Verizon, AT&T, Level 3 Among Global Ethernet Leaders

Three U.S. communications giants are listed among the top seven companies on Vertical Systems Group’s Mid-2014 Global Provider Ethernet leaderboard.

Ranked in order of port share, France’s Orange Business tops the list (retaining the No. 1 position), followed by BT Global Services. Then comes Verizon, the top-ranked U.S. company; Colt of the U.K.; AT&T; and Level 3 Communications. Japan’s NTT rounds out the leaderboard.

Level 3 had the largest share gain in the first half of the year, which boosts its rank from seventh to sixth position, ahead of NTT. AT&T gained share to retain fifth position, edging out Level 3 by only a narrow margin.

Vertical’s leaderboard measures multinational Ethernet network market presence. Global providers ranked by Vertical hold 4 percent or more of retail business Ethernet installations based on billable ports at sites outside of their respective home countries. 

Seven companies made Vertical Systems Group’s “challenge” tier, meaning they have between 2 and 4 percent market share. In alphabetical order, they are: Cogent (U.S.), Reliance Globalcom (India), SingTel (Singapore), Tata Communications (India), Telefonica Worldwide (Spain), T-Systems (Germany) and Vodafone (U.K.).

“The integration of Ethernet into MPLS network infrastructures is generating revenue opportunities for global carriers, driven by customer demand for higher bandwidth connectivity,” said Rick Malone, principal at Vertical Systems Group. “More than half of new global IP VPN connections are being delivered over Ethernet.”

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