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Covad Announces Third Quarter 2003 Conference Call
COVAD COMMUNS GRP INC Last: 5.55 Change: +0.53 Volume: 4,396,500
Covad Communications Announces Third Quarter 2003 Conference Call; Wednesday, October 22, 8:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time
October 15, 2003 07:05:00 AM ET


Covad Communications Group, Inc. COVD will conduct a conference call to discuss its third quarter 2003 financial results on Wednesday, October 22, 2003 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). The conference call will be conducted by Charles Hoffman, president and CEO of Covad and Mark Richman, CFO of Covad.

The conference call will be webcast over the Internet. To listen to the call visit the Covad website at www.covad.com/companyinfo. The webcast will be available until October 28, 2004. Investors and press may also listen to the call by telephone by dialing 706-634-1308 and are advised to call in 10 minutes prior to the start time. The conference call will be recorded and available for replay listening until 12:00 a.m. EDT on Friday, October 24, 2003, by dialing 800-642-1687 or 706-645-9291, pass code 3074220.

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, 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 services are currently available across the United States in 96 of the top Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs). Covad's network currently covers more than 40 million homes and businesses and reaches approximately 45 percent of all US homes and businesses. Corporate headquarters is located at 3420 Central Expressway, Santa Clara, CA 95051. Telephone: 1-888-GO-COVAD. Web Site: www.covad.com.

Contact Information: Covad Communications Kathleen Greene, 408-616-6976 (press) [e-mail] Susan Crawford, 408-434-2130 (investor relations) [e-mail]

© 2003 BusinessWire

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US high court questions antitrust case against Verizon
October 14, 2003 4:43:00 PM ET



By Peter Kaplan

WASHINGTON, Oct 14 (Reuters) - A closely watched consumer antitrust case filed against Verizon Communications (VZ) ran into tough questioning before the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday.

High court justices voiced reservations about a lower-court ruling that held consumers can sue regional telephone companies like Verizon under antitrust laws for poor or delayed access to their local networks.

Echoing the concerns expressed by several justices, Justice Stephen Breyer questioned the wisdom of opening up such disputes to "500 judges or juries around the country, each potentially reaching different conclusions."

Breyer and some of the other justices seemed to agree with the Justice Department, which argued that challenges on access should be settled by regulators.

Antitrust suits "would be a sledgehammer in an area where Congress has enacted a scalpel," Solicitor General Theodore Olson told the court, siding with Verizon.

Verizon, the biggest U.S. regional telephone carrier, is asking the justices to overturn an appeals court ruling that concluded that under the antitrust laws, a consumer could sue Verizon for triple damages for service delays.

The case could subject Verizon to lawsuits by rivals that claim problems obtaining access to the dominant network. Competitors such as Covad Communications (COVD) and Cavalier Telephone have filed similar claims against regional phone companies.

The case before the high court stems from a lawsuit that a New York law firm filed against Bell Atlantic, which later merged with GTE Corp. to form Verizon.

The law office of Curtis V. Trinko LLP, argued it had suffered damage because of Bell Atlantic's failure to provide satisfactory wholesale service to its provider, AT&T Corp. (T)

Under the 1996 Telecommunications Act, Verizon and other big local carriers must make their networks available to rivals to give consumers a choice of providers. In exchange, the big companies can gain access to the lucrative long-distance voice and data markets.

During Tuesday's arguments, Verizon attorney Richard Taranto told the justices there was nothing in U.S. antitrust law that required Verizon to extend a "helping hand" to competitors like AT&T.

"The court would have to recognize something new. The court would have to expand (antitrust law) to where it's never been before," Taranto said.

Taranto faced only a handful of questions from the justices. They reserved their toughest questions for the plaintiffs in the case.

Justice Antonin Scalia and several other justices questioned whether Trinko even had legal standing to file the lawsuit, since long-standing precedent holds that only direct purchasers can collect antitrust damages.

Trinko's attorney, Donald Verrilli, argued that consumers had the standing to sue, and he said regional Bells like Verizon should be held liable for antitrust violations if they break their obligations under the Telecommunications Act.

"That's the only way, operating in tandem, that we're going to get to competition ...," Verrilli told the justices.

But several of the justices seemed uncomfortable with that idea and questioned the wisdom of leaving judges and juries to sort out complicated questions about how much the Bells should be allowed to charge for access. REUTERS

© 2003 Reuters


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