| Type | Private company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Telecommunications |
| Founded | 1996 |
| Headquarters | San Jose, California |
| Key people | Pat Bennett, CEO |
| Products | VOIP, DSL, T1, Wireless, Web Hosting |
| Website | www.covad.com |
Covad Communications Group was an American provider of broadband voice and data communications. By Q3 2006, the company had 530,000 subscribers, and ranked 16th largest ISP in the United States.[1] Covad was acquired by U.S. Venture Partners,[2] who in 2010 announced a 3-way merger of MegaPath, Covad, and Speakeasy,[3] creating a single Managed Services Local Exchange Carrier (MSLEC), providing voice and internet services;[4] the new company was named MegaPath.
The name Covad is derived from acronyms which have varied over time, including COmbined Voice And Data, Copper Over Voice And Data, and in its earliest form, COpper Value ADded.
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Covad offered DSL, Voice over IP, T1, 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 were available in 44 US states, including 235 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), a services area available to over 50 percent of all US homes and businesses. Corporate headquarters was located at 110 Rio Robles San Jose, CA 95134.
By 2008, Covad added the Samsung Acemap DSLAM to their portfolio on top of their pre-existing Nokia D50 technology to allow for ADSL2+ technology, which can reach DSL speeds up to 15 Mbps (contingent on distance between the service address and the central office).
In mid 2010, Covad announced Ethernet over Copper services (EoCu) in the LA market. The new Ethernet product runs over a flashwave based ethernet core and provides symmetrical speeds up to 20 mbps. In early 2011, Covad (now Megapath) announced expansion of the services on a national level by the end of 2012.
Covad was acquired by private equity firm, Platinum Equity in April 2008.[5] In 2010, they were sold to U.S. Venture Partners,[2] who rebranded their combined ISP holdings (MegaPath, Covad, and Speakeasy) under the name MegaPath,[3].
The three-way merger produced an executive team comprising the former CEOs of all three former companies: Chairman and CEO (former MegaPath CEO) D. Craig Young, Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Wholesale Markets (former Covad CEO) Pat Bennett, and (former Speakeasy CEO) Bruce Chatterley as President of the Business Markets unit in charge of all non-wholesale customer sales, service and marketing.[4]