CenturyTel Inc. has announced that Kenneth R. Cole resigned his

position as the company’s executive vice president and chief operating

officer. Cole has accepted the position of president and chief operating

officer of Valor Communications, L.L.C.

“We will move quickly to select a highly qualified candidate to fill

the chief operating officer position,” said Glen F. Post, III, president and

chief executive officer of CenturyTel. “We wish Ken the best of luck in his

future endeavors. Until a replacement has been selected, I will perform the

functions of chief operating officer as CenturyTel continues to implement

its strategy to become the leading telecommunications service provider

in rural America.”

CenturyTel is the seventh largest local exchange telephone

company, based on access lines, and the ninth largest cellular company, based

on population equivalents owned in the United States.