Covad Voice Optimized Access Powers Nation's Leading VoIP Services

Business Wire, Oct 25, 2007

Communications Xchange, Thinking Phone Networks Among Providers That Rely on Covad's Innovative Voice-Prioritized Broadband Service

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Covad Communications Group Inc., (AMEX:DVW), a leading national provider of integrated voice and data communications, is rapidly becoming the broadband partner of choice for providers of Voice over IP communications throughout the US. Covad's Voice Optimized Access (VOA) is being used to power VoIP services from over fifty partners, including Communications Xchange, Thinking Phone Networks, and North American Telecom. These providers offer voice services to business or residential customers who have come to depend on the reliability of Covad VOA.

"We are very pleased that industry-leading companies have chosen Covad Voice Optimized Access to power their VoIP services," said Jeff Rider, Covad vice president of sales development. "Our unique Voice Optimized Access enables strategic partners to provide their customers with leading, business-class voice and data services, and is an important and growing part of the Covad Voice over IP portfolio."

Covad Voice Optimized Access is an award-winning service that prioritizes voice packets over data on Covad's carrier-class nationwide network all the way through the last mile. The resulting connection minimizes packet loss, maximizes network utilization, and provides a superior voice service. VOA is available with all forms of Covad access products, including T1, SDSL, and dedicated ADSL. Covad VOA fits within the existing regulatory framework and is an excellent way for voice providers looking to reduce overall costs and complexity and to differentiate their VoIP service from competitors.

"Covad VOA is the ideal service for us and our customers," said Michael Viren, Communications Xchange chief executive officer. "Not only does it provide a high-quality voice path for our VoIP services separate from our customer access to the Internet, it can be managed utilizing Covad's streamlined provisioning and ordering systems that make it easy to deploy and monitor."

"Since we began using Covad VOA as part of our Hosted VoIP and Application deployments two years ago, we've been very impressed with the quality and consistency it enables us to provide our business customers," said Steven Kokinos chief executive officer of Cambridge, MA-based Thinking Phone Networks. "With Covad VOA, we are able to focus on continuing to enhance our next generation application services for our customers nationwide, not on fighting QoS and other network issues."

In addition to VOA, Covad offers partners a broad portfolio of DSL and T1 services, including bonded T1 and line-powered voice access, and operates the nation's largest next-generation ADSL 2 network. For more information on Covad services, please visit www.covad.com.

About Covad

Covad is a leading nationwide provider of integrated voice and data communications. The company offers DSL, Voice Over IP, T1, broadband wireless, Web hosting, managed security, IP and dial-up, and bundled voice and data services directly through Covad's network and through Internet Service Providers, value-added resellers, telecommunications carriers and affinity groups to small and medium-sized businesses and home users. Covad broadband services are currently available across the nation in 44 states and 235 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) and can be purchased by more than 57 million homes and businesses, which represent over 50 percent of all US homes and businesses. Corporate headquarters is located at 110 Rio Robles San Jose, CA 95134. Telephone: 1-888-GO-COVAD. Web Site: www.covad.com.

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995:

The foregoing contains "forward-looking statements" which are based on management's current information and beliefs as well as on a number of assumptions concerning future events made by management. Examples of forward-looking statements include expectations regarding Covad's sale of its VOA access services to Thinking Phone Networks, Communications Xchange, and other VoIP providers. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which are not a guarantee of performance and are subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside Covad's control that could cause actual results to differ materially from such statements. These risk factors include our ability to rapidly expand and deploy these services, the impact of increasing competition, pricing pressures, consolidation in the telecommunications industry, uncertainty in telecommunications regulations and changes in technologies, among other risks. For a more detailed description of the risk factors that could cause such a difference, please see Covad's 10-K, 10-Q, 8-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Covad disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. This information is presented solely to provide additional information to further understand the results of Covad.