CCMI, the Center for Telecommunications Management information, revealed today that fewer than 150 deals were reported during March, 2005. BellSouth, Sprint, and Verizon posted no deals and AT&T's activity continued its decline in posted deals. At the same time, SBC continues to file the most deals of all the ILECs. Across the board, there is also a noticeable lag between the effective date of the deals and when the deals are being posted to the carrier web sites.

In March, the CCMI LD Negotiated Price Index dropped 1.78%, the largest month to month decrease since December 2004. Overall, the index decreased 2.49% over the last 3 months. The LD Negotiated Price Index is based on all deals containing long distance services published in a given month. This continues the trend of price decreases over the past six months. During the same period, Rack Rate and Retail Prices have been steady or rising. Analysis based on publicly disclosed negotiated deals.

Glenn Powell - CCMI's Director of Product Development - noted that current industry dynamics could be in part responsible for this downward trend. Powell queried "With the significant decrease we have seen in negotiated prives over the last 6 months, one has to wonder 'how low will prices go; and what impact can we expect the upcomming megamergers to have on this trend?'" Market reaction will most likely remain pending until FCC decisions regarding mergers are made public; DealWatch will report those results.

CCMI LD Negotiated Telecom Price Index Summary Report
LD Negotiated Telecom Price Index

Rack Rate Index:
March 2005 - 108.73 Index, +0.00% Change
February 2005 - 108.73 Index, +0.00% Change
January 2005 - 108.73 Index, +5.28% Change

Negotiated Rate Index:
March 2005 - 79.71 Index, -1.78% Change
February 2005 - 81.16 Index, +0.79% Change
January 2005 - 80.53 Index, -1.50% Change

Average MARC:
March 2005 - $645,300.01
February 2005 - $377,999.40
January 2005 - $645,300.01

In the same time frame retail telecom prices increased significantly in all market baskets, with Small Business leading the way with a whopping 3.8% increase. Medium Business also rose .59% with a slight increase of .5% for Large Business. Retail prices have increased twenty of the last twenty-three months. The price increases were driven by rises in long distance and intrastate private line rates.

CCMI Retail Telecom Price Index Summary Report
Retail Telecom Price Index

Small Business:
March 2005 - 111.93 Index, +3.80% Change
February 2005 - 107.84 Index, +0.05% Change
January 2005 - 107.78 Index, +0.07% Change

Medium Business:
March 2005 - 102.17 Index, +0.59% Change
February 2005 - 101.56 Index, +0.10% Change
January 2005 - 101.47 Index, +0.02% Change

Large Business:
March 2005 - 113.12 Index, +0.05% Change
February 2005 - 113.06 Index, +0.02% Change
January 2005 - 113.04 Index, +0.01% Change

source: CCMI DealWatch, www.ccmi.com/dealwatch.html

About CCMI's Telecom Price Indexes Retail Telecom Price Index

The Retail Telecom Price Index consists of a market basket of services including local, long distance, frame relay and private line. Each profile was developed based on an annual survey of telecommunications spending habits conducted in cooperation with The Telecom Manager's Voice Report. May 2003 is the Telecom Price Index base month with an index of 100.

* Retail Small Business Profile - Monthly spend approximately $10,000 with regional orientation. Majority of spend is related to voice services with heaviest expenditures on local and outbound long distance services, little international traffic. Small amount spent on private line and frame relay services.

* Retail Medium Business Profile - Monthly spend approximately $45,000 with national orientation. Majority of spend is still related to voice services but with increasing expenditures on outbound and inbound long distance services. More international long distance and higher private line and frame relay spends.

* Retail Large Business Profile - Monthly spend approximately $175,000 with national and international operations. Heavy data and broadband use with significant increase in frame relay spending. Long distance services represent a majority of the voice service monthly spend.

Negotiated Telecom Price Index

The Negotiated Telecom Price Index measures two key benchmark prices. The Rack Rate Index tracks the undiscounted average cost per minute of long distance calling using the calling profile for a typical domestic large business user. The Negotiated Rate Index uses the same profile and calculates the average cost per minute based on negotiated service contracts between large users and major long distance service providers. January 2004 is the Negotiated Price Index base month with an index of 100.

CCMI publishes the Negotiated and Retail Price Indexes monthly.

About CCMI
Founded in 1971, CCMI is the telecom industry's leading source for telecom information and applications. Our products and services help thousands of telecom providers and end-users, in the US and abroad, compete effectively, meet deadlines, cut costs and work smarter. From our industry standard telecom databases to the most comprehensive online repository of rate and tariff documents, to the most flexible network design and pricing application on the market -- CCMI delivers reliable information & innovative, practical solutions. More information on CCMI's conferences, products, and services can be found at www.ccmi.com.

Contacts:
Glenn Powell
Director, Product Development
CCMI
301-287-2383
gpowell@ccmi.com

Michele Campbell
Marketing Manager
CCMI
301-287-2641
mcampbell@ccmi.com