February 27, 2002 -- Covad Communications (OTCBB:COVD), a national broadband services provider utilizing digital subscriber line (DSL) technology, is confident that opposition to the "broadband bill", also known as the Tauzin/Dingell bill, is strong and the bill will ultimately fail to become law. The bill, H.R 1542, is scheduled for a House vote on Wednesday, February 27.

"The House vote is the end of the line for the phone companies because the highly contentious bill itself is almost certainly doomed," said Dhruv Khanna, executive vice president and general counsel of Covad. "More importantly, it is a bad bill for consumers. It simply limits consumer choice, and Covad calls on all policy makers to recognize the phone companies' efforts for what they are: efforts by four companies to re-monopolize the broadband market to the detriment of consumers, and to the benefit of themselves."

Although it is expected that the bill will pass the House vote, Covad does not expect it to pass out of committee in the Senate. The bill must go through committee approval in each congressional body before each chamber votes on it. If the bill ever got through the Senate, it would then have to go through the conference committee process, where competing versions would have to be reconciled. That entire process must be completed before members of Congress adjourn to begin the fall campaign season.

Regardless of what happens in the House on Wednesday, the phone companies' obligation to provide non-discriminatory access to their networks will remain law because of the requirements of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Therefore, Covad remains entitled to use the phone companies' facilities to provide its nationwide high-speed connectivity services to current and future customers.

Although it is expected that the phone companies will claim victory in Wednesday's House vote, Covad is confident that the Tauzin/Dingell bill will not become law and the debate will shift to a meaningful blueprint for broadband growth.

"Let's move on to a more productive discussion on how competition is bringing access to broadband services," said Khanna. "Although the bill does not interfere with Covad's existing customer base, nor does it significantly prevent us from continuing to serve future customers, it does undermine the principles of the Telecommunications Act. Covad's financials continue to be strong and we look forward to continuing to build our business, offering consumer's a choice and competing vigorously with the phone companies."

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