January 24, 2005

Molalla Communications Continues

to Pass Savings on to Members

Molalla Communications Company is once again passing their operating efficiencies on to the Membership. You may recall that the telephone cooperative lowered the Extended Area Service Rate by over 13% less than a year ago. This time Molalla Communications is lowering the dial-up Internet rate and implementing new electronic billing option credits which will be available to the entire Membership. According to Ed Lettenmaier, Chairman of the cooperative Board of Directors, “Reducing rates to our Membership is a wonderful accomplishment that all of the employees should be commended for. The entire team of employees at Molalla Communications was given the challenge of identifying ways to operate more efficiently and to drive costs out of our system. The employees rose wonderfully to the challenge and the result of their efforts are these significant price reductions.”

Molalla Communications will be offering lower rates to the cooperative Membership in three areas: Dial-up Internet rates, billing option credits, and high-speed Broadband Internet Service.

Effective immediately, the basic dial-up Internet rate will be lowered to $15.00 per month. Additionally, cooperative members who elect to receive their monthly statement electronically, via their email account, will receive a recurring $2 monthly credit on their bill. Members who elect to sign up for automatic bill payment from either their bank account or charged to their credit card will receive a $1 monthly recurring credit. According to Michael East, Molalla Communications President and CEO, “The cost of producing, mailing, and processing a monthly statement is significant. By utilizing technologies that are both proven and secure, the cooperative can reduce costs and is able to pass those savings on directly to the Membership who are making that possible.” The final rate reduction is targeted directly to current and potential high-speed Internet Broadband customers. Effective immediately, Broadband customers who sign up for both electronic billing and automatic bill payment will receive an additional $2 monthly recurring billing credit, for a combined savings of $5 per month. This rate reduction effectively lowers the Broadband rate to $29.95 per month.

“We are offering the combined $5 monthly billing option credit to our Broadband customers as our way of saying thank you to those current members who utilize this advanced service, and as an additional incentive for those potential customers who are currently considering signing up for this great service,” said Michael East.

The Molalla Communications mission statement is to be a ‘progressive telecommunications cooperative committed to providing state-of-the-art voice, data, and entertainment services.’ Marci Marsh, Board Director and Vice-Chairperson stated, “This is our goal. This is what the employees of Molalla Communications are in pursuit of each day. I think that the membership can be proud of the team of people employed here. I know I am.”

The Molalla Communications Board of Directors are: Ed Lettenmaier, Chairman; Marci Marsh, Vice Chairperson; Kae Wise, Secretary; Dick Lefever, Director; and Lorraine Peters, Director.