TO: EDITORS, NEWS DIRECTORS

DATE: August 24, 2001

FOR: IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Approval Granted to Saddleback Communications to Provide Service on Indian Reservation
Deal Moves on to FCC for Final Step

PHOENIX - Saddleback Communications, a division of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, received state approval today to increase its size by a factor of 10 - growing from 300 customers to more than 3,200 - by purchasing access lines from Qwest. Qwest Corporation serves approximately 3,200 residential and business customers on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. One final hurdle remains at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) before the 3,200 Qwest lines are transferred to Saddleback's ownership.

Under the direction of former FCC Chairman Bill Kennard, the FCC adopted a critical 8-point plan that included an initiative to modernize communications and bring greater Internet access to sovereign Indian nations throughout the country. Arizona Corporation Commissioner Jim Irvin appeared before the FCC in Washington to push for this 8-point plan. "While I was Chairman of the Arizona Corporation Commission, I learned the plight of the Indian nations and carried their message to the FCC," Irvin said. "The Native American people needed better communications technology before real economic development could take place on the reservations." The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community was one of the first few Indian reservations to enter into a public-private partnership with local phone companies to bring modern telecommunications service to the reservations.

Saddleback, founded in 1997, was formed to increase the deployment of communications technology on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. Now, a broader customer base will help Saddleback fund further advancements. "Saddleback is in the process of building an extensive network of electronic equipment, fiberoptic cable and putting new copper wire where it's needed," Michael Scully, president and general manager of Saddleback, explained. "The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community is witnessing our commitment to bring new services like DSL and high-quality, reliable voice and data communications to the area. In the years to come, we will be a key component of the economic progress that comes to the community."

Bill Mundell, Chairman of the Arizona Corporation Commission, called today's approval "part of Arizona's attempt to bring more communications technologies and increased local phone penetration to the reservations while allowing the sovereign nation to regulate itself." As a division of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, Saddleback Communications will be regulated by members of the tribal community.

Corporation Commissioner Marc Spitzer joined Commissioner Irvin and Chairman Mundell in voting in favor of the sale. "I am pleased to vote in favor of the sale and I hope the FCC allows the transfer to go forward so that the reservation can experience the kind of real economic development that the nearby metropolitan areas enjoy." Spitzer was alluding to the fact that the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community is adjacent to the cities of Scottsdale, Fountain Hills and Mesa, Arizona.

Before the transfer of assets can be completed, the FCC must approve the transaction. When the Arizona Corporation Commission Order was signed today, it enabled the FCC to begin review of the Saddleback Communications/Qwest Corporation application.