September 3, 2008

WildBlue Secures $50M in New Funding

WildBlue Communications announced it has completed a $50 million equity financing to support its continued growth. The financing was led by Liberty Media, Intelsat, the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative and the private equity firm of Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield and Byers. Terms of the financing were not disclosed.

The proceeds will fund WildBlue's recently launched customer equipment leasing program, enabling the company's award-winning service to be offered to new customers throughout rural America at the lowest upfront price in the company's history. WildBlue will also expand its workforce in the areas of customer care and field service operations.

"This equity investment underscores our major shareholders' strong support for WildBlue's vision and it enables us to continue and expand our commitment to delivering a superior customer experience," said David Leonard, WildBlue's Chief Executive Officer. "A broadband Internet connection is an essential tool for participating fully in the information economy, and in these challenging economic times, rural residents are looking for a more affordable solution" added Leonard.

WildBlue estimates that there are over 11 million households in areas throughout the United States where DSL or cable broadband services are not available and that over 7 million of these households are still accessing the Internet through a traditional dial-up connection.

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