MCLEODUSA SELECTS BRIGHTSTAR AS STRATEGIC LOGISTICS & FULFILLMENT PARTNER FOR PREFERRED ADVANTAGE WIRELESS OFFERING

CEDAR RAPIDS, IL AND VERNON HILLS, IL – January 7, 2004 – McLeodUSA Incorporated (Nasdaq: MCLD), one of the nation’s largest independent competitive telecommunications services providers, and Brightstar Corp., a distributor and provider of value-added services for the wireless telecommunications industry, announced they have entered a multi-year wireless handset fulfillment and supply chain logistics agreement.

McLeodUSA selected Brightstar to support its new Preferred AdvantageSM Wireless service, which was launched on to business customers located in 24 Midwest, Southwest, Northwest and Rocky Mountain states.

“We are enthusiastic about the addition of McLeodUSA’s new wireless product to our comprehensive suite of communications services for business customers. We believe Brightstar’s extensive wireless expertise, flexibility and breadth of services compliments our commitment to deliver the best customer experience in the communications industry,” supports our commitment to deliver a great customer service experience,” said Chris A. Davis, Chairman and CEO of McLeodUSA.

According to the terms of the contract, Brightstar will supply customized logistics services for McLeodUSA, including: supply chain management, procurement, quality control, customization and fulfillment directly to the wireless customer.

Denise Gibson, chief operating officer of Brightstar and president of Brightstar US said, “I’m pleased to congratulate McLeodUSA on the launch of its wireless offering for business. We believe this will be a very successful relationship as both companies have strong customer service philosophies. McLeodUSA is well known for exceptional customer service, and Brightstar’s success also has been predicated on a customer-centric approach.”

McLeodUSA provides integrated communications services, including local and long distance voice, wireless voice, data and Internet services to customers across a 25-state footprint.

About Brightstar
Founded in 1997, Brightstar Corporation is a leading distributor and provider of value-added supply chain services to the wireless telecom industry and also designs and manufactures products under licensing agreements with leading manufacturers. Brightstar was recently named to the Inc. 500 fastest growing private companies in the United States and ranks second on the Hispanic Business 500. The company is ISO 9001:2000 certified with a customer base that includes over 160 network operators and nearly 15,000 distributors, agents, resellers and retailers around the world. Brightstar is one of Motorola’s strategic partners in Latin America and the U.S. and an authorized distributor for all leading wireless equipment manufacturers. Brightstar operates 21 facilities in 16 countries worldwide. Its headquarters is based in Miami, FL, with operations in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, the United States and Puerto Rico and Venezuela.

Contact: Sally Lange, Brightstar, 847-383-4016, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

About McLeodUSA
McLeodUSA provides integrated communications services, including local, long distance, wireless voice, data, and Internet services in 25 Midwest, Southwest, Northwest and Rocky Mountain states. The Company is a facilities-based telecommunications provider with, as of September 30, 2003, 38 ATM switches, 44 voice switches, 604 collocations, 435 DSLAMs and 3,480 employees. As of April 16, 2002, Forstmann Little & Co. became a 58% shareholder in the Company. Visit the Company’s website at mcleodusa.com.

Contact: Karen Fox, McLeodUSA, 319-790-7800, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Some of the statements in this press release include statements about our future expectations. Statements that are not historical facts are “forward-looking statements” for the purpose of the safe harbor provided by Section 21E of the Exchange Act and Section 27A of the Securities Act. Such statements may include projections of financial and operational results and goals, including revenue, EBITDA, profitability, savings and cash. These forward-looking statements are subject to known as well as unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations. Our expectations are based on various factors and assumptions and reflect only our predictions. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statement include technological, regulatory, public policy or other developments in our industry, availability and adequacy of capital resources, current and future economic conditions, the existence of strategic alliances, our ability to generate cash, our ability to implement process and network improvements, our ability to attract and retain customers, our ability to migrate traffic to appropriate platforms and changes in the competitive climate in which we operate. These and other risks are described in more detail in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Form 10-K/A both filed with the SEC. The Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of future events, new information or otherwise.