Mid-Year 2020 U.S. Carrier Ethernet LEADERBOARD

CenturyLink retains #1 rank; COVID-19 halts Ethernet port growth during first half of 2020

BOSTON, MA, SEPTEMBER 3, 2020 – Vertical Systems Group announces that the following seven companies achieved a position on the mid-year 2020 U.S. Carrier Ethernet LEADERBOARD (in rank order based on retail port share as of June 30, 2020): CenturyLink, AT&T, Spectrum Enterprise, Verizon, Comcast, Windstream and Cox.

To qualify for a rank on this LEADERBOARD, network providers must have four percent (4%) or more of the U.S. Ethernet services market. Shares are measured based on the number of billable retail customer ports installed. Vertical Systems Group’s Ethernet port share analysis includes the following six service segments based on what service providers are offering and enterprise customers are purchasing: Ethernet DIA (Dedicated Internet Access), E-Access to IP/MPLS VPN, Ethernet Private Lines, Ethernet Virtual Private Lines, Metro LAN, and WAN VPLS.

“Port growth for the U.S. Ethernet market came to a halt in the first half of 2020 as COVID-19 abruptly altered customer networking requirements and impeded new installations. Continued demand for Ethernet DIA services supporting VPN, Cloud and SD-WAN connectivity was substantively offset by declines for local Ethernet Private Line and Metro LAN services,” said Rick Malone, principal of Vertical Systems Group. “Our outlook for Ethernet services is a slow rebound through the end of this year and into 2021 based on an incremental recovery of the U.S. economy.”

Mid-2020 U.S. Ethernet Research Highlights

  • CenturyLink ranks first on the Mid-2020 U.S. Ethernet LEADERBOARD, a position the company has held continuously since 2017.
  • All other share rankings for the Mid-Year 2020 LEADERBOARD remain unchanged from the year-end 2019 results due primarily to restrained growth of the U.S. Ethernet market.
  • The Cable MSO segment had the highest port growth in the first half of 2020 based on demand for high speed Ethernet DIA services. Companies in this segment ranked on the LEADERBOARD are Spectrum Enterprise (#3), Comcast (#5) and Cox (#7). Cable MSO is one of three U.S. provider segments for share analysis, along with the Incumbent Carrier and Competitive Provider segments.
  • Total bandwidth for all U.S. Ethernet services is on track to increase more than 20% in 2020. The largest speed segment is 100 Mbps based on customer installations, while the 10+ Gbps and 1 Gbps segments are the fastest growing.
  • CenturyLink is the only company ranked on the Mid-Year 2020 U.S. Ethernet LEADERBOARD that has attained MEF 3.0 CE (Carrier Ethernet) certification to date.
  • Spectrum Enterprise currently employs the highest number of MEF Carrier Ethernet Certified Professionals (MEFProCert) across all U.S. Ethernet LEADERBOARD companies.

In addition to the LEADERBOARD providers, all other companies selling Ethernet services in the U.S. are segmented into two tiers as measured by port share.

The Challenge Tier includes providers with between 1% and 4% share of the U.S. retail Ethernet market. For mid-year 2020, the following six companies attained a position in the Challenge Tier (in alphabetical order): Altice USA, Cogent, Frontier, GTT, Sprint (now part of T-Mobile) and Zayo.

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): AireSpring, Alaska Communications, American Telesis, Atlantic Broadband, bSimplify, BT Global Services, Cincinnati Bell, Consolidated Communications, Crown Castle Fiber, DQE Communications, FiberLight, FirstLight, Fusion Connect, Global Cloud Xchange, Great Plains Communications, Logix Fiber Networks, FirstComm, LS Networks, Masergy, MetTel, Midco, Momentum Telecom, NTT, Orange Business Services, RCN Business, Segra, Sparklight Business, Tata, TDS Telecom, Telstra, TPx, Unite Private Networks, US Signal, WOW!Business and other companies selling retail Ethernet services in the U.S. market.

@Ethernet is available now exclusively by subscription to an ENS Research Program. Research data includes the market share detail that powers the Carrier Ethernet Services LEADERBOARD results. Detailed analysis provides market projections for revenue and ports by six service segments and five speed segments, service pricing, key market trends, Directories of Ethernet providers worldwide – and more. Latest Ethernet research analysis incorporates the impact of COVID-19 with a timeline and Vertical’s forecast assumptions. Contact us for more information and pricing.