Covad Announces Operating Statistics for the First Quarter of 2001.

Business Editors

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 5, 2001

Subscriber base grows to 319,000, a 16% increase from 12/31/00;

Lines for which revenue was not recognized reduced by 45%

Covad Communications (Nasdaq:COVD), the leading national broadband services provider utilizing DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) technology, today announced first quarter operating statistics as of March 31, 2001.

Lines in Service

-- 319,000 total lines in service, a 16 percent increase from 12/31/2000

-- Approximately 50 percent of total lines are business lines and 50 percent
are consumer lines

-- Our direct channel, including covad.net and Covad Business Solutions,
represents seven percent of total lines while 93 percent were sold through
Covad resellers

Covad Safety Net

-- Covad reduced the number of lines on which it is not

recognizing revenue to 51,000, which represents a 45 percent

reduction from December 31, 2000

-- Since December 31, 2000, the number of partners for which

Covad is not recognizing revenue has been reduced 32 percent

to 13 ISPs

-- Approximately 10,000 orders have been accepted from former

NorthPoint end users and 15,000 more are pending

Line Sharing and Self Installation

-- Approximately 31,000 line shared lines were installed during

the first quarter of 2001, an 82 percent increase over the

fourth quarter 2000

-- More than 21,900 users completed their installations with a

self installation kit provided by a Covad partner or by using

Covad's newly introduced DSL JumpStart self installation kit

-- One consumer using the Covad DSL JumpStart kit reported that,

"The install process was seamless. Five days to get the Loop

going, four days later I received the self-install kit. I

figured that I'd have to make a phone call, coordinate line

problems, etc. Nope! I put the filters on the phone

lines...plugged in the modem and changed its IP addresses,

plugged in the power, plugged in the phone jack, powered

everything on and...BOOM...it was up. I was astonished!"

"Covad has shown that the ability to scale our business is a major strength and is key to our operational success," said Chuck McMinn, Covad chairman. "Our goal is to load the network and we are doing so by growing our line base and offering the Covad Safety Net for end users who have lost their broadband connection. Our performance in the first quarter gives us confidence that we can overcome the distressed partner issue and continue to grow our consumer business in a profitable way by utilizing line sharing and our new Covad DSL JumpStart self installation kit. We have also diversified our distribution channels with our big brand customers like Compaq, Avon and Sony and we are seeing results with growing direct sales. Should there be any doubts about the viability of the DSL market, our first quarter operational results show that demand continues to be strong and that Covad is on the right track since we adjusted our business operations to the rapidly changing market conditions."

About Covad Communications

Covad is the leading national broadband services provider of high-speed Internet and network access utilizing Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) technology. Covad offers DSL, IP and dial-up services through telecommunications carriers, enterprises, affinity groups, PC OEMs, application service providers, and Internet Service Providers that resell Covad DSL to homes and small businesses. Covad's other subsidiaries include Covad Business Solutions, which provides customized broadband solutions directly to small businesses, and Covad's Integrated Services (CIS) division, which enables companies and organizations to become virtual Internet and broadband service providers. Covad services are currently available across the United States in 109 of the top Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs). Covad's network currently covers more than 40 million homes and business and reaches approximately 40 to 45 percent of all US homes and businesses. Corporate headquarters is located at 4250 Burton Drive, Santa Clara, CA 95054. Telephone: 1-888-GO-COVAD. Web Site: www.covad.com.

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

The statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements," including statements concerning Covad's ability to become profitable, plans to expand its network, market opportunities, the cost, timing and scope of the deployment of Covad's network and launching of its services, implementation of line sharing and self-installation, anticipated capital expenditures, expense reductions and other operating results, success of strategic relationships, and the statements made by the chairman in this release. Actual events or results may differ materially as a result of risks facing Covad or actual results differing from the assumptions underlying such statements. Such risks and assumptions include, but are not limited to, Covad's ability to successfully market its services to current and new customers, the consolidation of sales to a fewer number of wholesale customers, Covad's ability to generate customer demand, to achieve acceptable pricing, to respond to increasing competition, to manage growth, to receive timely payment from our Internet service providers and other customers, to access regions and negotiate suitable interconnection agreements, all in a timely manner, at reasonable costs and on satisfactory terms and conditions, as well as regulatory, legislative, and judicial developments. All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by the "Risk Factors" and other cautionary statements included in Covad's SEC filings.