Why the New Verizon/BT Joint Venture Should Get the Attention of Every Enterprise Customer

Tony: Hello, I’m Tony Mangino from TC2, and this is Staying Connected—the podcast where we talk about what really matters to enterprise buyers navigating today’s technology and sourcing decisions.

Today we’re talking about a big development in the global enterprise networking market. Verizon and BT have announced plans to combine their international enterprise operations into a 50:50 joint venture focused on multinational customers.

And yes, we’ve been talking about Verizon quite a bit lately because Verizon’s strategic moves keep touching real enterprise network decisions that impact sourcing strategy, renewals, leverage, service delivery, and long-term network architecture.

So, this one matters.

Given the Verizon and BT angle, I’m joined today by  TC2’s Brent Knight who spent 19 years working at Verizon, and TC2’s Ben Fox, who never worked for BT but is at least British – so naturally we made him join!

Ben, Brent, welcome.

Ben – excited to be here Tony, filling the role of the token Brit, and talking to you about BT and … yet again… more drama at Verizon.

Brent: Ha! Thanks, Tony. It’s great to be back. And you’re right, this is a big one.

On the surface, this sounds like a global platform story. Maybe it becomes that. But for enterprise customers, the real question is pretty simple: does this make things clearer, better supported, and easier to manage?

Or does it add another layer of complexity?

What Was Announced

Tony: Let’s start with the basics.

Verizon and BT announced a proposed joint venture that would combine their respective international enterprise operations. The new business is expected to serve more than 3,000 customers across more than 180 countries, representing roughly $4 billion in combined annual revenue.

The companies are positioning this around secure, resilient, cloud-first, AI-ready connectivity.

Ben: Hang on there Tony – are you telling me that BT and Verizon are saying that their networks are not secure, resilient, cloud-first and AI-ready today?!  And what does that mean anyway? 

Tony:  Fair question. Although, I’m not sure I’m volunteering to translate the marketing fluff into reality for you Ben.  But, on paper anyway, this is about scale. It’s about focus and about creating a stronger international platform. 

The transaction is expected to close in 2027, subject to regulatory approvals and other conditions. BT has told customers that the process may take 12 to 18 months and that, until completion, it’s business as usual.

Brent: Right. And to be fair, there’s a logical story here.

Multinational customers need connectivity that works across borders, cloud environments, regulatory regimes, and different operating models. That’s hard. A focused international provider with the combined scale of BT and Verizon could be compelling.

But customers need to separate the announcement from the operating reality.

A joint venture of this size has to answer basic questions. Who owns the account? The contract? Who handles support and billing? Who gets called when there’s an outage at 2:00 in the morning?

That’s where customers are actually going to feel this.

Haven’t We Seen This Before?

Tony: There’s also some history here.

BT has pursued global carrier partnership models before, including Concert with MCI and later AT&T. Somewhat ironically, MCI ultimately became part of Verizon.

So when people hear this announcement, some will naturally ask: haven’t we seen this movie before?  And by people, I definitely mean Ben.

Ben: Yes, I definitely did a huge eyeroll when I saw the news.  And laughed when one of our team suggested they call the joint venture Concert and pretend it’s the late 90s again.   

Perhaps it’s unfair of me to say “every partnership fails.”  But the track record is not great. The hard part is when two large and allegedly equal market players do fail, and they cause chaos for customers as they burn down.

Account teams end up fighting over the same customer, debating which of their branded products to sell, and get entirely distracted from serving the customer.  We saw that back in the day with the AT&T-BT Concert partnership and we saw it back when NTT and Dimension Data were affiliates but separately marketing and selling similar services to the same customers.  The ensuing chaos ends up damaging both parties in the partnership.

Strategy, Financial Engineering, or Both?

Tony: Another question is whether this is really about improving product delivery and customer support, or whether it’s more about financial engineering—moving assets, simplifying the story for investors, that kind of thing.

How should customers think about that?

Brent: Honestly, it can be both.

Despite Ben’s healthy dose of cynicism (or reality) there may be a real customer-facing rationale. A dedicated international business could bring more focus, scale, and investment case for next-gen platforms. That matters when customers want cloud-ready connectivity, automation, global consistency, and more flexibility.

But there’s clearly a corporate strategy angle too. BT’s been focused on its U.K. business. Verizon’s been sharpening its focus around its core markets and big growth priorities. A joint venture might help both companies reposition international assets in a way that’s easier to run and easier to explain.

The good news is customers don’t need to solve the corporate motivation puzzle. They need to ask a more useful question: what operational problem does this actually solve for us?

Is Verizon Exiting Enterprise?

Tony: Let’s address another question directly.

Does this mean Verizon is exiting the enterprise market?

Ben: That’s a radical question, but I doubt we are the only ones asking it.  Verizon has a history of making big announcements that don’t acknowledge the customer impact clearly. The HCL relationship is a good example. It was touted as a partnership to vastly improve managed network services to its customers.  But in reality, the strategy was predominantly designed to allow Verizon to offshore huge swathes of its customer facing support and sales operations, reduce its costs, and try to increase the unsatisfactory profits from its enterprise business.  And of course we’ve talked multiple times here at Staying Connected how that has only delivered negative results for enterprise customers.

So, it’s hardly surprising if we’re left to wonder what’s really behind this announcement, and if this signals a longer-term exit from the enterprise market for Verizon.

Brent: Of course, Verizon remains a major enterprise provider, especially in the U.S. What this may suggest is that Verizon is changing how it wants to engage in the market for international wireline services.

For global customers, the questions are more specific. What will Verizon own directly? What sits inside the joint venture? Who leads multinational accounts?

If you’re a U.S.-headquartered company with a global footprint, will Verizon still lead the relationship? Will the JV lead the international portion? And will those teams be aligned?

Those questions matter because they affect RFPs, renewals, escalation, and long-term supplier strategy.

Where Customers Should Be Careful

Tony: Let’s shift to the watch items. Where should enterprise customers be careful?

Brent: First, competition.

Verizon and BT have been separate reference points in global network sourcing events for years, even if they weren’t equally strong in every geography. If their international operations combine, that will reduce competitive tension in global RFPs.

Customers planning global network sourcing events may need to broaden the field earlier. Not later. That may mean looking harder at regional providers, alternative underlay strategies, or aggregator models to preserve leverage.

Ben: The second watch item is sales channel confusion.

This is a classic issue in partnerships between large peers. A U.S.-based multinational may be told Verizon leads. A U.K.-based multinational may be told BT leads. The JV may own international delivery while domestic teams still want to protect the account relationship.  This doesn’t tend to end well.

For customers, the answer is to force clarity. In an RFP or renewal, ask: who is the prime contractor? Who prices? Who negotiates? Who commits to the service model? And who is accountable after signature?

Tony: That becomes especially important when the service crosses the U.S., the U.K., and international markets.

Ben: Exactly. The customer can’t be left managing internal supplier boundaries.  But that is often what happens.

Brent: Third, contract complexity.

An enterprise may have multiple Verizon and BT agreements, amendments, pricing schedules, online terms and SLAs. Customers need to understand whether any agreements will be assigned, amended, novated, replaced, or left in place and protect what they’ve already negotiated including pricing, service levels, minimum revenue commitments and other key commercial terms.

Ben: And of course, fourth, pricing and renewal leverage.

A joint venture may eventually claim scale efficiencies, but customers shouldn’t assume those savings flow through. Watch for early extension offers, migration incentives tied to larger commitments, bundled global constructs that reduce transparency, or supplier positioning that legacy pricing and service models are no longer available.  Especially where the existing account teams push such offers in part to lock in a customer to their half of the partnership.

What About HCL?

Tony: One specific question we’ve heard is about HCL. Verizon already has a managed network services relationship with HCLTech, but BT is a big player in managed network services in its home markets. Do we know whether HCL has a role in this joint venture?

Ben: Based on the announcement, customers shouldn’t assume HCL has a defined role. But customers should absolutely ask.  And if it’s anything like the early days of the Verizon HCL partnership, it may will be a long time before anyone gives a clear answer.

Fundamentally, if HCL or any other third party is involved in delivery, the customer needs to understand the model. What services are supported by the carrier vs. a delivery partner? Who owns service levels? Who handles escalation and what remedies apply if performance fails? 

Subcontracting isn’t automatically a problem, lack of accountability is.

What Enterprise Customers Should Do Now

Tony: Brent, During this 12-to-18-month transition window, what should customers do?

Brent: Start by mapping exposure. Where do you use Verizon, BT, or both? Look across your networking footprint and any managed network services.

Then build a contract inventory. Know your expiration dates, renewal windows, notice periods, assignment language, change-of-control language, minimum commitments, benchmarking and rate review rights, termination and transition rights.

Tony: And that inventory should not just sit in a file somewhere, it should drive decisions.

Brent: Exactly,  next ask for a written customer impact roadmap. Not a general reassurance. Ask what changes before close, at close, and after close. Who owns the account and service management? Will billing or service platforms change? Will legacy services be sunset? Will customers be asked to reprovision circuits  and if so, on whose timeline?

Ben: Customers also need to protect their sourcing strategy. If you’re already in a global network RFP, renewal, rate review, or transformation program involving Verizon or BT, don’t wait until close to ask how the joint venture affects the bid, contracting entity, solution roadmap, or service accountability.

And finally, benchmark your position.  Know whether current pricing and commercial terms are market competitive. Preserve credible alternatives. Be careful with any proposal that trades short-term concessions for longer commitments, narrower flexibility, or weaker renewal leverage.

Tony: So, the customer’s job is not to predict exactly how this plays out, but to be ready.

Brent: That’s right. customers can either wait for the supplier narrative to arrive, or they can build their own position first.

Closing Remarks

Tony:

The Verizon-BT joint venture could create a stronger international connectivity platform. It could also reduce competition, complicate account ownership, and introduce new contracting and service delivery questions.

The difference will come down to execution—and to how prepared customers are to protect their own interests.

Remember, business as usual does not mean no action required. The announcement is not the risk. The risk is passivity.

To our listeners, if you would like to discuss the Verizon and BT joint venture and what it may mean for your global network strategy, contracts or sourcing plans, or if you’d like to discuss other technology strategy, sourcing and cost reduction needs with Ben, Brent, me, or any of our TC2 and LB3 colleagues, please give us a call or shoot us an email.

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