Latest Carrier Ethernet Leaderboard Revealed

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Lumen, formerly CenturyLink, finished in the top spot of Vertical Systems Groups’ mid 2021 U.S. Carrier Ethernet Leaderboard. Lumen has held that position on the Leaderboard since the end of 2017.

Six other service providers – AT&T, Spectrum Enterprise, Verizon, Comcast, Cox and Windstream (in order) – qualified to be on the Leaderboard, which requires a 4% market share for inclusion.

Companies qualifying for the Challenge Tier were (in alphabetical order) Altice USA, Cogent, Frontier, GTT and Zayo. Companies must win between 1% and 4% market share to be in the tier.

Carrier Ethernet Leaderboard

VSG noted position changes and trends during the first half of the year:

  • Cox advances to sixth position, with Windstream dropping to seventh position.
  • Comcast had the highest port share growth in the first half of the year across all companies in the Leaderboard.
  • The number of Challenge Tier companies dropped to five from six: T-Mobile moved down into the Market Player tier, which includes numerous companies with less than 1% market share.
  • Dedicated Internet Access (DIA) continues to be the top Ethernet service. Customer demand for Ethernet DIA is driven by the need for secure, high speed dedicated connectivity to data centers, cloud-based services and SD-WAN underlays.
  • Growth of the substantial U.S. base of E-Access to VPN services is waning as customers migrate from MPLS to SD-WAN. E-Access to VPN provides connectivity to private IP/MPLS VPNs and gateways to SD-WAN services and Hybrid WANs.
  • Lumen and Verizon are the only U.S. Ethernet LEADERBOARD-ranked service providers with MEF 3.0 Carrier Ethernet certification to date.

“Protracted effects of the pandemic throughout the U.S. continue to suppress expansion of Ethernet service installations. Commercial building workforce levels – a primary driver for bandwidth – remain lower than normal,” VSG Principal Rick Malone said in a press release. “We continue to see strength in demand for Ethernet DIA and Ethernet-based wavelength services. Conversely, the shift to hybrid SD-WAN solutions is negatively impacting switched metro Ethernet and Ethernet access to MPLS services.”

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