02 Sep Mid-2026 U.S. Carrier Ethernet LEADERBOARD

Posted at 14:44h in Leaderboards by

Major shake up in Ethernet Service Provider rankings; AT&T keeps #1 rank

BOSTON, MA, September 3, 2026 – Vertical Systems Group’s research shows that the following seven companies achieved a position on the mid-year 2026 U.S. Carrier Ethernet LEADERBOARD (in rank order based on retail port share as of June 30, 2026): AT&T, Verizon (includes Frontier), Lumen, Spectrum Business, Comcast Business, Zayo (includes Crown Castle) and Cox Business. To qualify for a rank on this LEADERBOARD, network providers must have four percent (4%) or more of the U.S. retail Ethernet services market.

Six companies attained a Challenge Tier citation (in alphabetical order): Cogent, Granite, GTT, Lightpath, Segra, and Uniti. The Challenge Tier includes providers with between 1% and 4% share of the U.S. retail Ethernet market.

U.S. Ethernet Market Analysis: Mid-2026

  • AT&T keeps its #1 rank on the Mid-Year 2026 U.S. Carrier Ethernet LEADERBOARD.
  • Rankings change for four of the seven Ethernet LEADERBOARD providers.
  • Verizon moves up from the #4 position to the #2 rank with its completed acquisition and integration of Frontier assets.
  • As a result, Lumen dips from the #2 position to #3. Spectrum Business drops from #3 into the #4 position.
  • Zayo moves up into the LEADERBOARD at the #6 position from the Challenge Tier due to its acquisition of Crown Castle, which was completed in May 2026.
  • Cox Business falls into the #7 and final position. The acquisition of Cox by Spectrum’s parent company, Charter Communications, was completed in August 2026 and is not included in the mid-year results.
  • The Challenge Tier for mid-2026 includes six companies: Cogent, Granite, GTT, Lightpath, Segra (including UPN) and Uniti (includes Windstream). Segra enters the Challenge Tier, moving up from the Market Player tier.
  • DIA (Dedicated Internet Access) is the top Ethernet service in the U.S. based on both ports and revenue.
  • Enterprise customers are shifting from lower speed Ethernet private lines to more robust SD-WAN and SASE services.
  • Three LEADERBOARD companies have attained Mplify 3.0 Carrier Ethernet (CE) certification: AT&T, Lumen and Verizon.

The Market Player tier includes all providers with port share below 1%. Companies in the Market Player tier include the following providers (in alphabetical order):ACD, AireSpring, Alaska Communications, Alta Fiber, American Telesis, Arelion, Armstrong Business Solutions, Astound Business, Bluebird Network (includes Everstream), Breezeline, Brightspeed, BT Global Services, Centracom, Conterra, Douglas Fast Net, DQE Communications, Epsilon, Exa Infrastructure, ExteNet Systems, Fatbeam, FiberLight, Fidium, First Digital, FirstLight, Flo Networks, Fusion Connect, GCI, GCX, Glo Fiber, Hunter Communications, Intelsat, Logix Fiber Networks, LS Networks, MetTel, Midco, Momentum Telecom, NTT, Orange Business, Pilot Fiber, PS Lightwave, Rightfiber (includes Great Plains and Ritter), Silver Star Telecom, Sparklight Business, Syringa, T-Fiber (includes MetroNet, Lumos, U.S. Internet), Tata Communications, TDS Telecom, TPx, US Signal, WOW!Business, Ziply Fiber (now owned by Bell Canada) andother companies selling retail Ethernet services in the U.S. market.

Market shares are measured based on the number of billable retail customer ports installed. Vertical Systems Group’s Ethernet port share analysis includes six service segments based on what service providers are offering and enterprise customers are purchasing as follows: Ethernet DIA (Dedicated Internet Access), E-Access to IP/MPLS VPN, Ethernet Private Lines, Ethernet Virtual Private Lines, Metro LAN, and WAN VPLS.

@Ethernet is available now exclusively by subscription to an ENS Research Program. Research data includes the market share detail that powers the U.S. and Global Provider Carrier Ethernet Services LEADERBOARD results. Contact us for more information and pricing.

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