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Verizon inks NBN reseller enterprise deal

NBN bundles available to Verizon channel partners by the end of the year

US telecommunications provider Verizon has signed a reseller deal with the NBN Co giving it access to the latter’s ‘Enterprise Ethernet’.

The wholesale agreement will make NBN's enterprise ethernet and broadband bundles available to Verizon's business and government clients, as well as its channel partners by the end of 2019.

The telco is understood to currently be “in dialogue” with its channel community, which fall under its Verizon Partner Program (VPP). However, as Verizon works largely direct with customers, the overall opportunity is expected to be “focused” rather than widespread.

“A robust network is the backbone of any business, and particularly today, where digital business is the norm, and organisations are increasingly looking for scalable, flexible network capacity to support global growth,” Robert Le Busque, regional managing director of Verizon in Australia, New Zealand and India said in a statement. 

“Verizon is pleased to be able to present a compelling alternative to Australian enterprise and government businesses.”  

Verizon has provided managed network and security services to enterprise and government customers in Australia for over 20 years, including more than 75 Federal and State Government agencies. 

It is on the whole-of-government Telecommunications Services Panel, which provides coordinated telecommunications services to the Australian Federal Government. As part of this, it scored a $4.89 million contract for the provision of GovLink telecommunications services in April 2017.

The company made a major push into the local channel in 2016, when it launched its Verizon Partner Program (VPP) in Australia.

Le Busque told ARN that the program had increased the number of partners it works with since then, but refused to divulge specific numbers. 

In February 2017, Verizon opened its Asia Pacific Advanced Security Operations Centre in Canberra, one of nine centres across the country.

The deal also marks a continuation of the NBN Co’s push into the enterprise space, having first launched a product suite targeting business and government customers migrating to the NBN in November 2017. 

Four months later, Telstra, Vocus and TPG signed deals with the NBN Co to offer its Enterprise Ethernet service. The NBN Co also recently doubled down its small-to-medium-enterprise (SME) offerings via its relationship with Cisco.