Leading TMT consultancy and market diligence firm ATLANTIC-ACM announced the winners of the 2026 U.S. Wholesale Service Provider Excellence Awards based on the 31st annual U.S. Wholesale Report Card study. The awards are based on detailed reviews from ~385 unique customers who rated the providers from which they currently buy services. Most respondents rate multiple carriers, resulting in a total of 1,510+ carrier-specific evaluations, rating each operator across numerous service and product categories.

The U.S. Wholesale study covers customer experience and metro and long-haul wholesale services. The study provides quantifiable metrics on current wholesale trends and real-time insights into evolving purchasing dynamics and priorities. It enables carriers to benchmark their performance against the broader U.S. wholesale industry and key competitors, helping them identify operational and product strengths and weaknesses, refine their value proposition, and uncover new areas of opportunity.

Network Performance and Price remain the highest priorities for wholesale customers, but network quality is now largely seen as table stakes and carriers are increasingly setting themselves apart through customer experience. Customer Portal, Sales Reps, Customer Service, and Billing show the highest variation in carrier ratings. They also have a positive correlation to buyer plans to increase spend with a provider. Digital engagement continues to expand, as web portals are used by most buyers, and API adoption continues to grow.

Demand continues to move toward higher-capacity services. Ethernet and Wave buyers continue to move to higher speeds. Buyers expect the strongest spending growth over the next year in Wavelengths, VPN, and Ethernet, while Private Line lags. The move away from legacy networks is also speeding up, as many buyers have either already disconnected their TDM circuits or expect to do so by the end of 2027, mostly migrating to Ethernet Access and Broadband.

Beyond core connectivity, Colocation remains the most widely purchased additional service, and security is a growing priority, led by DDoS Mitigation and Threat Management. Over the next three years, respondents expect to shift the most focus toward AI Applications, followed by Security Management, Cloud-Based Security, and Fiber Builds.

ATLANTIC-ACM recognizes the top ILEC & Large Cable and CLEC & Fiber players in each major operational category, as well as for the highest combined average for quality and price ratings (value) in data and voice. The winners for ATLANTIC-ACM’s 2026 U.S. Wholesale Service Provider Excellence Awards are:

  • ILEC & Large Cable Winners

    • Comcast: Service Delivery and Billing

    • Lumen: Sales Reps, Network Performance, Customer Service, Data Value

    • Verizon: Brand, Voice Value

  • CLEC & Fiber Winners

    • Arelion: Brand, Sales Reps, Service Delivery, Network Performance, Customer Service

    • Bandwidth: Voice Value

    • Cogent: Data Value

    • Sinch: Billing

About ATLANTIC-ACM

Founded in 1991, ATLANTIC-ACM is a leading strategic consulting firm serving the telecom and technology sectors. ATLANTIC-ACM assists corporate and investor clients in evaluating strategic growth opportunities for successful investment, market entry, optimization, and long-term planning. For over 35 years, Boston-based ATLANTIC-ACM has helped leading companies identify opportunities, capture and retain market share, and navigate changing market dynamics, economies, and technologies. For more information, please contact ATLANTIC-ACM at inquiries@atlantic-acm.com or visit ATLANTIC-ACM’s website at atlantic-acm.com.

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