AT&T Remains The Largest Commercial Fiber Provider in The United States

AT&T remains the largest commercial fiber provider in the U.S., maintaining the number one spot on the 2023 U.S. Fiber Lit Buildings LEADERBOARD by research firm Vertical Systems Group (VSG).

 

While AT&T has connected fiber to many large commercial buildings, its fiber network can also be used to further penetrate small and medium-sized businesses. In its Q1 earnings call, the telco noted that it has relationships with nearly 2.5 million commercial customers and has the opportunity to win more small and medium-sized commercial customers.

The other two telcos, Verizon and Spectrum Enterprise, maintained their second and third positions, respectively. The top 12 providers are: AT&T, Verizon, Spectrum Enterprise, Comcast Business, Lumen, Cox Business, Zayo, Crown Castle, Frontier, Brightspeed, Breezeline, and Optimum.

 

The 12 retail and wholesale fiber providers meet the benchmark of having 15,000 or more fiber sites in the U.S., including commercial buildings and data centers, by the end of 2023. Rosemary Cochran, head of VSG, said: "The top companies remain stable on the leaderboard. "

 

VSG noted that in 2023, the total number of fiber-lit commercial buildings and data centers in the U.S. grew by double digits. Commercial buildings with two or more fiber suppliers continue to increase. In addition, cable TV service providers have seen significant growth in new fiber optic buildings.

 

M&A is one factor influencing the 2023 rankings.

 

Comcast replaced Lumen and moved up to fourth place. As a result of the spin-off of the assets to Brightspeed, Lumen's rankings slipped. Cox, while still in sixth place, has gained fiber market share through the acquisitions of Segra and Unite Private Networks.

Another key factor in the growth of fiber optic buildings is the growth of data centers.

 

To meet the demands of AI and cloud computing, data center providers rely heavily on fiber and electricity in their facilities. Large hyperscale data center providers, such as AWS, Google, Meta, and Microsoft, all have large hyperscale data center projects this year, all of which require fiber optic facilities. AWS reportedly plans to invest $10 billion to build two data center complexes in Mississippi. Meanwhile, Meta plans to invest $800 million in a data center campus in Jeffersonville, Indiana.

 

However, the demand for fiber optics is not limited to large hyperscalers. Emerging data center providers, such as Build-to-Suit (BTS) provider DataNovaX, plan to have significant power and fiber infrastructure at the Pioneer Park data center complex in Wichita Falls, Texas. Pioneer Park has a variety of network providers, including Zayo, AT&T, Indian Nations Fiber Optic (INFO), Syntrio, Spectrum, Vexus, Comcell, Consolidated Communications, Crown Castle, Dobson Fiber, Hilliary Communications, MetroNet Fiber, Texas Lone Star network, Uniti Fiber, and Windstream.