HickoryTech and Master Merchant Systems Deployed at Bluegrass Cellular, Inc.

Pre-Integrated Billing and Point of Sale Streamline Operations for Cellular
Provider
MANKATO, Minn.--(Business Wire)--
HickoryTech Corporation (Nasdaq: HTCO) today announced the successful
implementation of a multi-vendor billing and point of sale solution for
Bluegrass Cellular, Inc. of Elizabethtown, Ky. The deployment included
HickoryTech`s SuiteSolution® billing and customer management system and point of
sale software provided by Master Merchant Systems, LLC. This pre-integrated
combination of products is now available to cellular providers nationwide.

"Our strategy was to replace an aging system with an integrated solution
provided by vendors known for delivering depth of functionality in their area of
expertise," stated Keith Carter, director of customer systems at Bluegrass
Cellular, Inc. "We selected HickoryTech and Master Merchant Systems based on
their combined ability to meet our current and projected business needs."

"Cellular and wireline companies have taken note of the strength of
SuiteSolution to produce positive results, from efficiently handling customers
in the front office to automating processes in the back office, and ultimately
improving their bottom line," said Lane Nordquist, president of HickoryTech`s
Information Solutions Division. "Bluegrass Cellular valued the fact that
SuiteSolution has proven itself in this industry as a solid performer."

HickoryTech`s SuiteSolution bills for any combination of wireless, wireline or
IP products and services. The system is designed to include open interfaces to
pass information to third-party products such as point of sale, provisioning,
facilities management and work force management. SuiteSolution is a web-based
system including modules for customer relationship management, back office
management, work flow management, tariff management, message processing,
subscriber billing, web care, directory, and carrier access billing. It is
available as either a hosted or in-house solution.

In partnership with Master Merchant Systems (MMS) and HickoryTech, Bluegrass
Cellular deployed a scalable retail management solution that provides an
intuitive and complete point of sale environment with accurate and refined
inventory management. Master Merchant System`s solutions afford the added
benefit of service agreement creation signed electronically at the point of sale
and stored in a secure electronic vault.

"This provides carriers and retailers alike with a solution which ensures lower
contract rejection though heightened access controls, availability, and security
over paper contracts," says Colin Kennedy, product development manager with
Master Merchant Systems. "With a full featured point of sale including direct
integrations to SuiteSolution, integrated payment processing, Flipswap trade-in
program and the scalability to suit even the largest and most demanding
customers, we`ve kept the sales level interface intuitive and linear to minimize
the training costs associated with system use in the retail environment."

The company`s ability to design and deploy the integrated HickoryTech/MMS
solution has had a very positive impact in the Bluegrass environment which
resonates from point of sale to management levels.

Headquartered in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, Bluegrass Cellular has been operating
in Kentucky for over 19 years with 21 company owned retail locations and over 35
authorized agent locations. A pioneer in the wireless field in the state`s rural
areas, Bluegrass was the first to offer digital cellular service to Central
Kentucky in 1998.

About HickoryTech Information Solutions-HickoryTech Information Solutions
develops customer management and billing software for HickoryTech and
distributes this software across North America for broadband, wireline and
wireless companies. For further information, visit www.is.hickorytech.com.

About HickoryTech-HickoryTech Corporation, headquartered in Mankato, Minnesota,
offers integrated communication products and services to business and
residential customers over a regional fiber network. The company, founded in
1898, has approximately 430 employees. The Telecom Sector, with facilities-based
operations in Minnesota and Iowa, offers local voice, long distance, high-speed
Internet, digital television, and Internet provider networking services to
residential and business customers. In addition, the Information Solutions
Division develops telecom and carrier access billing solutions and customer
management systems. The Enventis Sector provides Internet provider-based voice,
data and network solutions to businesses across a five-state region. For further
information, visit www.hickorytech.com.

HickoryTech Corporation
Jennifer Spaude, 507-386-3765

Copyright Business Wire 2009