SureWest swings to loss, sales up

Independent telco SureWest Communications reported a $101,000 net loss as part of its third quarter earnings report. That seems like a far drop from the $20.9 million profit the company recorded in the second quarter of 2008, but that quarter was boosted by the sale of the company's wireless division. Otherwise, third quarter sales were strong, as revenue increased 39 percent over the third quarter last year, largely due to gains in the Kansas City market that Roseville, Calif.-based SureWest bought with its Everest Broadband acquisition.

SureWest posted a net loss of about 2,900 voice customers, but saw 1,500 of those users migrate to the company's VoIP service, which launched earlier this year. SureWest also said that new broadband services, such as HD DVR, were having a positive impact.

For more:
- SureWest issued this earnings release

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