Covad Communications Delivers First Nationwide DSL Network Via Backbone Agreements with AT&T and Qwest

Business Wire, March 29, 1999

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 29, 1999--

Allows ISPs to Expand Product Suites and Market Areas Quickly

and Affordably; Remote Access Service Provides 10 Times the

Performance for Half the Cost of Existing Solutions

Covad Communications (Nasdaq:COVD) today announced the immediate availability of TeleSpeed Remote(tm), the first nationwide, high-speed access service that provides secure interconnection between corporations, remote branch offices and teleworkers thousands of miles apart, at a fraction of the cost of dial-up, ISDN, Frame Relay or leased lines.

The tremendous reach of the TeleSpeed Remote service is made possible by Covad's agreements with AT&T (NYSE:T) and Qwest Communications (Nasdaq:QWST).

"Currently, no other service provider is offering this type of nationwide connectivity," said Robert E. Knowling, Jr., Covad's president and CEO. "By dramatically reducing the cost of uniting geographically distant offices and teleworkers, we're giving companies a way to communicate on a nationwide basis -- an option that was out of reach in the past. We can do this because of our tremendous relationships with AT&T and Qwest, who provide the network backbone."

Ken Sichau, president of AT&T Growth Markets, said, "The exploding growth in the small business market and the mobile workforce is driving the need for affordable access to data and Internet services for remote workers and smaller offices. We're pleased that Covad has selected the reliability, performance and high bandwidth of AT&T's nationwide Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) backbone to deliver an attractive, affordable access solution for companies with the need to network over great distances."

"Multimedia and Internet-based applications and services are the key drivers behind the growing requirement for broadband in the business market," said Larry A. Seese, executive vice president of network engineering and operations for Qwest.

Internet Service Providers Expand Opportunity

TeleSpeed Remote can enhance service provider's product line in two ways. First, ISPs can expand their product offering to businesses in their local area who need a remote office solution. Second, they can take advantage of business opportunities in new markets. An ISP can cut in half the time needed to "turn up" service in a new region because there are no required significant investments in network hardware.

"Covad is intelligently leveraging its partnerships to develop products that the marketplace needs," stated Claudia Bacco, senior DSL analyst for Telechoice International. "TeleSpeed Remote provides a complete, local, regional and national data connectivity solution for a wide range of customers."

National Backbone Service For Remote Access

TeleSpeed Remote allows business employees to be easily connected to their company's network, eliminating dial-up access hassles and reducing the expense of higher-end network pipelines. TeleSpeed Remote provides remote sites with always-on connectivity at high-speeds for half the typical cost of frame relay.

The network architecture provides user access to the network through Covad connections. The data is then sent across the US on either an AT&T or Qwest backbone and delivered to the Covad network at the new location.

For example, an employee in San Francisco could access information from the corporate network located in New York at the same speed as the company employee sitting at his desk in the New York metropolitan area. Likewise, a branch office in Seattle could connect each of its users to the corporate network in Washington D.C., Boston, New York, Los Angeles or, as the TeleSpeed Remote service is rolled out, to any of the additional 51 cities where Covad plans on offering service by the end of 1999.

TeleSpeed Remote eliminates the need to juggle multiple carriers for local and long-distance data connectivity. Covad provides all necessary connectivity from site-to-site. Capacity planning is handled by Covad and is completely transparent to the customer. TeleSpeed Remote is also extremely secure. Unlike routed or VPN services, each TeleSpeed remote client uses an individual Layer 2 virtual circuit. No encryption, authentication or tunneling hardware or software is required, although customers can implement these independently if added security is desired.

TeleSpeed Remote pricing starts at a flat rate of $135 a month for symmetrical 144Kbps service (for less than 500 miles between two points) and tops out at $405 a month for symmetrical 1.1Mbps service (for more than 500 miles between two points). Additional information on TeleSpeed Remote and all of Covad's services can be obtained by contacting any of the representatives listed above.

About Covad

Covad Communications Company is a leading high-speed Internet and network access provider offering DSL services to Internet Service Providers and enterprise customers. The Company has launched its services in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, New York, Boston, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Seattle and Sacramento metropolitan areas and has announced plans to deploy its networks in a total of 22 regions, encompassing 51 metropolitan statistical areas nationwide. Covad Communications Company and its affiliates doing business as Covad Communications Company, are wholly owned subsidiaries of Covad Communications Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:COVD). Corporate headquarters is located at 2330 Central Expressway, Santa Clara, CA, 95050. Telephone: 408/844-7500 or 888/GO-COVAD; FAX: 408/844-7501. Web Site: www.covad.com.