Covad to Deploy Sun Microsystems' Identity Management Platform

Covad Communications Group, Inc. (AMEX:DVW), a leading national provider of integrated voice and data communications, announced today it is deploying Sun Java System Identity Manager. This deployment of Sun’s Identity Manager will benefit Covad by eliminating the manual employee provisioning process, enabling the company to more effectively manage its employee user identities, increase efficiencies and reduce costs. "Sun Java System Identity Manager gives us an exceptional platform for managing employee profiles and permissions, which enhances our overall enterprise security while allowing us to reduce operational costs," said Cornelia Pool, vice president of software and information systems for Covad. "This deployment mirrors automated processes we have long had in place for our customers. It greatly reduces the time it takes to get employees and contractors up and running productively, while making it easy to change employee access privileges and instantly and securely cancel employee accounts when their tenure ends." Covad, working with software partners Persistent Systems and LCN Technology, has deployed Identity Manager to provide visibility and control over employee accounts and access privileges from a central location. Identity Manager provides role- and rules-based provisioning and enables Covad to set policies on users, organizations, resources, roles or groups, ensuring that its corporate security requirements are automatically enforced. In addition, the Sun solution helps to provide Covad with the ability to easily review the status of access privileges at any time, which both improves audit performance and helps achieve compliance with governmental mandates. "Companies are increasingly responding to the need to protect sensitive data, increase business process efficiencies, and implement effective security controls across their entire organization," said Sara Gates, vice president, Identity Management and SOA at Sun Microsystems, Inc. "The Sun Java System Identity Management Suite is helping leading-edge companies like Covad automate their identity management processes, reduce costs and help meet the challenges of regulatory compliance." Covad is focused on growing profitably and emphasizes solutions that generate improved productivity and cost savings. The company invests in advanced software solutions, like Sun Java System Identity Manager, that position it to capture growing demand in the $30 billion small business telecommunications market. About Covad Covad is a leading nationwide provider of integrated voice and data communications. The company offers DSL, Voice Over IP, T1, Web hosting, managed security, IP and dial-up, wireless broadband, 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 ability to increase efficiencies, reduce costs, achieve regulatory and government compliance, to capture growing demand in the $30 billion small business telecommunications market. 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 operational challenges that may arise as we deploy new services, difficulties as we rapidly expand, deploy and improve our 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 Forms 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.