TO BUSINESS, MEDICAL AND TECHNOLOGY EDITORS:

      Lightpath Optical Network Now Reducing Hospital Telecommunication
                            Costs In New York City

JERICHO, N.Y., Aug. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Lightpath(R), the business telecommunications services division of Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE: CVC), today announced that it has been selected as Lenox Hill Hospital's primary provider of voice, data and Internet services. Lenox Hill Hospital is the first hospital in Manhattan to which Lightpath is providing advanced telecommunications services. Lightpath already serves 36 major hospitals throughout Westchester County and Northern New Jersey, as well as 95% of the hospitals on Long Island.

To support this multi-year contract, Lightpath built a private optical network to carry Lenox Hill Hospital's voice, data and Internet traffic, at a significant cost savings for the institution. This SONET access ring interconnects Lenox Hill Hospital's four facilities in Manhattan via Lightpath's optical core local exchange transport network: the main Lenox Hill Hospital facility at 100 East 77th Street on Manhattan's Upper East Side; the Manhattan Eye, Ear & Throat Hospital, a subsidiary of Lenox Hill Hospital; and the two Lenox Hill Community Medical Group outpatient centers. In addition, this private network will help ensure that the effects of a disaster will be minimized and that the Hospital will be able to maintain mission-critical functions.

"We were impressed by the level of service Lightpath was delivering to other major hospital networks in the New York metropolitan area. Our hope was to get the price/performance metrics we were looking for, and we did," said Lou Ajamy, vice president/chief information officer at Lenox Hill Hospital. "When the network was built and our first facility lit up in 45 days, we knew we had made the right choice."

In a competitive bid process, Lightpath was selected over the incumbent carrier to build this private optical network due to its robust network design and ability to meet Lenox Hill Hospital's very aggressive deployment window of 30-60 days. The nearly bulletproof network that Lightpath proposed included redundancy throughout the entire network with each location having dual fiber entrances and redundant network components (e.g., multiplexers, hubs and switches). In addition, the redundant access network rings connect to physically diverse paths on Lightpath's metropolitan area network, each of which has separate Central Office (CO) locations and redundant 5ESS voice switches, which are both located outside of Manhattan, ensuring that the network can remain in operation even in the event of a major disruption.

"We promised and delivered a secure network platform for Lenox Hill Hospital that not only satisfies their needs today, but will easily scale to accommodate tomorrow's growth, enabling the Hospital to further enhance the level of patient care," said Joseph Lhota, president of Lightpath. "Our work with the Hospital is a testament to the way we design, plan and implement the Lightpath network on our customer's behalf, regardless of their specific industry."

The Lightpath network supports the Hospital's voice communications, a number of data applications, including patient order entry and patient billing, as well as Internet-based applications, such as collaborative medical research with other facilities around the world.

Having this carrier-class network in place will also enable Lenox Hill Hospital to deploy a number of bandwidth intensive applications to improve the level of patient care being delivered by its physicians and staff. Among these are the Hospital's new clinical information system, a centralized system that can be accessed by doctors located in any of the Hospital's facilities, and a digital radiology imaging system, so doctors can review X-ray films and MRI on computer monitors at a patient's bedside.

Lightpath owns and operates its metropolitan area network from end-to-end, enabling it to maintain the highest technical and quality standards. The New York State Public Service Commission has commended Lightpath for service excellence for four consecutive years.

About Lenox Hill Hospital

Lenox Hill Hospital, on Manhattan's Upper East Side, is a 652-bed, fully accredited, acute care hospital and a major teaching affiliate of NYU Medical Center. Founded in 1857, the Hospital has earned a national reputation for providing the highest quality care, training new physicians, contributing to progress in research, and offering innovative community outreach programs. More information can be found at http://www.lenoxhillhospital.org/.

About Lightpath

Lightpath provides voice, data and Internet communications services over a state-of-the-art fiber-optic network to the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut business market. As part of one of the nation's leading communications corporations, Lightpath provides customers the benefit of Cablevision's extensive network experience and resources. With 2002 revenue in excess of $160 million, more than 140,000 access lines and 18,000 Internet circuits, Lightpath utilizes its fiber optic network to deliver digital telecommunications services with faster transmission speeds, clearer sound quality, greater route diversity and dependability. Lightpath customers can count on one provider for all of their communication needs. For more information visit the Lightpath website at www.lightpath.net.

About Cablevision Systems Corporation

Cablevision Systems Corporation is one of the nation's leading entertainment, media and telecommunications companies. In addition to its broadband, cable, Internet and telephone offerings, the company owns and operates Rainbow Media Holdings, Inc. and its networks; Madison Square Garden and its teams; and, Clearview Cinemas. In addition, Cablevision operates New York's famed Radio City Music Hall. Additional information about Cablevision Systems Corporation is available on the Web at www.cablevision.com.

SOURCE  Lightpath, Inc.