Lumen, Zayo, Verizon Top Wavelength Services Leaderboard

Lumen leads Vertical Systems Group‘s latest rankings for wavelength services providers in the United States.

The market research firm listed Lumen as the top provider of retail and wholesale wavelength services. Zayo finished second, followed by Verizon, AT&T and Arelion.

Source: Vertical Systems Group

Windstream, Crown Castle and Cox rounded out the leaderboard. These providers all own 1% or higher share of wavelength circuits in America.

Wavelength services provide point-to-point connectivity using dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) over fiber optic lines. Vertical Systems Group defines a wavelength circuit as a “Layer 1 dedicated bidirectional gigabit-speed optical fiber connection between two sites.”

Wavelength services revenue will grow at 13% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) through 2026, according to the study. VSG noted that installation disruptions and chip shortages caused by the pandemic factored into the projected growth rate.

In addition, the study found that demand outpaced 2021 wholesale deployments.

Vertical Systems Group’s Rick Malone

“U.S. demand for wavelength services is rising to support mission-critical applications that require assured performance, deterministic latency and gigabit speed connectivity,” said Rick Malone, principal of Vertical Systems Group. “Our forecasts show double digit growth this year, driven by high demand for 100 Gbps wavelength circuits.”

According to an article by former Channel Partners editor-in-chief Khali Henderson, providers productized wholesale wavelengths in 1999 as “a middle ground between private lines and dark fiber.”

Lumen recently scored well in the U.S. carrier Ethernet leaderboard from VSG.

This is the first U.S. Wavelength Services Leaderboard from Vertical Systems Group.