Verizon advances due to XO acquisition; Frontier joins the Challenge Tier

BOSTON, MA, AUGUST 17, 2017 – Vertical Systems Group announces its U.S. Carrier Ethernet LEADERBOARD results for Mid-Year 2017. The following eight companies achieved LEADERBOARD status (rank order based on retail port share): AT&T, Level 3, Verizon (includes XO), Spectrum Enterprise, CenturyLink, Comcast, Windstream and Cox.

To qualify for the LEADERBOARD, providers must have four percent (4%) or more of the U.S. Ethernet services market. Shares are measured by the number of customer ports in service as tracked by Vertical Systems Group, with input from surveys of Ethernet providers.

“While the pace of growth has slowed from the market ramp years, demand for Carrier Ethernet services remains very strong in 2017,” said Rick Malone, principal at Vertical Systems Group. “The revenue and profitability outlooks for many providers are improving as fiber buildouts are completed and pricing begins to stabilize.”

Key results of the Mid-Year 2017 U.S. Carrier Ethernet share analysis:

• Verizon advances to third from fourth position on the LEADERBOARD with the addition of Ethernet ports from its acquisition of XO, which was completed in February 2017. (XO was ranked seventh overall at the end of 2016.)
• As a result, Spectrum Enterprise moves to fourth from third position on the LEADERBOARD.
• Frontier advances to the Challenge Tier, up from the Market Player tier.
• Level 3 is the only remaining Competitive Provider on the LEADERBOARD, which also includes four Incumbent Carriers (AT&T, Verizon, CenturyLink, Windstream) and three Cable MSOs (Spectrum Enterprise, Comcast, Cox).
• All Ethernet providers ranked on the Mid-Year 2017 U.S. Carrier Ethernet LEADERBOARD are also represented on Vertical Systems Group’s 2016 U.S. Fiber Lit Buildings LEADERBOARD.

Other providers selling Ethernet services in the U.S. are segmented into two tiers as measured by port share. The first or Challenge Tier includes providers with between 1% and 4% share of the U.S. retail Ethernet market. For Mid-Year 2017, the following companies attained a position in the Challenge Tier (in alphabetical order): Altice USA, Cogent, Sprint, Frontier and Zayo.

The second or Market Player tier includes all providers with port share below 1%. Companies in the Market Player tier include the following providers (in alphabetical order): Alaska Communications, Alpheus Communications, American Telesis, Birch Communications, BT Global Services, Cincinnati Bell, Consolidated Communications, DQE Communications, Expedient, FairPoint, FiberLight, FirstLight, Global Cloud Xchange, Great Plains Communications, GTT, Hawaiian Telecom, Lightower, Logix, LS Networks, Lumos Networks, Masergy, Midco, NTT America, Orange Business, RCN Business, Tata, TDS Telecom, Telstra, TPx Communications, Unite Private Networks, US Signal, WOW!Business and other companies selling retail Ethernet services in the U.S. market.

Detailed Ethernet share results that power the Mid-Year 2017 Carrier Ethernet LEADERBOARD are available now exclusively through Vertical Systems Group’s ENS (Emerging Networks Service) Research Programs.  Contact us for additional information.