San Jose, California - (The Hosting News) - December 11, 2006 - Web host and national provider of integrated voice and data communications firm, Covad Communications Group, Inc., has added a self-installable voice and broadband communications solution, designed specifically for small businesses, to its offerings.

According to the company, the new service bundle features an easily-installable, affordable solution that offers business-class reliability, features and support. Combining Covad's ClearEdge Integrated Access, the industry's only high-speed voice and data line optimized for high-quality voice service, together with the TalkSwitch 480vs, the industry's first self-installable telephone system, is designed to facilitate value-conscious and price-sensitive small businesses.

Eric Weiss, Chief Marketing Officer for Covad remarked, ''The Covad-TalkSwitch bundle enables small businesses to enjoy the benefits and reliability of a 'big business' solution without the complexity or high cost. Small businesses are no longer forced to choose from expensive and complex enterprise systems or low-quality consumer-grade services.''

With a starting service price as low as $459 per month for a 25-person office, the Covad-TalkSwitch solution offers small businesses total savings, including time saved on installation, of up to 40 percent vs. comparable legacy products. The self-installed solution means that small business owners avoid the time and expense of multiple visits by multiple vendors and therefore get up and running faster and remain focused on running their businesses. Competitive solutions may require months to coordinate between phone system vendors, sales representatives, and service providers. The Covad-TalkSwitch solution typically requires only 30 days from the time a customer orders to activation, and small businesses benefit from working with a single point of contact for installation.

John Macario, President of Savatar, a strategy and technology consulting firm specializing in the small business market added, ''Small businesses don't have time to worry about their phone systems. They simply want a service that works reliably and will easily grow with their businesses. Because most of these businesses do not have an in-house IT expert, the self-installable feature of the Covad-TalkSwitch solution is a key differentiator.''

Jan Scheeren, President and CEO of TalkSwitch added, ''We are excited to work with Covad because of its long history and track record of providing competitive business-class communication services and working successfully with partners. Covad's national network enables our 1500 channel partners to serve small businesses throughout the US, resulting in better local service and support for customers, and an ongoing source of new business for our channel partners.''

The solution is designed to grow with the small business, and can easily scale from 8 to 32 phone users at a single location. This scalability enables small businesses to purchase only the equipment and service that they currently need. Traditional telephone systems often require businesses to spend more on equipment than they initially require in anticipation of future growth.

Covad offers a broad portfolio of cost-effective voice and data solutions for small businesses, including analog and digital version of Covad ClearEdge Integrated Access. In addition to these premises-based solutions, Covad also offers fully-hosted voice solutions including Covad ClearEdge Office, the first hosted solution designed specifically to meet the needs of businesses with fewer than 20 employees; and Covad ClearEdge Pro, a fully-featured hosted voice solution for small businesses with up to 250 employees and more complex communications needs. The Covad-TalkSwitch solution is available immediately and can be purchased through TalkSwitch channel partners. For more information call 1-888-GO-COVAD.

TalkSwitch designs and develops phone systems for small, multi-location and franchise businesses. Since its establishment in 1990, TalkSwitch has dedicated itself to developing PBXs and IP PBXs that service tens of thousands of businesses across North America.

A nationwide provider of integrated voice and data communications, Covad offers DSL, Voice Over IP, T1, web hosting, managed security, IP and dial-up, wireless broadband, and bundled voice and data 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. According to the company, as the first company to commercially deploy DSL in the United States, Covad has spent hundreds of millions of dollars building a network that passes more than 57 million homes and businesses in 44 states - the largest nationwide footprint of any DSL company. Covad broadband services are currently available across the nation in 235 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) which represent over 50 percent of all US homes and businesses. Corporate headquarters is located at 110 Rio Robles, San Jose, California 95134. Telephone: 1-888-GO-COVAD.

For more information about TalkSwitch, please visit: www.talkswitch.com.

To learn more about Covad, please visit: www.covad.com.