Lumen, AT&T, Spectrum Enterprise remain atop U.S. Carrier Ethernet Leaderboard in 2020: Vertical Systems Group
Joining the three market leaders in the Leaderboard tier of providers with at least 4% port share in 2020 were Verizon, Comcast, Windstream, and Cox. The composition and market share order of this tier remained unchanged versus 2019.
Six network providers composed the next tier -- the Challenge Tier of service providers with between 1% and 4% port share. This stratum, which also showed no changes from 2019, included (in alphabetical order) Altice USA, Cogent, Frontier, GTT, T-Mobile (with Sprint), and Zayo. Vertical Systems Group also tracks the performance of operators with less than 1% total U.S. market share, a group it labels “Market Players.”
"U.S. Ethernet port growth was flat in 2020 as service implementations were disrupted by COVID-19, and enterprises pivoted from Ethernet-connected MPLS networks to managed SD-WANs," said Rick Malone, principal of Vertical Systems Group, in looking at the 2020 U.S. Ethernet market overall. "The major bright spot during the past year has been rising demand for secure, multi-gigabit Ethernet connectivity to data centers and other high-traffic sites."
In fact, nearly 25% of retail Ethernet services installed in the U.S. now are 1 Gbps or higher-speed ports, according to the market research firm. As Malone noted, the fastest growing Ethernet segment during 2020 was dedicated internet access (DIA), which is one of the preferred underlay services that support dedicated connectivity for managed SD-WANs.
The Ethernet share results behind the 2020 U.S. Ethernet Leaderboard are available exclusively to @Ethernet subscribers of Vertical Systems Group’s ENS Research Program. Vertical Systems Group's latest Ethernet research analysis incorporates the effects of COVID-19 with a detailed timeline and forecast assumptions.
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About the Author
Stephen Hardy
Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave
Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.
Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.
He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.
You can connect with Stephen on LinkedIn as well as Twitter.
