Google has named Verizon Business a Verified Peering Provider (VPP). Verizon Business Vice President of Technology Enablement Steve Szabo answered questions from Telecompetitor about what that means for the company.
Now that it has VPP status, the product that Verizon Business will offer is “a dedicated, optimized internet connection for cloud applications,” Szabo explained.
As he put it, “The user base is primarily customers of Google Cloud applications and services.” This could include businesses of any size, but large enterprises would be “the most relevant customer segment,” he said.
Verizon will sell the Google Cloud user a dedicated internet connection to regional points of presence (POPs) or meet-me points and will manage “the complex routing designs and operational requirements” that the customer would otherwise have to handle on its own, Szabo explained.
“Our connection is certified by Google to meet or exceed all requirements for performance and reliability,” Szabo noted.
The number of POPs to which a customer connects will vary based on the applications in play, circuit diversity needs, geographies served and other factors, he said.
In addition to Google Cloud, customers also could use the VPP service to connect to Google Workspace and Google APIs, according to a Verizon press release.
The release also notes that VPP services are particularly helpful for customers whose operations include latency-sensitive secure access service edge (SASE) or complex SD-WAN migrations involving Google Cloud.
Providers can obtain either Gold VPP or Silver VPP status from Google. Those with Gold VPP status have physically diverse connectivity to Google in multiple metropolitan areas, while those with Silver VPP status have physically diverse connectivity in a single metropolitan area.
Verizon has Gold VPP status in North America and Europe, according to a Google web page about Verified Peering Providers. Other providers with that status in North America include AT&T Business, Comcast, Lumen and several global providers.
