Level 3 Communications, XO Communications, Cogent, Zayo, and Sprint have all achieved positions on Vertical Systems Group’s 2016 U.S. competitive provider Ethernet leaderboard.

The leaderboard ranks companies in order based on U.S. retail Ethernet port share. Sources for share calculations include Vertical’s base of enterprise installations, plus direct input from its biannual surveys of network providers selling data network services in the U.S.

“In order to compete with incumbents and MSOs, competitive providers must excel in key areas like network scalability, dynamic service features, fiber reach, SLAs or network resiliency,” said Rick Malone, principal at Vertical Systems. “Because of these distinctive competencies, it is no surprise that top companies like Level 3 and XO, as well as others in this segment, have been prime acquisition targets for larger service providers.”

Last month, Verizon completed its $1.8 billion purchase of XO Communications’ fiber-optic network business after the Federal Communications Commission’s approval of the deal last November. Year-end 2016 U.S. Ethernet share figures for XO and Verizon are reported separately. CenturyLink is in the process of acquiring Level 3.{ad}

Other companies in the competitive-provider segment include (in alphabetical order): Alpheus Communications, American Telesis, Birch Communications, EarthLink Business, Electric Lightwave, Expedient, FiberLight, Global Cloud Xchange, GTT, Integra, Lightower, LS Networks, Lumos Networks, Masergy, MegaPath, NTT America, Orange Business, Tata, TelePacific, Telstra, Unite Private Networks and US Signal.