Covad

{{Short description|Defunct American communications provider}}

{{More citations needed|date=September 2008}}

{{Infobox company

| name = Covad Communications Company

| logo = Covad logo.svg

| type = Private company

| foundation = {{start date and age|1996}}

| defunct = {{end date and age|2010}}

| fate = Merged with Speakeasy into MegaPath

| location = San Jose, California

| key_people = Pat Bennett, CEO

| industry = Telecommunications

| products = VOIP, DSL, T1, Wireless, Web Hosting

| successor = MegaPath

| revenue =

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| homepage = {{web archive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060322205247/http://covad.com/|title=covad.com}}

| footnotes =

}}

Covad Communications Company, also known as Covad Communications Group, was an American provider of broadband voice and data communications. By {{abbr|Q3|third US fiscal quarter, April 1 - June 30}} 2006, the company had 530,000 subscribers, and ranked as the 16th largest ISP in the United States.[http://www.isp-planet.com/research/rankings/usa.html ISP Planet - Market Research - Top 23 U.S. ISPs by Subscriber: Q3 2007] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725054628/http://isp-planet.com/research/rankings/usa.html |date=2008-07-25 }} Covad was acquired by U.S. Venture Partners,{{cite web |url=http://www.networkworld.com/newsletters/2010/040510convergence2.html |title=Covad, MegaPath announce merger |date=2010-04-06 |publisher=NetworkWorld}} who in 2010 announced a three-way merger of MegaPath, Covad, and Speakeasy,{{cite web |title=All Together Now |url=http://www.megapath.com/merger/ |publisher=MegaPath |year=2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101227063605/http://www.megapath.com/merger/ |archive-date=2010-12-27 }} creating a single Managed Services Local Exchange Carrier (MSLEC), providing voice and internet services;{{cite press release |url=http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100901006121/en |title=MegaPath, Covad, Speakeasy Merger Closes |publisher=MegaPath |date=2010-09-01 |access-date=2011-03-19}} the new company was named MegaPath.

In January 2015, telecommunications service provider Global Capacity acquired MegaPath's wholesale and direct access business, which included assets acquired from Covad.{{cite web|url=http://www.carrierethernetnews.com/articles/820838/megapath-deal-should-expand-global-capacity-carrie/ |title=MegaPath Deal Should Expand Global Capacity Carrier Ethernet Offerings |publisher=CarrierEthernetNews.com |date=2014-09-11 |access-date=2015-04-29}}{{cite web|url=http://www.fiercetelecom.com/story/global-capacity-wraps-acquisition-megapaths-wholesale-division/2015-01-06 |title=Global Capacity wraps acquisition of MegaPath's wholesale division |publisher=FierceTelecom.com |date=2015-01-06 |access-date=2015-04-29}}

The name Covad was 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.{{cite book

| last1 = Rivkin | first1 = Steve

| first2 = Fraser | last2 = Sutherland

| title = The Making of a Name: The Inside Story of the Brands We Buy

| url = https://archive.org/details/makingofnameinsi00rivk | url-access = registration

| publisher = Oxford University Press

| pages = [https://archive.org/details/makingofnameinsi00rivk/page/72 72]

| date = September 30, 2004

| isbn = 978-0-19-516872-3

}}