**Exhibit 99**

 

**CautionaryStatement for Purposes of the “Safe Harbor” Provision of the Private SecuritiesLitigation Reform Act of 1995**

 

Forward-Looking Statements

 

Thisreport on Form 10-K and other documents filed by HickoryTech under the federalsecurities laws, including Form 10-Q and Form 8-K, and future verbal or writtenstatements by HickoryTech and its management, may include forward-lookingstatements. These statements may include, without limitation, statements withrespect to anticipated future operating and financial performance, growthopportunities and growth rates, acquisition and divestiture opportunities,business strategies, business and competitive outlook and other similarforecasts and statements of expectation. Words such as expects, anticipates,intends, plans, believes, seeks, estimates and should and variations of thesewords and similar expressions are intended to identify these forward-lookingstatements. Such forward-looking statements are subject to uncertainties thatcould cause HickoryTech’s actual results to differ materially from suchstatements.

 

Uncertaintiescausing differing results from those expressed in the forward-lookingstatements include, but are not limited to, those uncertainties set forthbelow:

 

•                  Theeffects of on-going deregulation in the telecommunications industry as a resultof the Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 (the “Telecommunications Act”)(which allows competition among telephone companies for the rights to offertelephone service to customers in a franchised service area) and other similarfederal and state legislation and regulations, including, without limitation,(i) greater than anticipated competition in HickoryTech’s predominately rurallocal exchange telephone markets, (ii) greater than anticipated reductions inrevenues received from federal and state access charges for switching longdistance traffic, (iii) the final outcome of regulatory and judicialproceedings with respect to interconnection agreements and access chargereforms, and (iv) future state regulatory actions taken in response to theTelecommunications Act.

 

•                  Thelack of assurance that HickoryTech can compete effectively against superiorcapitalized competitors or competitors with a larger national or regionalmarket niche.

 

•                  Theeffects of greater than anticipated competition, including, without limitation,competition requiring new pricing or marketing strategies or new productofferings, the attendant risk that HickoryTech will not be able to respond on atimely or profitable basis and the competitive effect of relationships withother carriers causing new pricing on services such as wireless roamingagreements and interexchange access charges.

 

•                  HickoryTech’sability to successfully introduce new products and services, including, withoutlimitation, (i) the ability of Crystal (which started its competitive localexchange carrier (CLEC) business in January 1998) to provide competitive localservice in new markets, (ii) the ability of NIBI (which is a billing and dataservices company) to implement, market, and sell its SuiteSolution billingsystem, (iii) the ability of MSWC (a wireless telephone company purchased inMay 1998) to successfully implement, market, and sell its new digital wirelessnetwork products and services and to maintain adequate profit margins, (iv) theability of HickoryTech to offer bundled service packages on terms attractive toits customers, (v) the ability of HickoryTech to expand successfully its longdistance and Internet offerings to new markets and (vi) the ability ofHickoryTech to introduce and sell the equipment and systems of Nortel, BayNetworks and Cisco versus the competitive alternatives of other suppliers.

 

•                  Possiblechanges in the demand for HickoryTech’s products and services, including, withoutlimitation, lower than anticipated demand for, (i) premium telephone services,additional access lines per household or minutes of use volume associated withtelephone service, (ii) wireless telephone service, installations and/or thetraffic associated with service, (iii) data processing services or billingsystems, and (iv) communication and data equipment.

 

 

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•                  Regulatorylimits on HickoryTech’s ability to change its prices for telephone services inresponse to competitive pressures.

 

•                  Therisks inherent in rapid technological change, including, without limitation,the risk that technologies will not be procured by HickoryTech on a timely orcost-effective basis or perform according to expectations.

 

•                  Therisks associated with decisions of other telecommunications carriers involvingtheir choice of networking, routes, points of interconnection, technology orsignaling protocol, and other telecommunications issues.

 

•                  HickoryTech’sability to effectively manage its growth, including, without limitation,HickoryTech’s ability to (i) integrate the operations of Crystal and MSWC intoHickoryTech’s operations, (ii) manage NIBI’s development of and migration toSuiteSolution as its new primary software platform for billing and customercare management, (iii) achieve projected economies of scale and cost savings,(iv) meet pro forma cash flow projections developed by management in valuingnewly-acquired businesses, (v) conform with existing debt covenants andnegotiate new debt facilities which conform with evolving business plans, (vi)implement necessary internal controls and retain and attract key personnel and(vii) identify future acquisition opportunities for growth.

 

•                  Anydifficulties in HickoryTech’s ability to expand through additionalacquisitions, whether caused by financing constraints, a decrease in the poolof attractive target companies, or competition for acquisitions from otherinterested buyers.

 

•                  Theeffects of more general factors, including, without limitation:

 

•  Changes in general industry and marketconditions and growth rates.

•  Changes in interest rates or other generalnational, regional, or local economic conditions.

•      Changesin legislation, regulation or public policy.

•      Unanticipatedincreases in capital, operating or administrative costs, or the impact of newbusiness opportunities requiring significant up-front investments.

•      Thecontinued availability of financing in amounts, terms and conditions necessaryto support HickoryTech’s operations.

•  Changes in HickoryTech’s relationships withvendors.

•  Changes in HickoryTech’s debt ratios and theresultant effect on debt ratings.

•  Unfavorable outcomes of regulatory or legalproceedings.

•      Changesin accounting policies or practices adopted voluntarily or as required bygenerally accepted accounting principles.

 

Due to theuncertainties listed above and the fact that any forward-looking statements byHickoryTech and its management are based on estimates, projections, beliefs andassumptions of management, they are not guarantees of future performance.Except as required by law, HickoryTech disclaims any obligation to update orrevise any forward-looking statements based on the occurrence of future events,the receipt of new information, or otherwise.

 

 

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