AT&T tops Ethernet Leaderboard amid shakeup – Vertical Methods

September 4, 2026

5

Vertical Methods Group’s analysis exhibits that the next seven firms achieved a place on the mid-year 2026 U.S. Provider Ethernet LEADERBOARD (in rank order based mostly on retail port share as of June 30, 2026): AT&T, Verizon (contains Frontier), Lumen, Spectrum Enterprise, Comcast Enterprise, Zayo (contains Crown Fortress) and Cox Enterprise. To qualify for a rank on this LEADERBOARD, community suppliers should have 4 p.c (4%) or extra of the U.S. retail Ethernet companies market.

Six firms attained a Problem Tier quotation (in alphabetical order): Cogent, Granite, GTT, Lightpath, Segra, and Uniti. The Problem Tier contains suppliers with between 1% and 4% share of the U.S. retail Ethernet market.

U.S. Ethernet market evaluation: mid-2026

AT&T retains its #1 rank on the Mid-12 months 2026 U.S. Provider Ethernet LEADERBOARD.
Rankings change for 4 of the seven Ethernet LEADERBOARD suppliers.
Verizon strikes up from the #4 place to the #2 rank with its accomplished acquisition and integration of Frontier belongings.
In consequence, Lumen dips from the #2 place to #3. Spectrum Enterprise drops from #3 into the #4 place.
Zayo strikes up into the LEADERBOARD on the #6 place from the Problem Tier because of its acquisition of Crown Fortress, which was accomplished in Could 2026.
Cox Enterprise falls into the #7 and last place. The acquisition of Cox by Spectrum’s dad or mum firm, Constitution Communications, was accomplished in August 2026 and isn’t included within the mid-year outcomes.
The Problem Tier for mid-2026 contains six firms: Cogent, Granite, GTT, Lightpath, Segra (together with UPN) and Uniti (contains Windstream). Segra enters the Problem Tier, transferring up from the Market Participant tier.
DIA (Devoted Web Entry) is the highest Ethernet service within the U.S. based mostly on each ports and income.
Enterprise clients are shifting from decrease velocity Ethernet non-public traces to extra sturdy SD-WAN and SASE companies.
Three LEADERBOARD firms have attained Mplify MEF 3.0 Provider Ethernet (CE) certification: AT&T, Lumen and Verizon.