For Immediate Release

Wired Business’ New Wired E-Business (W.E.B.) Direct Service First To Sell
Commercial High Speed DSL Access On-Line

Helps Small and Medium Sized Companies Quickly Order High-Speed Internet
Access With a Click of a Mouse

Wired Business Works With Cabletron and Covad To Provide Companies with
Fast, Affordable Internet Access Via Web Site

New York City, August 2, 1999 — Wired Business today introduced its new
Wired E-Business (W.E.B.) Direct service, the first high-speed Internet
access service that enables small and medium sized companies to order
Internet access directly from the web.

Wired Business’ W.E.B. Direct service enables companies to go on the web
and easily configure and order all the hardware, software and services
needed to secure a reliable, high-speed Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)
Internet connection. Previously, ordering a commercial DSL line could often
be a time consuming and tedious process. The Wired Business service may
include DSL circuits from Covad Communications [NASDAQ:COVD] and equipment
from Cabletron [NYSE:CS].

Wired Business’ new W.E.B. Direct Service helps install and deploy DSL
service an average of 24-78 hours quicker than conventional methods of
ordering DSL service. In addition, W.E.B. Direct eliminates many of the
administrative hassles that companies usually have to deal with when
ordering DSL service.

W.E.B. Direct Service will provide companies with several advantages over
alternative methods for ordering high-speed commercial Internet access
service including:
Easy online ordering from Wired Business’s web site
(http://www.wiredbusiness.com) — an industry first.
Immediate response time in ordering. No voice mails to leave, no emails to
send and no fax forms to fill out.
Very low cost connection fees
Fast, always connected Internet speeds ranging from 144kbps to 1.5Mbps
Minimal installation of new wiring through the use of existing telephone
lines
Coverage that includes the Covad DSL network, the largest national DSL
deployment in the world, covering 25 percent of the US population by the end
of the year
The reliability and speed of Cabletron’s industry leading line of DSL
modems and routers

“Too often, the high-costs and complexity of high-speed Internet access
have kept smaller companies on the outside looking in, unable to take
advantage of a myriad of web business opportunities,” said John Possumato,
CEO of Wired Business. “With our new W.E.B. Direct service, small and
medium sized companies have an easy, affordable way to break through this
glass ceiling and secure the benefits of high-speed Internet access for
their own company.”

“Wired Business understands that getting connected to the Internet should
be a simple process,” said Robert Roblin, Covad’s executive vice president
of Marketing. ” W.E.B. Direct is an industry leading service that brings
the benefits of the Internet easily and cost effectively to companies who
need to be on-line to support their business. The service is at the
forefront of making high-speed, always-on Internet access an easy purchase.”

“Cabletron’s line of full-featured high-availability DSL equipment is a
perfect complement to Wired Business’ Internet services expertise,” said PG
Menon, Cabletron’s director of Product Management. “We are confident that
our relationship will help further accelerate the adoption of high-speed
Internet access by small and medium sized businesses.”

A “One-Stop Web Shop” for High-Speed Internet Service

Wired Business’s new W.E.B. Direct service speeds the delivery of fast
Internet access to small and medium sized businesses with a “one-stop web
shop.” With W.E.B. Direct, all the information needed to begin setting up a
customer with DSL service can be accessed and acted upon at the Wired
Business web-site. No additional fax forms, email forms, or follow-up sales
calls are necessary for Wired Business to begin the process of setting up a
customer with DSL service. Just a few simple clicks and the customer is on
their way.

e-Business Comes to the Small and Medium-Sized Business Market

The new W.E.B. Direct service package positions Wired Business to take
advantage of one of the key trends now shaping the Internet Industry today
— the arrival of the small and medium sized business customer. According
to Forrester Research, over the next three years, the use of high -speed
Internet services by small and medium-sized businesses will explode from $1
billion a year to $16 billion a year.

“Access to a worldwide market, stronger relationships with their customers,
quicker response to trends in the industry, more efficient communication
with suppliers and other value-chain partners — these are just a few of
the benefits that high-speed Internet access provides to small and medium
sized companies,” said Possumato. “We are excited to be at the forefront of
providing these companies with the solutions that will enable them to grow
their business by tapping into these benefits.”

About Wired Business

Wired Business is a DSL service provider, specializing in the Internet
access needs of small and medium size businesses. Wired Business’ mission
is to help companies leverage the Internet as a tool for growth by
providing easy to use, cost-effective Internet access and services.