AT&T, Verizon and Hughes command the global SD-WAN market

The three service providers top Vertical Systems Group’s Mid-2025 Global Provider SD-WAN LEADERBOARD.

Oct. 13, 2025

3 min read

Key Highlights

AT&T, Verizon, and Hughes are the top three providers on Vertical Systems Group’s Mid-2025 SD-WAN leaderboard, highlighting their strong market positions.
The global SD-WAN market is growing at a 13% annual rate, driven by increased demand for network upgrades, cloud integration, and international connectivity.
Major providers are expanding their global footprints through network enhancements, acquisitions, and certifications like Mplify SASE to attract multinational clients.
Emerging players such as Colt and Comcast are leveraging network-as-a-service offerings and international network expansions to compete in the managed SD-WAN space.
The industry is witnessing a shift towards integrated NaaS solutions that combine SD-WAN, security, and cloud services to meet complex enterprise requirements.

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AT&T, Verizon and Hughes are taking the carrier-managed SD-WAN market by storm, becoming the top three service providers on Vertical Systems Group’s Mid-2025 Global Provider SD-WAN LEADERBOARD.

While these service providers won’t release their third-quarter results until late October and early November, it's clear that next-generation services were a big part of their second-quarter business service results.

In AT&T’s case, second-quarter Business Wireline revenues were down 9.3% year over year due to declines in legacy and other transitional services of 17.3%, but this was partially offset by 3.5% growth in fiber and advanced connectivity services like SD-WAN.

Likewise, Verizon Business’ second-quarter operating income was $638 million, up 27.6 percent year-over-year, resulting in a segment operating income margin of 8.8 percent, an increase from 6.8 percent in second-quarter 2024.

Finally, Hughes grew enterprise committed contract volume 8% year-over-year.

Rounding out the top eight providers on the research group’s list are Orange Business (France), Vodafone (U.K.), BT International (U.K.), Telefonica (Spain) and NTT (Japan).

VSG’s industry benchmark for multinational SD-WAN market presence ranks companies that hold a 4% or higher share of billable retail sites outside of their respective home countries.

Global SD-WAN opportunities

Vertical’s specialized Global Provider SD-WAN research tracks multinational network providers that have found success in delivering Managed SD-WAN services to customers worldwide.

VSG forecasts that the growth of SD-WAN sites within this segment is expanding at 13% per year.

Rosemary Cochran, Principal of Vertical Systems Group, said that businesses' desire for SD-WAN is driven by technology upgrades and the availability of network connectivity options.

“Global demand for SD-WAN is being driven by new opportunities across country markets, customer conversions from MPLS, plus more ubiquitous Broadband/DIA connectivity,” she said.

She added that “SD-WAN customers with sizable international networks are evaluating NaaS (Network as a Service) offerings that integrate SD-WAN, SASE, SSE, cloud-based connectivity, security, AI, application assurance, and other features.”

Competitors rising

While the top providers will continue to enhance their dominant positions by the market continues to see movement by a host of competitive providers.

VSG noted that eight companies qualify for the Mid-2025 Global Provider Managed SD-WAN Challenge Tier: Aryaka (U.S.), Colt (U.K.), Comcast Business (U.S., includes Masergy), Deutsche Telekom (Germany), GTT (U.S.), PCCW Global (Hong Kong), Singtel (Singapore) and Tata Communications (India).

The Challenge Tier includes companies with a site share between 1% and 4% of this defined SD-WAN segment. Two Challenge Tier companies – Colt and Comcast Business – have also attained Mplify SASE certification, giving them another entry point they can use when pursuing global SD-WAN customers.

Comcast and GTT have continued to make progress with managed services and SD-WAN.

Comcast Business bolstered its managed services and SD-WAN capabilities by acquiring network-as-a-service (NaaS) provider Nitel. Specializing in delivering advanced managed services and connectivity solutions to enterprise customers across the U.S., Nitel brings its base of 6,600 mid-size enterprise clients, including those in financial services, healthcare, and education.

GTT, meanwhile, has been actively enhancing its network reach in various global markets. In May, the service provider GTT began extending the reach of its EnvisionCORE network backbone to several international metro markets in Argentina, Chile, China, Colombia, India, Malaysia, the Philippines, South Korea and Thailand.

EnvisionCORE serves as the foundation for the GTT Envision platform, which facilitates access to the company’s suite of managed networking and security services, including Ethernet, SD-WAN, DDoS mitigation, SASE and managed firewall services.

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