Covad Appoints James Kirkland as General Counsel and Senior Vice President.

Business Editors

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 21, 2003

Covad Communications Group, Inc. (OTCBB:COVD) announced today the appointment of James Kirkland as general counsel and senior vice president. Kirkland will oversee all Covad legal issues related to regulatory and legislative affairs, corporate governance, employment and finance. Kirkland assumed his responsibilities on October 20, 2003.

Kirkland brings a wealth of knowledge of both the business and regulatory environment in which Covad operates. Prior to joining Covad, Kirkland served as general counsel and senior vice president, Spectrum Development for the privately-held Clearwire Technologies, Inc. a broadband wireless internet service provider based in Dallas, Texas.

"Jim is the right leadership choice for Covad," said Charles Hoffman, president and chief executive officer of Covad. "His telecommunications law expertise coupled with his extensive business background compliments Covad's long-term strategic goals and will sustain the performance of an already highly-skilled legal team. We believe that Jim will bring innovation and an in-depth understanding of the industry to our executive team."

Before joining Clearwire, Kirkland spent 17 years with Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo P.C. in Washington, D.C., where he specialized in communications law and worked with emerging-growth Internet, wireless and telecommunications companies. Kirkland holds a bachelors degree from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. and graduated cum laude with a law degree from Harvard Law School in Cambridge, MA.

About Covad Communications

Covad is a leading national broadband service provider of high-speed Internet and network access utilizing Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) technology. It offers DSL, T1, managed security, hosting, IP and dial-up 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 operates the largest national DSL network with services currently available in 96 of the top Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs). Covad's network currently covers more than 40 million homes and business and reaches approximately 45 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 statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements," including the statements made by the president and chief executive officer and the assumptions underlying such statements. 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, future FCC rulemaking, the terms and interpretations of the decision announced February 20, 2003 by the FCC, Covad's ability to continue as a going concern, to continue to service and support its customers, to successfully market its services to current and new customers, to manage the consolidation of sales to a fewer number of wholesale customers, to successfully migrate end users, Covad's ability to generate customer demand, to achieve acceptable pricing, to respond to competition, to develop and maintain strategic relationships, to manage growth, to receive timely payment from 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 and the absence of an adverse result in litigation against Covad. Covad disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statement contained in this press release. All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by the "Risk Factors" and other cautionary statements included in Covad's SEC Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2002 and the 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2003, along with Current Reports on Form 8-K filed from time to time with the SEC.