SureWest will soon join Russell 3000 Index

SureWest Communications' (Nasdaq: SURW) star continues to rise as the ILEC's stock will soon join the U.S. Russell 3000 Index later this month. According to a preliminary list of additions posted on the Russell site last Friday, SureWest is slated to go on the Index.

Steve Oldham, SureWest's president, in a statement, said that it "has rejoined the Russell 2000 Index based on our continued growth and strong performance"--an automatic inclusion for companies that make the Russell 3000.

A big contributor to its growth is the service provider's ongoing fiber drive that is extending Fiber to the Home (FTTH)-based services to residential customers and as a conduit for new business and wholesale wireless backhaul services that lie within the path of the fiber going into the ground.

SureWest's fiber-based broadband drive continues to be done in both its legacy Roseville, Calif. area and its Kansas City market where it just recently lit up an additional 5,000 homes with its FTTH service.

"The demand for our fiber services from both residential and business customers has enabled us to continue to build out our network and validates our expectations for strong growth moving forward," Oldham said.

And the earnings reflect these trends. In Q1 2011, SureWest's broadband revenues were up 7 percent year-over-year and accounted for 75 percent of the company's total revenues in the quarter, compared to 71 percent in the first quarter 2010.

For more:
- Sacramento Business Journal has this article

Commentary: Solving the backhaul dilemma

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