BT, Verizon to combine their multinational business operations
BT and Verizon are merging their multinational business services operations, a move that will allow both providers to focus on sharpening their respective domestic operations.
As a 50:50 partnership, the new venture will focus on serving multinational organizations. It is expected to serve more than 3,000 customers across more than 180 countries, representing approximately $4 billion in combined annual revenue.
The joint venture brings together BT International, which serves multinational customers with communications and network services worldwide, and Verizon’s international enterprise wireline arm, which provides secure connectivity to enterprises worldwide. Both BT and Verizon will hold equal voting rights, and Verizon has agreed to pay BT an equalization payment of $625 million.
BT and Verizon said the breadth of operations will unlock significant scale efficiencies across the combined global network and service operations, which both expect to close in 2027.
Dan Schulman, CEO of Verizon, said that when it thought about how to support its multinational business customers best, “this joint venture was the clear answer: a cutting-edge, AI-ready and secure platform run by a single global organization dedicated to their needs.”
Allison Kirkby, CEO of BT Group, agreed and added that combining BT International’s expertise in servicing some of the world’s household brands “with Verizon’s deep relationships with multinationals will create a stronger, scaled connectivity partner—one that has the reach, innovation and investment to succeed.”
Customer, provider benefits
This deal has benefits for both international customers and BT and Verizon—both of which have deep pockets and broad reach across multiple countries—as well as their parent companies.
For multinational business customers, the combined global scale and infrastructure designed and built to support local compliance and sovereignty needs will create a stronger platform for growth and accelerate the rollout of next-generation connectivity platforms.
But the deal will also enable BT and Verizon to sharpen their focus on their domestic markets, where they have both taken on large-scale fiber broadband rollouts.
Under the helm of Dan Schulman, who has been realigning the company, Verizon has been actively enhancing its broadband status, particularly in the fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) market. Verizon bolstered its fiber strategy by completing its acquisition of Frontier. The $20 billion Frontier deal, which was initially announced in September 2024, is set to enhance its fiber broadband and fixed and mobile wireless services.
Frontier’s 2.2 million fiber subscribers across 25 states will join Verizon’s approximately 7.4 million Fios connections in 9 states and Washington, D.C. In addition to Frontier’s 7.2 million fiber locations, the company is committed to building out an additional 2.8 million fiber locations by the end of 2026.
Likewise, BT has been aggressively rolling out fiber in its home market in the UK. Since 2021, BT has rolled out full fiber to more than two-thirds of the UK. Despite near-term cost challenges, a recent Financial Times report noted that BT has raised its cost savings target to 3.7 billion by 2030. As BT has expanded its fiber network, network faults and outages have declined from about 4.5 million in 2021 to 2.8 million in 2025.
“Today’s announcement marks a major milestone for BT International, and an important step forward for BT as a whole, as we deliver on our U.K.-focused strategy,” Kirkby said.
Evolving international business market
With BT and Verizon among the largest international Ethernet service providers, this merger could bolster their market share.
According to Vertical Systems Group’s Mid-2025 Global Provider Ethernet LEADERBOARD, Verizon and BT were positioned at number three and number six in the rankings in terms of port share.
However, BT and Verizon still have to navigate challenges in the Global Ethernet market as enterprise customers migrate their legacy networks to alternatives such as Cloud and Internet-based services, SD-WAN/SSE/SASE, Wavelengths, and other offerings.
Carrier Ethernet providers worldwide are delivering NaaS (Network as a Service) offerings that provide customers on-demand connectivity, application assurance, cybersecurity, and multi-cloud networking within a standards-based automated ecosystem.
A key element will be having a clear message for its existing and new customers that the combined international entity has an even broader reach, both internationally and within its home UK and U.S. markets.
New leadership structure
Leading the new venture will be Martijn Blanken as Chief Executive Officer-designate, conditional on the completion of the transaction.
Blanken comes to the role with nearly three decades in senior leadership positions across telecommunications, technology, and digital infrastructure at Telstra, Openwave Systems, EXA Infrastructure, and KPN, and a career spanning four continents.
Starting on September 1, 2026, he will join BT and work with both parent companies while observing relevant regulatory requirements as they prepare for the launch of the proposed joint venture.
Meanwhile, 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.
The transaction is subject to regulatory clearances and consultation with employee representations in countries where required. BT and Verizon’s international businesses will continue to operate independently until the transaction officially closes, with a full commitment to their respective customers.
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About the Author
Sean Buckley
Sean is responsible for establishing and executing the editorial strategy of Lightwave across its website, email newsletters, events, and other information products.
