Vox Proudly Attains Google Verified Peering Provider Status
A significant accolade in the local ISP landscape
Vox is proud to announce that it has become a Google Verified Peering Provider, one of a select group in the South African ISP arena. The Verified Peering Provider (VPP) Programme identifies a group of internet service providers (ISPs) that have demonstrated diverse and reliable connectivity to Google. ISPs are awarded a Verified Peering Provider badge based on technical criteria related to their connectivity depth with Google.
“The Verified Peering Provider Programme is a recent accreditation from Google that recognises ISPs with high-quality, optimised connectivity into Google’s global network,” says Chris Burrell, Head of Network at Vox. “The Programme identifies providers that meet stringent technical and capacity standards, including diverse peering links to Google, ensuring faster access, improved performance, and greater reliability for customers using Google services.
“The Verified Peering Provider Programme is basically a ‘trusted partner’ list. Networks on it can connect directly to Google to access the content in a way that’s fast, safe and of the highest quality. You could think of it as a shortcut to get premium, direct access to Google services and content.”
Vox Customers using Google services such as YouTube, Gmail, Google Workspace, Google Meet and applications hosted on Google Cloud infrastructure will experience improved performance, reduced latency, and greater service reliability.
We unpack how the Google Verified Peering Provider Programme works and the benefits customers can enjoy.
‘Let’s Shake Hands…’
Burrell notes that in today’s Cloud-focused world, Google customers need simple and highly available connectivity solutions to reach publicly available Google resources such as Workspace and other internet-facing applications.
He explains: “Peering is like two networks shaking hands and saying, ‘Let’s share traffic/content directly with each other, instead of sending it through a middleman.’ It makes internet usage, including websites, videos, voice and Cloud apps, faster and more reliable for users, providing higher quality of experience.
“Many customers connect to Google Workspace, Google Cloud, or Google APIs using Direct Peering or via Route Server infrastructures at Internet Exchanges. These solutions provide network operators interconnectivity to Google.
“However, not all Google customers today are able to manage the complex connections of Peering, or they don’t meet the relevant requirements to maintain the high-quality standards required by Content providers. Against this context, using a Verified Peering Provider to connect to Google simplifies connectivity to Google’s network, and removes the complexity of managing Direct Peering connectivity.”
By leaving Direct Peering to the ISPs, the Verified Peering Provider programme enables Google customers to access all Google services without the complexities of Direct Peering. Verified Peering Providers manage Direct Peering with Google over dedicated private connectivity with redundancy requirements for each enrolled provider.
When Google customers connect to a Verified Peering Provider to reach Google, they are choosing a provider that has verified diverse connectivity to Google, which enables highly available access to Google services.
Benefits of the Google Verified Peering Provider Programme
As Burrell outlines, Google evaluates networks that would like to be peering partners: “Vox went through a stringent application and technical review process showing that we meet their performance, network stability, reliability and capacity standards,” he says. “As a result of our successful application, we are able to offer our customers a number of benefits.”
This includes the following:
- Simplified connectivity: There is no need to meet Google’s peering requirements; instead, customers can leave the complexities of peering arrangements to Vox as a Verified Peering Provider.
- High availability: The Google badge shows that the ISP has a highly redundant connectivity to Google.
- Enterprise grade connectivity: Customers can connect to Google through internet products designed for enterprises; further, they can access Google with or without the need for border gateway protocol (BGP) or an autonomous system number (ASN). In addition, customers can work directly with the ISP’s customer services teams and operational escalations
Burrell clarifies that Vox’s Verified Peering Provider Programme is suitable for enterprises and businesses running Google Cloud apps, ISPs or partners reselling internet services, and any tech-savvy user streaming, collaborating or relying on Google services.
He adds: “Because Vox is a Verified Peering Provider, this ensures Google traffic is routed over well-engineered, high-capacity direct interconnects, reducing unnecessary transit paths and improving consistency. It’s part of Vox’s ongoing investment in network quality and reliability.
“Vox is truly proud of this accolade, because it’s a mark of trust from Google, and not every local ISP will be able to qualify. It shows that Vox meets high technical standards and can deliver premium internet performance for Google services, making service better for our existing and future customers,” concludes Burrell.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Google Verified Peering Provider?
A Verified Peering Provider is an ISP that has met Google’s technical and capacity standards for direct peering, offering optimised and reliable access to Google’s services.
How will this improve performance for Google services?
Direct peering reduces the number of network hops and potential bottlenecks, resulting in lower latency, faster load times and more consistent performance for apps like YouTube and Google Workspace.
Do Vox customers need to change anything to benefit?
No. Vox manages the peering relationship with Google. Most customers will see improved performance without changing their configuration.
Is this available to all Vox customers?
Benefits depend on routing and service configurations, but the VPP status enhances overall connectivity for enterprise and business customers across Vox’s network.
Can resellers and other ISPs use Vox as a Verified Peering Provider?
Yes. Resellers and partner ISPs can work with Vox to provide their customers with optimised access to Google services via Vox’s peering infrastructure.
Does this replace direct peering for larger customers?
No. Organisations that already operate direct peering can continue to do so. VPP provides an alternative path for customers who prefer Vox to manage peering complexities.
How does Vox ensure redundancy and reliability?
Vox maintains diverse, redundant links and operational processes that meet Google’s VPP requirements, ensuring high availability and predictable routing for Google-bound traffic.
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