09 Mar 2025 U.S. Wavelength Services LEADERBOARD
Lumen secures #1 rank on the 2025 U.S. Wavelength Services LEADERBOARD
BOSTON, MA, March 10, 2026 – Vertical Systems Group announces the roster of companies on the 2025 U.S. Wavelength Services LEADERBOARD (in rank order based on billable circuit share): Lumen, Zayo, Verizon, AT&T and Crown Castle. To qualify for a LEADERBOARD rank, companies must have four percent (4%) or more of the U.S. market for retail and wholesale wavelength services. Wavelength circuits are Layer 1 dedicated bidirectional gigabit-speed optical fiber connections between two sites.
The Challenge Tier cites providers with between 1% and 4% share of the 2025 U.S. Wavelength Services market. The following five companies attained a 2025 Challenge Tier citation for U.S. Wavelength services (in alphabetical order): Arelion, Brightspeed, Cogent, Frontier, and Uniti (formerly Windstream).
“The U.S. wavelength marketplace diverged sharply in 2025, with several vendors posting double-digit circuit growth while others remained flat or had declines. These shifts yielded an installed base that grew seven percent overall,” said Rick Malone, principal of Vertical Systems Group. “All major wavelength providers are now offering 400 Gbps waves across their footprints and are actively ramping 800 Gbps installations.”
U.S. Wavelength LEADERBOARD Research Highlights
- Lumen tops the U.S. Wavelength Services market, ranking #1 for the fifth consecutive time.
- Zayo, which ranks #2 on the 2025 U.S. Wavelength LEADERBOARD, has announced an agreement to acquire #5 ranked Crown Castle’s Fiber Solutions business in mid-2026.
- Verizon ranks #3 for U.S. Wavelength services. The company completed it acquisition of Frontier Communications in January 2026.
- Wavelength providers cite that U.S. customer demand for 400 Gbps services escalated significantly in 2025.
- Procurements of higher capacity 800 Gbps wavelengths also increased, driven by Hyperscalers, Neocloud providers, AI and GenAI companies, Data Centers and large Enterprises.
- Top challenges for implementing gigabit Wavelength services include fiber capacity upgrades and installations, lengthy acquisitions for equipment and space, network operations issues and sufficient power supplies.
- Three of the 2025 U.S. Wavelength Services LEADERBOARD companies – Lumen, Verizon, and AT&T – are also ranked on the 2025 U.S. Carrier Ethernet LEADERBOARD.
- All five of the companies ranked on the 2025 U.S. Wavelength Services LEADERBOARD are also major suppliers of lit fiber connectivity to commercial buildings and Data Centers.
- Ciena is the most prevalent Technology Supplier to the Service Providers ranked on the 2025 U.S. Wavelength LEADERBOARD or in the Challenge Tier based on Vertical’s research. Nokia and Cisco are the next most cited companies.
Market Players include all other Wavelength providers with U.S. circuit share below the one percent (1%) threshold. For 2025, Market Players include the following providers (in alphabetical order): Armstrong Business Solutions, Astound Business, BCE Global – USA, Bluebird Networks, Breezeline, Colt, Comcast Business, Conterra, Cox Business, DQE Communications, Everstream, Exa Infrastructure, Fatbeam, FiberLight, Fidium, FirstLight, GCX, Glo Fiber, Lightpath, Logix Fiber Networks, LS Networks, MetroNet Business, Pilot Fiber, Segra, Sparklight Business, Spectrum Business, Syringa, TDS Telecom, Ziply Fiber, and others.
Detailed results of Vertical Systems Group’s @Wavelength research are available now exclusively by subscription to an ENS Research Program. Research data includes the market share detail by provider that powers the U.S. Wavelength Services LEADERBOARD. ENS Wavelength services research quantifies this market through 2029, including U.S. revenue, circuits by speed (10 Gbps, 100 Gbps, 400 Gbps & Above), outlook on 800 Gbps services, wholesale vs. retail services, circuits by geographic scope, pricing by speed, verticals and use cases, attributes of Ethernet vs. Dark Fiber vs. Wavelength services – and more. Contact Us for more information and pricing.