Covad Completes Acquisition of GoBeam.(Brief Article)

Covad Communications Group Inc. has closed of the acquisition of GoBeam, Inc., a privately owned provider of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) solutions to small- and medium-sized businesses. Under the terms of the agreement, Covad will issue approximately 20 million shares to GoBeam's shareholders. Covad will also provide approximately $1.5 million in cash and stock to key GoBeam employees.

"Today marks a significant achievement in Covad history as the completion of this acquisition moves Covad from being a broadband-only operator to an integrated voice and data services provider," Covad President and CEO Charles Hoffman said in a prepared statement. "We now have the winning combination of our nationwide broadband network with an award-winning, market-tested Voice over IP service that accelerates the offering of our voice and data communication bundles nationwide."

According to a report from market researcher In-Stat/MDR, by 2007 the U.S. VoIP market is forecast to grow to more than 5 million subscribers, a fivefold increase over 2002 levels. The Internet Protocol-PBX market, which has just under 100,000 lines today, is expected to grow to more than 1.7 million lines by 2007, according to Forrester Research.

The closing of the deal has no effect on GoBeam's existing customers as they will continue to receive the same services, but under the Covad brand. Covad plans an aggressive expansion of VoIP service availability to more than 100 of the top Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) in 35 states.

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