The Great Network Shakeup of 2025: Mergers, Acquisitions & Playing Monopoly 

By Graeme Scott, VP of Advanced Networking and Mobility + Koby Phillips, VP of Cloud 

If you feel like the world of network aggregation is getting harder to follow than the plot of a mystery movie, you’re not alone. One minute, Comcast is a cable company, the next it’s the largest SD-WAN supplier in the country, buying Nitel, and asking if you want a side of security services. At the same time, Charter and Cox are flirting with a merger that might just give AT&T reason to check its fiber. Oh, and speaking of AT&T—they’re out here quietly scooping up Lumen assets like a kid hoarding candy before Halloween ends. Meanwhile, 11:11 Systems is helping enterprises ditch AWS fees like a bad habit, Megaport is provisioning circuits faster than you can say “multi-cloud,” and all kinds of new players have entered the game.  

Welcome to the new era of aggregation, where the only constant is change and consolidation and the only thing more fragmented than your network topology is the list of providers who want to manage it. What was once a space dominated by traditional telecom aggregators is being reimagined by cloud-first interconnect providers, backbone innovators, and converging broadband giants. The network edge is expanding, but the way we aggregate and manage connectivity is becoming smarter and more intentional. 

Let’s break it all down and find out what each of these moves mean to us as technology advisors. 

1. The Heavy Hitters: Charter + Cox, AT&T + Lumen, Comcast 

Charter + Cox: the “third telco” power couple in the making 

Charter and Cox are currently deep in regulatory courtship. If this merger goes through, we could see the formation of a third network superpower, right behind Comcast and AT&T, but with a unique twist: more regional fiber reach, better broadband density in Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets, and a combined enterprise play that’s surprisingly potent. 

Why it matters: 

• The union would yield one of the largest fiber and coaxial footprints in the United States, giving them enormous leverage in last-mile aggregation. 
• Their bundled SD-WAN and broadband model could scale aggressively—particularly for SMBs and mid-market customers that want simplicity without sacrificing control. 
• Cox is one of the leading private network providers, potentially creating more opportunity for this emerging technology. 

AT&T’s quiet move with Lumen 

AT&T is in the process of pulling off a quieter—but equally strategic—move by acquiring Lumen’s critical enterprise and metro fiber assets. While acquisition doesn’t involve wedding vows like Charter and Cox, AT&T is heavily dating Lumen’s storage unit. 

Why you should care: 

• It supercharges AT&T’s enterprise fiber and managed services reach, giving them a deeper bench in everything from dedicated internet access (DIA) to cloud interconnect. 
• Lumen, always a beloved wholesale-friendly backbone, is now transitioning to a more vertically integrated machine, focusing on enterprise, raising concerns for aggregators who once counted on its neutral stance. 
• Expect fewer menu options and more price fixed bundles.
• This move also accelerates the telco divergence we’re watching unfold: closed-stack mega-providers (AT&T, Comcast, Charter-Cox) vs cloud-native dis-aggregators (Megaport, 11:11, etc.) 

Comcast’s evolution: from cable giant to enterprise aggregator 

Comcast’s acquisitions of Masergy and more recently Nitel mark a clear strategic pivot toward becoming a full-stack provider for enterprise and mid-market organizations. With Nitel’s network contracts and SD-WAN capabilities and Masergy’s legacy in managed security and networking, Comcast is building a vertically integrated solution that appeals to distributed enterprise environments—especially those struggling to manage last-mile diversity, security, and performance at scale.   

Comcast has leveraged their current stack to be the leader in quick service restaurant chains, and retail nationwide, as well as one of the largest SD-WAN suppliers globally. 

This approach is familiar: Own the pipe, bundle the services, manage the stack. It’s telco DNA, but dressed in a more modern wrapper. 

2. The Rise of Traditional Aggregators: CommandLink, Granite & AireSpring Still Matter 

While Comcast scales vertically, Cox and Charter look to do the same, and cloud-native players redefine the edge, a few traditional aggregators are evolving fast enough to stay in the race—and in some cases, lead it. These aren’t your grandfather’s resellers; they’re strategic players that know how to bridge legacy infrastructure with modern enterprise demands.  While not an exhaustive list, these three aggregators bear watching: 

Granite: the quiet giant of multi-location aggregation 

Granite isn’t known for making noise—but that’s by design. With deep roots in wireline consolidation, they’ve become the de facto choice for large-scale enterprises that need: 

• Nationwide broadband and voice services 
• Mass-scale POTS aggregation and replacement 
• A single hand to shake for billing and vendor management 

For retailers, government agencies, and healthcare networks juggling thousands of sites, Granite offers the kind of simplicity and reach that turns telecom complexity into spreadsheet order. If network chaos had a nemesis, it would wear a Granite badge. 

CommandLink: automation-first, aggregation second 

CommandLink approaches aggregation like a DevOps engineer would: automate everything, make it repeatable, and build a user experience that doesn’t require a support ticket to breathe. Their cloud-native orchestration platform is central to how they deliver: 

• SD-WAN, UCaaS, and cybersecurity with white-glove support 
• Real-time provisioning, visibility, and performance analytics 
• A tightly integrated NOC that actually knows your name 

CommandLink isn’t just aggregating circuits—they’re aggregating sanity in an industry known for carrier-induced headaches. 

AireSpring: The global-minded, partner-friendly contender 

AireSpring continues to earn its seat at the table with a strong blend of carrier diversity, global SIP, and fully managed SD-WAN offerings. They’ve invested heavily in automation, quoting intelligence, and white-label capabilities—making them a favorite among MSPs and IT consultants who value flexibility and control. 

AireSpring also benefits from being both nimble and experienced, offering a portfolio that’s equally appealing to SMBs and large enterprises looking to modernize without getting locked into rigid infrastructure plays. 

3. 11:11 Systems and Megaport: New Kids on the Block 

11:11 Systems: retiring AWS spend through smart network control 

11:11 Systems is a prime example of this new model. Rather than building around telecom infrastructure, 11:11 is leveraging its own optimized backbone and cloud-first infrastructure to create a different kind of aggregation: one that intelligently routes across multiple clouds and SaaS environments. 

By providing customers the ability to route traffic off AWS and other hyperscalers via their own backbone, 11:11 enables real reductions in egress costs, better data movement visibility, and more predictable network performance—especially for backup, DRaaS, and AI/ML workloads. 

This model challenges the idea that cloud and network spend must be separated. It aligns infrastructure with cost optimization, not just transport. 

Megaport: on-demand interconnects with hyperscale precision 

Then there’s Megaport, the on-demand, software-defined NaaS platform that continues to reshape cloud networking. By offering rapid provisioning of direct connectivity to AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle, and others—often in under 60 seconds—Megaport is giving enterprise IT teams low-latency, high-control interconnects without needing to purchase or manage physical circuits. 

Megaport’s virtual routers, global backbone, and marketplace of partners position it as more than just a cloud on-ramp. It’s a programmable aggregation fabric that supports hybrid cloud, SaaS peering, and multi-region interconnectivity. 

For enterprises that have outgrown MPLS and are looking to eliminate single points of failure, Megaport offers agility and geographic diversity unmatched by legacy telcos. 

Conclusion: Aggregation Is Now Strategic Infrastructure 

Network aggregation used to be tactical—about finding the best local loop or negotiating down bandwidth costs. But in 2025, it’s become a core pillar of IT strategy, touching everything from cloud architecture to security posture to cost optimization. 

Whether you’re a CIO rethinking cloud spend, a network architect designing for latency-sensitive AI workloads, or an MSP evaluating partners, how you aggregate your network is as important as what you connect it to. 

The players may differ in approach, but the stakes are clear: control the network, and you control the cloud experience. 

What does it all mean? 

In short: if network aggregation used to be about shopping around for circuits, now it’s more like choosing which walled garden you want to live in.  

Do you want: 

• A cozy, all-inclusive resort with room service? 
• A sprawling neighborhood with good schools and bundled cable? 
• Or a new-construction fiber mansion? 

Whatever your flavor, the market is tilting toward consolidated infrastructure with managed overlay services, leaving independent aggregators and cloud-centric platforms to innovate in the open spaces in between. 

The game is on. Just hope you’re not holding Baltic Avenue when someone lays fiber down on Park Place. 

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