Vertical Systems: Rapid Growth in U.S. Business Ethernet Service Ports

The U.S. market for retail Ethernet ports grew 24% in 2012 as the rankings of top providers shifted amidst increased price competition and network expansion, according to Vertical Systems' newly released U.S. Business Ethernet Leaderboard.

"The U.S. market for retail Ethernet ports rose 24% in 2012. The year was characterized by major backbone upgrades, new market rollouts, price wars and channel expansion. Ethernet access to IP VPNs and Cloud connectivity were the fastest growing applications," said Rick Malone, principal at Vertical Systems Group. "Position changes on our Leaderboard include Level 3 moving up two spots, jumping ahead of XO and Time Warner Cable. AT&T and Verizon remain the top two providers, but not without challenges. AT&T experienced slower overall growth in Ethernet - especially in the second half of the year - and derived more Ethernet sales from wholesale partners. Verizon remained number two on our Leaderboard despite a challenging fourth quarter which resulted in loss of market share."

The top Business Ethernet providers, in rank order based on port share as of the end of 2012: AT&T, Verizon, tw telecom, CenturyLink, Cox, Level 3, XO, and Time Warner Cable. Port shares were calculated using the base of enterprise installations of Ethernet services, plus input from Vertical's independent surveys of Ethernet providers. The Leaderboard threshold is four percent (4%) or more of billable port installations.

Other providers selling Ethernet services in the U.S. are segmented into two tiers as measured by port share. The first or Challenge Tier for 2012 includes the following eight companies (listed here in alphabetical order): Charter Business, Cogent, Comcast Business, Integra, Lightpath, Reliance Globalcom, Windstream (includes Paetec) and Zayo Group (includes AboveNet).

The second or Market Player tier covers other providers offering Ethernet services in the U.S. The Market Player tier includes the following companies (listed in alphabetical order): Alpheus Communications, American Telesis, Bright House Networks, BT Global, Cincinnati Bell, Consolidated Communications, EarthLink Business, Expedient, FairPoint, FiberLight, Fibertech, Frontier, Hawaiian Telecom, IP Networks, Lightower, LS Networks, Lumos Networks, Masergy, Megapath, NTT America, Orange Business, Sidera Networks, Spirit, Sprint, SuddenLink, TDS, US Signal, Virtela and others.

http://www.verticalsystems.com/prarticles/stat-flash-YE_2012_US_Leaderboard.html