SAN ANTONIO, TX. – April 5, 2023 – Frost & Sullivan’s recent assessment of the managed SD-WAN services, ethernet services, and overall network services landscape in the US led to it granting AT&T the 2022 North American Market Leadership Award in the managed SD-WAN industry, the 2022 US Market Leadership Award in the wholesale carrier ethernet services industry, and the 2022 US Company of the Year Award in the network services industry.
The company offers network services that leverage its global network, which benefits from over 750,000 fiber-lit buildings in the US. It also provides a dynamic overlay fabric enabling application-aware intelligent connectivity from the cloud to the edge, primarily driven by SD-WAN technologies. Its complementary services include managed SD-WAN, secure access service edge (SASE), consulting, and managed services.
AT&T’s vast network footprint and secured connectivity differentiate it in the US network services. The company offers a complete network services portfolio to address enterprises’ growing business requirements. It offers both fully managed and co-managed SD-WAN solutions from leading SD-WAN vendors and SASE solutions from top providers, including managed SD-WAN integrated with cloud, voice/unified communications (UC), WI-FI/LAN, and security. AT&T’s leadership capabilities are exemplified by its leading products and services in the US, including the following:
- Managed SD-WAN and Network Functions Virtualization services
- An agile, converged virtual private network (VPN)
- Dedicated internet access (DIA) service for flexibility and scalability
- Switched and Dedicated Ethernet services
- Dedicated Ethernet video broadcasting services
Amrit Singh, a senior industry analyst at Frost & Sullivan, observed, “AT&T has an expansive global network, with multi-protocol label switching – MPLS – available in nearly 200 countries, dedicated internet access – DIA – services in over 160 countries, and over 3,900 service nodes with Ethernet, fiber, and wireless access options. It also has a presence in over 500 data centers across the US, offering speeds up to 1 Tbps, and 250 cloud data centers outside of the US.”
AT&T’s incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC) network enables it to compete fiercely for dedicated Ethernet services, differentiating it in the US. AT&T’s extensive network footprint forms the basis for its leadership in network services. Its robust underlay and overlay transport power all its products and services to deliver the most comprehensive networking services. AT&T’s Switched Ethernet on Demand (ASEoD), Dynamic Exchange, Ultravailable Network services, and wireless backup capabilities are distinctive offerings, and its “Business Center” online portal provides management and visibility into its key services.
“AT&T has a strong base of network assets to leverage across the SD-WAN portfolio, strong relationships with leading SD-WAN vendors, and broad virtual network function capabilities on premise or in the cloud. Its superior focus on cloud providers and pre-provisioned integrations positions it well in this portfolio,” added Stephen Thomas, senior industry director at Frost & Sullivan. “AT&T as an industry leader can target a wide range of customer segments by giving them the choice to deploy services that best suit their price points and application requirements. The approach is particularly significant to drive managed SD-WAN adoption, as businesses of all sizes re-assess and optimize their technology spending.”
Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents a Company of the Year award to the organization that demonstrates excellence in terms of growth strategy and implementation in its field. The award recognizes a high degree of product and technology innovation as well as leadership in customer value and customer penetration. It presents the Market Leadership award to the company that has developed an innovative element in a product by leveraging leading-edge technologies. The award recognizes the value-added features/benefits of the product and the increased ROI it offers customers, which, in turn, raises customer acquisition and overall customer penetration potential.
Frost & Sullivan Best Practices awards recognize companies in various regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analyses, and extensive secondary research to identify best practices in the industry.