Cincinnati Bell 2008 Annual Report Download - page 18

Q: How can I attend and vote my shares at the meeting?
A: Shares held directly in your name as the shareholder of record may be voted in person at the Annual
Meeting. If you choose to attend the meeting and vote in person, you will need to provide proof of identification
and then you will be presented a proxy card. Beneficial shares, held either in street name or credited to your
account under a Company employee or director plan, cannot be voted at the Annual Meeting unless you obtain a
signed proxy from the shareholder of record authorizing you to vote these shares.
Q: How can I vote my shares without attending the meeting?
A: The methods for voting without attending the meeting are:
•By Internet — If you have internet access, you may submit your vote from any location by following the
instructions provided in the Notice or the proxy card.
•By Telephone — If you live in the United States or Canada, you may submit your vote by following the
“Vote by Phone” instructions provided in the Notice or the proxy card.
•By Mail — You may vote by mail by completing and signing your proxy card and mailing it in the
accompanying enclosed, pre-addressed postage-paid envelope.
Q: What happens if I don’t give specific voting instructions?
A: The effect of not providing specific voting instructions depends on if you are the shareholder of record or
the beneficial owner of the shares.
Shareholder of Record
If you are a shareholder of record and (i) you indicate when voting on the internet or by telephone that you
wish to vote as recommended by the Board, or (ii) you sign and return a proxy without giving specific voting
instructions, then the proxy holders will vote your shares in the manner recommended by our Board on all
matters presented in this proxy statement and as the proxy holders may determine in their discretion with respect
to any other matters properly presented for a vote at the Annual Meeting.
Beneficial Owner
If you are deemed to be the beneficial owner of shares and do not provide the organization that holds your
shares with specific voting instructions, the organization that holds such shares may generally vote on routine
matters but cannot vote on non-routine matters, as provided by the rules of the securities exchange trading the
Company’s shares. If the organization that holds such shares does not receive instructions on how to vote on a
non-routine matter, the organization will inform the Inspector of Elections that it does not have authority to vote
on such matter with respect to such shares. This is generally referred to as a “broker non-vote.” When our
Inspector of Elections tabulates the votes for any particular matter, broker non-votes will be counted for purposes
of determining whether a quorum is present, but will not otherwise be counted. The Company encourages you to
provide voting instructions to the organization that holds such shares by carefully following the instructions
provided in the proxy card or as described above.
Q: Which ballot measures are considered “routine”or“non-routine”?
A: While the NYSE will ultimately advise as to which matters are routine and non-routine, the Company
believes that (i) Proposal 1 (election of directors) and Proposal 3 (ratification of the Independent Registered
Public Accounting Firm) will be considered routine and (ii) Proposal 2 (proposal to amend the 2007 Long Term
Incentive Plan) will be considered non-routine.
Q: How are abstentions treated?
A: Abstentions are counted for the purpose of determining whether a quorum is present. For the purpose of
determining whether shareholders have approved Proposal 2 (proposal to amend the 2007 Long Term Incentive
Plan) and Proposal 3 (ratification of the Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm), abstentions will have a
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