BT and Verizon form $4 billion joint venture to deliver AI-ready connectivity across 180 countries

BT and Verizon sign 'major milestone' tie-up to connect customers across 180 countries

* BT and Verizon new joint venture could target $4 billion in annual revenue * The companies are targeting 3,000 global enterprises across 180+ countries * AI and cloud are the two primary selling points for this new joint venture BT and Verizon have come together to form a 50:50 joint venture looking to serve around 3,000 multinational customers across more than 180 countries. The official announcement details the creation of a new "scaled international connectivity platform" designed for a cloud-first, AI-first world. Martijn Blanken has been appointed as CEO of the new joint venture, the name of which currently remains unconfirmed. BT and Verizon target multinational enterprises in new JV By combining their respective expertise, the two hope to provide enterprise customers more resilient global networking, more secure connectivity and infrastructure designed specifically for local laws, regulations and data sovereignty demands. "Customers will benefit from new, secure and resilient connectivity platforms, which are designed for the age of AI and sovereign where it matters," BT CEO Allison Kirkby noted. "Our international customers require secure, flexible connectivity that works seamlessly across borders and cloud environments," Verizon CEO Dan Schulman added. The announcement also implies that, by spinning off a new JV for global enterprises, it would allow the two companies to improve focus on their domestic markets. BT boasted about its "resilient communication and network services," and Verizon said it would bring secure connectivity via its enterprise wireline arm. Though it's unclear which type of enterprises the JV will be targeting, it will likely bid on contracts for some of the biggest enterprises given the target of around 3,000 customers. Private enterprise networks, cloud connectivity, cybersecurity and cross-border connectivity will form the basis of the company. According to the firms, the join venture could target around $4 billion in combined annual revenue. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.

AI-ready connectivity - the driving force behind BT and Verizon's new $4 billion joint venture

In a bid to transform international connectivity, networking giants BT and Verizon are combining their respective international enterprise operations into a 50:50 joint venture (JV). The announcement reminded me of the conversation I had earlier this year with Dallas Dolen, PwC's Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) Leader for Technology Strategic Alliances, when he said: Telcos need to spend around a trillion dollars, but how do they pay for this? This is a global problem that needs to be solved to upgrade infrastructure over the next seven years. This is an example of a JV driven by the need to create scale by pooling resources in order to service AI connectivity requirements across the globe. The venture, which will create a new $4 billion international networking business, will focus on serving multi-national organizations and is expected to serve more than 3,000 customers across more than 180 countries. This breadth of operations will unlock significant scale efficiencies across the combined global network and service operations following completion. Both BT and Verizon will hold equal voting rights and Verizon has agreed to pay BT an equalization payment of $625 million. By combining global scale with infrastructure designed and built to support local compliance and sovereignty needs, the JV will create a stronger platform for growth and accelerate the rollout of next-generation connectivity platforms. Customers should benefit from secure and resilient connectivity designed to meet data, operational and regulatory requirements. At the same time, the parent companies will be better able to focus on their domestic markets, while providing support to the new joint venture as equal shareholders. Leadership BT and Verizon have confirmed that Martijn Blanken has been appointed Chief Executive Officer designate of the new venture, conditional on the completion of the transaction. Clive Selley will continue to lead BT International as CEO, ensuring continuity of BT International's ongoing transformation in readiness for the creation of the joint venture. Verizon's leadership remains unchanged. In an analyst briefing, Selley explained that this deal was necessary to create: a stronger, scaled connectivity partner for international enterprises that can better operate in the multi-national cloud-first world of AI. Until the transaction closes in 2027, BT International and Verizon International will continue to operate independently. Consequently, customers will see no changes yet as for the rest of this year it will be business as usual. In the mean-time employee consultations will be taking place in relevant countries. A $2.1 billion mega-deal signed between HCLTech and Verizon Business in 2023 will continue and HCLTech will support the joint venture and customer migration to the JV after regulatory approval. The JV will also have commercial relationships in place with BT UK and Verizon, with customers designated as multi-national or strongly international supported by the JV. Joris van Oers who leads BT's International Sales Unit, pitches: Large multi-nationals and government agencies need to be AI-ready and so we need to strengthen global coverage via the JV and allow the BT and Verizon parent companies to focus on their respective domestic markets. Alex Toro, SVP, Finance at Verizon concurs: This is the best option for customers and both businesses as we combine the wireline arms of BT International and Verizon International, underpinned by a connectivity platform designed for multi-nationals. Data BT Global Fabric will be the data landing zone for the JV, supporting enterprise data and regulatory requirements at a country level. This is a Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) platform that provides on-demand programmable connectivity. It means that enterprises can scale bandwidth, optimize performance and enhance security through the digital platform using API-driven automation. Matt Swinden, Managing Director Strategy and Product for BT International, explains that the R&D strategy for BT Global Fabric is well-established, and is focused on designing, building and testing the Fabric. The proposed JV will not change this and there are already customers on the platform. The JV will, however, accelerate the physical deployment of points of presence for the Fabric. Nor did Swinden think that the JV with a US company would dilute BT's national sovereignty offer. This is because: The key focus is data in motion, and we continue to be agnostic in global presence. We operate as 'a Switzerland' and we configure appropriately for the multi-national. Asked what was meant by the creation of an AI-ready network, Swinden's response is that AI needs a network that reduces friction for the hybrid connectivity approach between cloud and the edge. He adds that when it comes to the orchestration of AI agents: Agents are treated as another set of customers with the relevant MCP layers in place to be agent friendly. We are not adding another AI platform to do this. My take For many years BT and Verizon have each been much weaker in each other's backyards. BT has a leading presence in the UKI and parts of the EU, while Verizon has always dominated North America. The result for multi-nationals requiring connectivity support tends to end up with a patchwork solution. This JV seeks to create an international connectivity business with less friction for supporting data across a greater area of the world than either can do as well alone. It also means that BT Fabric will have greater scale to deliver AI data and that both BT and Verizon will via the JV be able to focus investment requirements for customers requiring international connectivity. We will likely see more such deals unfold in the telco space to better support multi-national AI requirements.