Qwest, Cogent slip in retail business Ethernet sector

Time Warner Cable is rapidly making gains as a newcomer to the Ethernet services market, while Qwest Communications is falling behind, according to new data from Vertical Systems Group.

This week Vertical Systems released market share data (as measured in Ethernet ports) for the U.S. retail business Ethernet services sector at the end of 2007, an update from the same information released six months prior.

Time Warner Cable emerged as a new name on the year-end list, having captured 3% of the market at mid-year (companies with less than 5% share weren’t named) and 5% at year’s end.

“TWC had a major spike in Ethernet business in 2007,” said Rick Malone, Vertical Systems principal and cofounder.

Meanwhile, Qwest Communications’ share of the market slid from 8.4% in the summer to 6% in December. And Cogent Communications’ share slipped from 8.6% to 7%.

“Cogent had steady port growth throughout 2007 but lost share…due to generally slower growth than the market and a growing concentration of its sales in the wholesale segment,” Malone said. “Qwest didn't secure enough large Ethernet contracts in the back half of 2007 to keep up with the growth rate of the overall market. This resulted in continued share attrition.”

At the end of 2006, Qwest held 10% of the market.

Market leaders AT&T and Verizon both gained share in the back half of last year. AT&T’s piece grew from 19.5% to 22%, and Verizon’s grew from 15.8% to 17%. Third-place Time Warner Telecom stayed essentially flat at 13% (though up from less than 11% a year earlier). And fourth-place Cox grew from 8.9% to 10%, having held something less than 5% of the market at the end of 2006.

Yipes Communications, which was acquired by India’s Reliance Telecom last year, lost an unknown portion of its port share. Midway through the year, it held 4.6%, just enough to avoid being lumped in with the “others” that collectively hold about 20% of the total market. But at the end of the year, Yipes no longer made the cut, and Vertical does not release numbers for the “others.”