Covad

Covad Communications
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 Corporation.

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.[5]

History

Covad was the first service provider to offer a national DSLbroadband service. In addition they offered 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 businesses. 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 businesses. The company was founded in San Jose, CA.

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 Mbit/s (contingent on distance between the service address and the central office).[6]

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 Mbit/s. In early 2011, Covad (now Global Capacity) 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.[7] 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.

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]

In September 2014, Global Capacity announced its plan to buy the assets acquired from Covad from MegaPath.[8] The acquisition was completed on January 1, 2016.[9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ ISP Planet - Market Research - Top 23 U.S. ISPs by Subscriber: Q3 2007
  2. 1 2 "Covad, MegaPath announce merger". NetworkWorld. 2010-04-06.
  3. ↑ "All Together Now". MegaPath. 2010.
  4. 1 2 "MegaPath, Covad, Speakeasy Merger Closes" (Press release). MegaPath. 2010-09-01. Retrieved 2011-03-19.
  5. ↑ Rivkin, Steve; Sutherland, Fraser (September 30, 2004). The Making of a Name: The Inside Story of the Brands We Buy. Oxford University Press. p. 72.
  6. ↑ "Covad and SAMSUNG Announce Upgrade to Covad Nationwide Network that Enables Local & Long Distance Service, Internet Access and Video over DSL". samsung.com. 2005-06-28. Retrieved 2015-04-30.
  7. ↑ "Platinum Equity Completes Acquisition of Covad Communications Group, Inc.". Business Wire. April 15, 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-14.
  8. ↑ "MegaPath Deal Should Expand Global Capacity Carrier Ethernet Offerings". CarrierEthernetNews.com. 2014-09-11. Retrieved 2015-04-29.
  9. ↑ "Global Capacity wraps acquisition of MegaPath's wholesale division". FierceTelecom.com. 2015-01-06. Retrieved 2015-04-29.

External links


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