Covad
Encyclopedia
Covad Communications Group was an American provider of broadband
voice
and data communications. By 2006, the company had 530,000 subscribers, and ranked 16th largest ISP
in the United States. Covad was acquired by U.S. Venture Partners
, who in 2010 announced a 3-way merger of MegaPath, Covad, and Speakeasy
, creating a single Managed Services Local Exchange Carrier (MSLEC), providing voice and internet services; 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.
, 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 Provider
s, value-added resellers, telecommunications carriers and affinity groups to small and medium-sized businesses and home users. Covad broadband
services were available in 44 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. In 2010, they were sold to U.S. Venture Partners
, 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 CEO
s 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.
Broadband
The term broadband refers to a telecommunications signal or device of greater bandwidth, in some sense, than another standard or usual signal or device . Different criteria for "broad" have been applied in different contexts and at different times...
voice
Voice message
Voice message refers to a message that could be sent to a destination using voice media. Voice itself could be 'packaged' and sent through the IP backbone so that it reaches its marked 'address'. In a technical sense, the process of sending 'voice packets' is a semi passive way of communication...
and data communications. By 2006, the company had 530,000 subscribers, and ranked 16th largest ISP
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
in the United States. Covad was acquired by U.S. Venture Partners
U.S. Venture Partners
U.S. Venture Partners , is a venture capital investment firm headquartered on Sand Hill Road in Silicon Valley focusing on investments in an array of segments including semiconductors, software as a service, communications, storage, wireless, Internet 2.0, Cleantech, Medical devices and...
, who in 2010 announced a 3-way merger of MegaPath, Covad, and Speakeasy
Speakeasy (ISP)
Speakeasy, Inc. is a broadband internet service provider and Voice over IP carrier based in Seattle, Washington, United States. They are known for their liberal usage policies for home users whereby subscribers are explicitly permitted to run any number of serversand are permitted to resell their...
, creating a single Managed Services Local Exchange Carrier (MSLEC), providing voice and internet services; 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.
History
Covad offered DSLDigital Subscriber Line
Digital subscriber line is a family of technologies that provides digital data transmission over the wires of a local telephone network. DSL originally stood for digital subscriber loop. In telecommunications marketing, the term DSL is widely understood to mean Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line ,...
, Voice over IP
Voice over IP
Voice over Internet Protocol is a family of technologies, methodologies, communication protocols, and transmission techniques for the delivery of voice communications and multimedia sessions over Internet Protocol networks, such as the Internet...
, T1
Digital Signal 1
Digital signal 1 is a T-carrier signaling scheme devised by Bell Labs. DS1 is a widely used standard in telecommunications in North America and Japan to transmit voice and data between devices. E1 is used in place of T1 outside North America, Japan, and South Korea...
, Web hosting, managed security, IP
Internet Protocol
The Internet Protocol is the principal communications protocol used for relaying datagrams across an internetwork using the Internet Protocol Suite...
and dial-up, and bundled voice and data services directly through Covad's network and through Internet Service Provider
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
s, value-added resellers, telecommunications carriers and affinity groups to small and medium-sized businesses and home users. Covad broadband
Broadband
The term broadband refers to a telecommunications signal or device of greater bandwidth, in some sense, than another standard or usual signal or device . Different criteria for "broad" have been applied in different contexts and at different times...
services were available in 44 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
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
, 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
Platinum Equity
Platinum Equity, LLC is a private equity investment firm founded by Tom Gores in 1995. The firm focuses on leveraged buyout investments of established companies in the U.S. and Europe....
in April 2008. In 2010, they were sold to U.S. Venture Partners
U.S. Venture Partners
U.S. Venture Partners , is a venture capital investment firm headquartered on Sand Hill Road in Silicon Valley focusing on investments in an array of segments including semiconductors, software as a service, communications, storage, wireless, Internet 2.0, Cleantech, Medical devices and...
, who rebranded their combined ISP holdings (MegaPath, Covad, and Speakeasy
Speakeasy (ISP)
Speakeasy, Inc. is a broadband internet service provider and Voice over IP carrier based in Seattle, Washington, United States. They are known for their liberal usage policies for home users whereby subscribers are explicitly permitted to run any number of serversand are permitted to resell their...
) under the name MegaPath,.
The three-way merger produced an executive team comprising the former CEO
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
s 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.
External links
- Official homepage of MegaPath Inc.
- Official homepage of Covad Communications
- Covad Communications at Platinum Equity