ products are now available to ISPs throughout Maryland. Core Communications will service this region from its newest Data Center in Damascus, Maryland.

"Urban, rural, Eastern Shore, Western Maryland, Core Communications offers ISPs the ability to market to and service people and businesses anywhere in Maryland where's there's a phone line and dial tone,” said Bret Mingo, Core Communications’ President & CEO. "We know, and our ISP customers know, there's not a single Marylander who doesn't have a good use for basic, affordable access to the Internet. While most competitive telcos are focused on high-density business districts, Core Communications is focused on enabling local and regional ISPs to bring Internet access to historically underserved areas.

”Core Communications’ has developed a managed modem service for ISPs that allows them to expand their networks in an efficient, scalable way. By using Core Communications’ products, ISPs have access to end user customers at any location within the state, from Ocean City and the Eastern Shore, through Annapolis, Baltimore, and the Washington, DC suburbs, all the way to Frederick, Hagerstown, and Garrett County, on the West Virginia border.

Core Communications’ product line includes:

• Core DSL – ISPs that partner with Core Communications have access to the Covad tm DSL network’s nationwide footprint at wholesale rates.

• Core Managed Modems – Core Communications’ managed modems are interconnected with Verizon’s network offering reliability and scalability to ISPs at competitive rates.

• Core Bandwidth Solutions – Core Communications’ exclusive East Coast backbone enables its customers to peer with one another, access a variety of upstream backbone providers and take advantage of advanced streaming and caching services, including Akamai’s Accelerated Network servers.

Core Communications has been providing managed modem services in Maryland since 1998, and currently serves 15 leading local and regional ISPs including: ToadNet, Internet, XecuNet, Annapolis Internet, Compass Computer Services, and MetroNets.

In addition to its newest Data Center in Damascus, Core Communications also has Data Centers in Easton, Mount Airy and downtown Baltimore.

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About Core Communications, Inc.

Core Communications, Inc. ("CoreTel") is a Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC) headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland. CoreTel competes directly with Verizon - Maryland, Inc. and other CLECs in the highly contested data communications marketplace. CoreTel relies on its expertise with integrating the Internet and telephone networks to provide targeted services to data-focused customers. As a CLEC, CoreTel is the product of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which deregulated local exchange telecommunications nationwide, as well as the pro-competition policies of the Maryland Public Service Commission. CoreTel's investors include Charles Ross Partners, LLC. For more information, please visit CoreTel's web site at www.coretel.net.