BOCA RATON, Fla. -- CopperCom, the company that is Liberating the Local Exchange, today announced that its CSX 1100 local exchange softswitch system has been accepted for a Rural Utilities Service (RUS) listing. RUS, an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), provides rural utility companies with low-interest financing for the purchase of RUS listed telecommunications equipment. The successful trial was conducted with Lost Nation-Elwood Telephone Company, an Independent Operating Carrier (IOC) based in Lost Nation, Iowa. Lost Nation-Elwood, serving over 1100 subscribers, has migrated the majority of their customers to the CSX, and continues to decommission their Nortel DMS-10 switch.

"We are impressed with the performance of the CSX platform, particularly its reliability, feature set and ease of administration, as well as with CopperCom's unique CPML capability," said Tom Mullins, chief executive officer, Lost Nation-Elwood Telephone. "CopperCom's focus on quality, partnership approach and dedication to customers continue to convince us that we have made the best choice in a next generation switch supplier."

"With the RUS listing, combined with our strong financial backing as part of The Heico Companies, customers can have the confidence that CopperCom has the commitment and staying power to continue to lead in next generation switching," said Mike Myers, president and chief executive officer, CopperCom. "The CSX's ability to successfully replace a proven legacy switch is a turning point in the industry, and confirms that the CSX's innovative and flexible architecture meets the demands of the IOC marketplace. "

"We performed extensive SS7 testing of the CSX 1100 in our lab in June 2003," said Leon Hofer, vice president of network operations, Iowa Network Services. "We believe it meets all the regulatory, inter and intra-office features required to meet the growing needs of our Iowa clients. RUS listing is an important consideration for many Independent Telephone Companies."

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