Tag: Verizon

  • Telecom giant Verizon buys Yahoo for $4.8 billion; to merge Yahoo and AOL

    Telecom giant Verizon buys Yahoo for $4.8 billion; to merge Yahoo and AOL

    MUMBAI: After much anticipation and speculation, word is out that US based telecommunication giant, Verizon will buy Yahoo for USD 4.83 billion in cash at the end of a closely-scrutinized, six-month sale process.

    Yahoo first put itself up for sale in February and it fielded multiple bids from almost 40 different types of buyers including AT&T; Quicken Loans founder Dan Gilbert with financial backing from Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett; and private equity firms TPG and Vector Capital Management.

    But finally Yahoo informed the other bidders on Saturday that it has sealed the deal with Verizon.

    “Yahoo is a company that has changed the world, and will continue to do so through this combination with Verizon and AOL,” said Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer in a press release. “The sale of our operating business, which effectively separates our Asian asset equity stakes, is an important step in our plan to unlock shareholder value for Yahoo. This transaction also sets up a great opportunity for Yahoo to build further distribution and accelerate our work in mobile, video, native advertising and social.”

    When it comes to how Yahoo, that was the front door to the web for many in the 90s and the early 2000s, and its internal functioning, Verizon has a few plans. It has been decided that Yahoo and AOL will be brought together as a new group that AOL’s CEO Tim Armstrong will supervise. It must be noted that Verizon has earlier bought AOL for USD 4.4 billion last year.

    “Our mission at AOL is to build brands people love, and we will continue to invest in and grow them,” he said in a press release. “Yahoo has been a long-time investor in premium content and created some of the most beloved consumer brands in key categories like sports, news and finance… We have enormous respect for what Yahoo has accomplished.”

    Marissa Mayer is not expected to stay on board, but that has not yet been confirmed by either company.

    Verizon’s acquisition is of “core” Yahoo, which includes search, email, advertising products, and the media business (including Yahoo Finance).

    Verizon has made a string of acquisitions in an apparent effort to move beyond a telecom provider into a media-and-mobile-advertising powerhouse that can compete with Google. Many believe buying Yahoo is a savvy move for Verizon. In addition to getting the fifth-most visited web site in the US, Verizon gets assets like Tumblr, Flickr, Polyvore and digital ad tools Flurry and BrightRoll.

    (Sourced from nytimes.com and Yahoo Finance)

  • Q1-2016: Verizon reports growth in video subscribers, Fios revenue up 5 per cent

    Q1-2016: Verizon reports growth in video subscribers, Fios revenue up 5 per cent

    BENGALURU: Verizon Communications Inc., (Verizon) added 98,000 net new Fios internet connections and 36,000 net new Fios video connections in the first-quarter of 2016 (quarter ended 31 March 2016, Q1-2016, current quarter) as compared the 133,000 net new and 90,000 net new respective adds duringQ1-2015. Year-on-year (YoY), video subscribers grew 2.2 per cent to 5.863 million in Q1-2016 as compared to 5.739 million in Q4-2015.

    Fios digital voice connections in the current quarter increased to 4.800 million as compared to 4.661 million in Q1-2015. Total Fios digital connections increased in Q1-2016 to 17.795 million as compared to 17.194 million in the corresponding year ago quarter.

    Verizon’s operations are divided into four business units: wireless services, residential and small business services, enterprise services, and partner programs. Consumer retail, small businesses, mass markets, global enterprise, global wholesale and other are a part of wireline services. Under consumer retail, residential services are a part of wireline services under the brand Fios.

    Total Fios revenues grew 5.0 percent YoY to $3,521 million, compared to $3,352 million in Q1-2015., including consumer Fios revenue growth of 4.7 percent. In Q1-2016, consumer revenues were $4,022 million, an increase of 0.8 percent compared with $3,992 million in Q1-2015.

    Wireline segment operating income was $589 million (6.3 percent margin) for Q1-2016 as compared to $405 million (4.3 per cent margin). In Q1-2016, wireline generated $2,177 million (23.4 per cent margin) in EBITDA, a YoY increase of 1.2 percent over $2,151 million (22.7 per cent margin) in Q1-2015.

    The company says that by the end of first-quarter 2016, about 78 per cent of consumer Fios internet customers subscribed to data speeds of 50 megabits per second or higher. Customer demand remained strong for Custom TV, which represented about 38 per cent of Fios video sales in the quarter.                

    Verizon informs that during the first quarter, Verizon Enterprise Solutions entered into new agreements with or began servicing a number of clients, including 1-800-Flowers, the Commonwealth of Virginia, Dana Holding Corporation, the Florida Sheriffs Association, Promeditec, PSE&G, South Australia Health & Medical Research Institute, and Wyndham Worldwide.

    In the wireline segment, Fios fiber-optic-based services remain the driver of revenue growth and now represent about 81 percent of consumer revenues.

    Verizon consolidated numbers

    Verizon’s total operating revenues in Q1-2016 were $32,171 million, a 0.6 percent YoY increase compared with $31,884 million in Q1-2015. Excluding AOL, which was not part of Verizon a year ago, total operating revenues declined 1.5 percent. AOL had its highest first-quarter revenues at $669 million in the last five years says Verizon      

    The company says that new revenue streams from IoT (Internet of Things) are growing, with revenues of approximately $195 million in Q1-2016, a year-over-year increase of about 25 percent.     

    Verizon’s operating income in Q1-2016 at $7,942 million (24.7 per cent margin) was 0.2 per cent lower YoY as compared to $7,960million (24.9 percent margin). Net Income attributable to Verizon in Q1-2016 totalled $4,310 million (13.4 per cent margin), which was 2.1 per cent more than $4,219 million (13.2 per cent margin) in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

    Company speak

    “Verizon’s strong first-quarter results demonstrate our capacity to compete effectively, while executing on our plan of continued network leadership and seeding new growth markets in mobile video and the Internet of Things,” said Verizon chairman and CEO Lowell McAdam.

  • Q1-2016: Verizon reports growth in video subscribers, Fios revenue up 5 per cent

    Q1-2016: Verizon reports growth in video subscribers, Fios revenue up 5 per cent

    BENGALURU: Verizon Communications Inc., (Verizon) added 98,000 net new Fios internet connections and 36,000 net new Fios video connections in the first-quarter of 2016 (quarter ended 31 March 2016, Q1-2016, current quarter) as compared the 133,000 net new and 90,000 net new respective adds duringQ1-2015. Year-on-year (YoY), video subscribers grew 2.2 per cent to 5.863 million in Q1-2016 as compared to 5.739 million in Q4-2015.

    Fios digital voice connections in the current quarter increased to 4.800 million as compared to 4.661 million in Q1-2015. Total Fios digital connections increased in Q1-2016 to 17.795 million as compared to 17.194 million in the corresponding year ago quarter.

    Verizon’s operations are divided into four business units: wireless services, residential and small business services, enterprise services, and partner programs. Consumer retail, small businesses, mass markets, global enterprise, global wholesale and other are a part of wireline services. Under consumer retail, residential services are a part of wireline services under the brand Fios.

    Total Fios revenues grew 5.0 percent YoY to $3,521 million, compared to $3,352 million in Q1-2015., including consumer Fios revenue growth of 4.7 percent. In Q1-2016, consumer revenues were $4,022 million, an increase of 0.8 percent compared with $3,992 million in Q1-2015.

    Wireline segment operating income was $589 million (6.3 percent margin) for Q1-2016 as compared to $405 million (4.3 per cent margin). In Q1-2016, wireline generated $2,177 million (23.4 per cent margin) in EBITDA, a YoY increase of 1.2 percent over $2,151 million (22.7 per cent margin) in Q1-2015.

    The company says that by the end of first-quarter 2016, about 78 per cent of consumer Fios internet customers subscribed to data speeds of 50 megabits per second or higher. Customer demand remained strong for Custom TV, which represented about 38 per cent of Fios video sales in the quarter.                

    Verizon informs that during the first quarter, Verizon Enterprise Solutions entered into new agreements with or began servicing a number of clients, including 1-800-Flowers, the Commonwealth of Virginia, Dana Holding Corporation, the Florida Sheriffs Association, Promeditec, PSE&G, South Australia Health & Medical Research Institute, and Wyndham Worldwide.

    In the wireline segment, Fios fiber-optic-based services remain the driver of revenue growth and now represent about 81 percent of consumer revenues.

    Verizon consolidated numbers

    Verizon’s total operating revenues in Q1-2016 were $32,171 million, a 0.6 percent YoY increase compared with $31,884 million in Q1-2015. Excluding AOL, which was not part of Verizon a year ago, total operating revenues declined 1.5 percent. AOL had its highest first-quarter revenues at $669 million in the last five years says Verizon      

    The company says that new revenue streams from IoT (Internet of Things) are growing, with revenues of approximately $195 million in Q1-2016, a year-over-year increase of about 25 percent.     

    Verizon’s operating income in Q1-2016 at $7,942 million (24.7 per cent margin) was 0.2 per cent lower YoY as compared to $7,960million (24.9 percent margin). Net Income attributable to Verizon in Q1-2016 totalled $4,310 million (13.4 per cent margin), which was 2.1 per cent more than $4,219 million (13.2 per cent margin) in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

    Company speak

    “Verizon’s strong first-quarter results demonstrate our capacity to compete effectively, while executing on our plan of continued network leadership and seeding new growth markets in mobile video and the Internet of Things,” said Verizon chairman and CEO Lowell McAdam.

  • Q4-2015: Verizon reports 5.8 million Fios video connections

    Q4-2015: Verizon reports 5.8 million Fios video connections

    BENGALURU: US communications major Verizon, Inc., reported 5.8 million subscribers for its Fios wireline video services for the quarter and year ended 31 December, 2015 (Q4-2015, current quarter, FY-2015, current year). The company reported an increase of 20,000 net Fios wireline video services subscribers in the quarter. Verizon also added 99,000 new Fios internet wireline connections in Q4-2015 taking the total to seven million.

     

    The company says that Fios wireline internet connections increased 6.8 per cent YoY and Fios video connections increased 3.2 per cent YoY. For FY-2015, more than 70 per cent of consumer Fios internet customers subscribed to data speeds of 50 megabits per second or higher. Verizon says that customer interest continued to grow for Custom TV, which represented about one-third of Fios video sales in Q4- 2015.

     

    The company says that Q4-2015 wireline consumer revenues were $4.1 billion, an increase of 2.6 per cent compared with Q4- 2014. Fios revenues represented 80.4 per cent of the total. Comparing Q4-2015 with Q4-2014, total Fios revenues grew 6.8 per cent, to $3.5 billion, and consumer Fios revenues grew 6.6 per cent. Wireline operating income margin was 7.3 per cent in Q4- 2015, up from 4.4 per cent in Q4- 2014. Segment EBITDA margin (non-GAAP) was 24.2 per cent in Q4-2015, compared with 23.9 per cent in the corresponding quarter of last year.

     

    “In 2015, Verizon delivered strong and balanced results in a dynamic competitive environment while returning more than $13.5 billion to shareholders. At the same time, Verizon built and acquired next-generation network capabilities that position the company to be an innovator in the digital-first mobile world in 2016 and beyond,” said Verizon chairman and CEO Lowell McAdam.

     

    Overall revenues in Q4-2015 were $34.3 billion, a 3.2 per cent increase compared with Q4-2014. For the full year, Verizon reported total consolidated revenues of $131.6 billion. FY-2015 revenues grew 3.6 per cent, compared with FY-2014. Current-quarter and third-quarter revenues include results from AOL. New revenue streams from IoT grew, with revenues of approximately $200 million in Q4- 2015 and about $690 million for FY-2015. This is a year-over-year increase of 18 per cent, says the company.

     

    Verizon’s other segment, wireless, reported total revenues of $23.7 billion in Q4-2015, up 1.2 per cent compared with Q4-2014. Service revenues totalled $17.2 billion, down 5.6 per cent year over year. Over the same period, equipment revenues increased to $5.4 billion, up from $4.2 billion, as more customers chose to buy new devices with instalment pricing. For the year, total revenues were $91.7 billion, a 4.6 per cent increase compared with 2014.

                   

    Verizon Wireless reported 1.5 million retail postpaid net additions in Q4- 2015 and 4.5 million for the full year. These net additions do not include any wholesale or IoT connections.

     

    The company says that customer retention remained high, with retail postpaid churn at a low 0.96 per cent in Q4-2015, a year-over-year improvement of 18 basis points. Churn was also 0.96 per cent for the year, an improvement of 8 basis points from full-year 2014.

     

    Verizon added 906,000 4G smartphones to its postpaid customer base in Q4-2015. Postpaid phone net adds totalled 449,000 as net smartphone adds of 713,000 were partially offset by a net decline of basic phones. Tablet net adds totalled 960,000 in the quarter, and net prepaid devices declined by 157,000. At year-end 2015, the company had 112.1 million retail connections, a 3.6 per cent year-over-year increase, and 106.5 million retail postpaid connections, a 4.4 per cent year-over-year increase.

  • Q4-2015: Verizon reports 5.8 million Fios video connections

    Q4-2015: Verizon reports 5.8 million Fios video connections

    BENGALURU: US communications major Verizon, Inc., reported 5.8 million subscribers for its Fios wireline video services for the quarter and year ended 31 December, 2015 (Q4-2015, current quarter, FY-2015, current year). The company reported an increase of 20,000 net Fios wireline video services subscribers in the quarter. Verizon also added 99,000 new Fios internet wireline connections in Q4-2015 taking the total to seven million.

     

    The company says that Fios wireline internet connections increased 6.8 per cent YoY and Fios video connections increased 3.2 per cent YoY. For FY-2015, more than 70 per cent of consumer Fios internet customers subscribed to data speeds of 50 megabits per second or higher. Verizon says that customer interest continued to grow for Custom TV, which represented about one-third of Fios video sales in Q4- 2015.

     

    The company says that Q4-2015 wireline consumer revenues were $4.1 billion, an increase of 2.6 per cent compared with Q4- 2014. Fios revenues represented 80.4 per cent of the total. Comparing Q4-2015 with Q4-2014, total Fios revenues grew 6.8 per cent, to $3.5 billion, and consumer Fios revenues grew 6.6 per cent. Wireline operating income margin was 7.3 per cent in Q4- 2015, up from 4.4 per cent in Q4- 2014. Segment EBITDA margin (non-GAAP) was 24.2 per cent in Q4-2015, compared with 23.9 per cent in the corresponding quarter of last year.

     

    “In 2015, Verizon delivered strong and balanced results in a dynamic competitive environment while returning more than $13.5 billion to shareholders. At the same time, Verizon built and acquired next-generation network capabilities that position the company to be an innovator in the digital-first mobile world in 2016 and beyond,” said Verizon chairman and CEO Lowell McAdam.

     

    Overall revenues in Q4-2015 were $34.3 billion, a 3.2 per cent increase compared with Q4-2014. For the full year, Verizon reported total consolidated revenues of $131.6 billion. FY-2015 revenues grew 3.6 per cent, compared with FY-2014. Current-quarter and third-quarter revenues include results from AOL. New revenue streams from IoT grew, with revenues of approximately $200 million in Q4- 2015 and about $690 million for FY-2015. This is a year-over-year increase of 18 per cent, says the company.

     

    Verizon’s other segment, wireless, reported total revenues of $23.7 billion in Q4-2015, up 1.2 per cent compared with Q4-2014. Service revenues totalled $17.2 billion, down 5.6 per cent year over year. Over the same period, equipment revenues increased to $5.4 billion, up from $4.2 billion, as more customers chose to buy new devices with instalment pricing. For the year, total revenues were $91.7 billion, a 4.6 per cent increase compared with 2014.

                   

    Verizon Wireless reported 1.5 million retail postpaid net additions in Q4- 2015 and 4.5 million for the full year. These net additions do not include any wholesale or IoT connections.

     

    The company says that customer retention remained high, with retail postpaid churn at a low 0.96 per cent in Q4-2015, a year-over-year improvement of 18 basis points. Churn was also 0.96 per cent for the year, an improvement of 8 basis points from full-year 2014.

     

    Verizon added 906,000 4G smartphones to its postpaid customer base in Q4-2015. Postpaid phone net adds totalled 449,000 as net smartphone adds of 713,000 were partially offset by a net decline of basic phones. Tablet net adds totalled 960,000 in the quarter, and net prepaid devices declined by 157,000. At year-end 2015, the company had 112.1 million retail connections, a 3.6 per cent year-over-year increase, and 106.5 million retail postpaid connections, a 4.4 per cent year-over-year increase.

  • Sony Music & Verizon ink original video content partnership for go90

    Sony Music & Verizon ink original video content partnership for go90

    MUMBAI: Sony Music and Verizon have inked a multi-year agreement to distribute a slate of original video content programming from Sony Music through the go90 mobile platform.

     

    As part of the new partnership, go90, a mobile video service and social entertainment platform, will feature a number of new original series from Sony Music, as well as special live music events and performances.

     

    Initial shows in development for launch in 2016 include:

     

    Crashed – a hidden camera comedy show created in partnership with Joel McHale’s Free Period Productions where unsuspecting fans, to their surprise and delight, are “crashed” by their favorite celebrities in music, sports and comedy. 

     

    Car Star – a competition series focused on singing in the car that includes videos in which amateurs go head to head to win the coveted title of “car star.”

     

    A Live Festival – a multi-night musical concert series showcasing Sony Music artists shot live and featuring a mix of performances and artist interview segments.

     

    “The intent of this partnership is to highlight cutting edge, emerging artists and rising stars. With strong positioning in sports and original content, the music community is another key audience we are aggressively going after,” said Verizon senior vice president of consumer product and marketing Brian Angiolet.

     

    “We are delighted to be partnering with Verizon to develop music-based original video content for the go90 platform. Consumers are increasingly turning to mobile devices to watch web series and shows, and we are excited to offer them a diverse line-up of fun and highly engaging programs that provide an all new way to connect with their favorite music and celebrities,” said Sony Music Entertainment head of original content Lee Stimmel.

     

    In addition to new original programming from Sony Music, the agreement also covers a slate of previously announced programming (cult hit talk show Tawk with Awkwafina and extreme challenge series Hey USA_X) from Astronauts Wanted, the joint venture between MTV veteran Judy McGrath and Sony Music Entertainment.

  • Ad budgets in US shift from television to digital platforms

    Ad budgets in US shift from television to digital platforms

    NEW DELHI: Even as the switch over to digital technology is beginning to show pace in India, digital video ad spend grew by 42 per cent over the past year to total $7.46 billion in 2015 in the United States for the sixth consecutive year.

     

    Within the next four years, that number is expected to nearly double and reach over $13 billion by 2019, according to a report on 2015 US State of the Video Industry by Verizon’s AOLPlatforms.

     

    According to the report, marketers are reprioritising traditional advertising budgets and adding dollars to digital video. TV budget growth is stagnating, with a sizeable portion of those dollars being reallocated to video advertising.

     

    Mobile and video are converging, posing new opportunities and challenges to the industry. Overall mobile video advertising spend increased 18 per cent since 2014, but marketers say measurement remains a key pain point.

     

    Almost 91 per cent of brands and agencies are buying video programmatically and continue to make larger investments into the technology year-over-year. Eighty-eight per cent of publishers claim they sell their video inventory programmatically, a noticeable 37 per cent leap from 2014.

     

    Programmatic TV is gaining popularity as audience fragmentation hits an inflection point. Over the next year, 41 per cent of television buyers–a 3x increase since 2014–plan to rely on programmatic technology to make more strategic TV investments.

     

    Advertisers and agencies devote over 30 per cent of their overall video budgets to branded video content. Brands intend to grow these investments 10 per cent in the next year.

     

    AOL Platforms surveyed nearly 300 US brands, agencies and publishers to get a holistic view of the current state of video advertising.

  • Verizon acquires AOL for $4.4 billion

    Verizon acquires AOL for $4.4 billion

    MUMBAI: Taking another significant step in building digital and video platforms to drive future growth, Verizon Communications Inc. has acquired AOL Inc. for an estimated total value of approximately $4.4 billion.

     

    AOL chairman and CEO Tim Armstrong will continue to lead AOL operations after closing.

     

    Verizon’s acquisition further drives its LTE wireless video and OTT (over-the-top video) strategy. The agreement will also support and connect to Verizon’s IoT (Internet of Things) platforms, creating a growth platform from wireless to IoT for consumers and businesses.

     

    The combination of Verizon and AOL creates a scaled, mobile-first platform offering directly targeted at what eMarketer estimates is a nearly $600 billion global advertising industry. AOL’s key assets include its subscription business; its premium portfolio of global content brands, including The Huffington Post, Tech Crunch, Engadget, MAKERS and AOL.com, as well as its millennial-focused OTT, Emmy-nominated original video content; and its programmatic advertising platforms.

     

    Verizon chairman and CEO Lowell McAdam said, “Verizon’s vision is to provide customers with a premium digital experience based on a global multiscreen network platform. This acquisition supports our strategy to provide a cross-screen connection for consumers, creators and advertisers to deliver that premium customer experience.”

     

    “AOL has once again become a digital trailblazer, and we are excited at the prospect of charting a new course together in the digitally connected world. At Verizon, we’ve been strategically investing in emerging technology, including Verizon Digital Media Services and OTT, that taps into the market shift to digital content and advertising. AOL’s advertising model aligns with this approach, and the advertising platform provides a key tool for us to develop future revenue streams,” he added.

     

    Armstrong said, “Verizon is a leader in mobile and OTT connected platforms, and the combination of Verizon and AOL creates a unique and scaled mobile and OTT media platform for creators, consumers and advertisers. The visions of Verizon and AOL are shared; the companies have existing successful partnerships, and we are excited to work with the team at Verizon to create the next generation of media through mobile and video.”

     

    The transaction will take the form of a tender offer followed by a merger, with AOL becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Verizon upon completion.

     

    The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions and is expected to close this summer.

     

     

    Verizon expects to fund the transaction from cash on hand and commercial paper. The company also continues to expect to return to pre-Vodafone transaction credit ratings in the 2018-2019 timeframe.

     

    Transaction advisers for Verizon were Lion Tree Advisors; Guggenheim Partners; and Weil, Gotshal&Manges. AOL advisers were Allen & Company LLC and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz.

  • Verizon Digital expands global content delivery network

    Verizon Digital expands global content delivery network

    NEW DELHI: As internet users increasingly demand high-quality content at lightning-fast speeds, Verizon Digital Media Services is responding by adding direct local connectivity from its network to many of the world’s largest broadband providers.

     

    The expansion streamlines delivery and distribution to ensure high-quality user experiences and seamlessly handle traffic spikes as connected devices, user bases and file sizes continue to grow.

     

    Since its acquisition of EdgeCast Networks, a content delivery network, Verizon Digital Media Services has rapidly expanded the capacity of the Verizon EdgeCast CDN, adding more than 20 new points of presence, or POPs, in major cities around the world since January.

     

    These cities include Warsaw, Stockholm, Milan, Vienna, Melbourne, Helsinki, Kaohsiung, Batam, Jakarta and Sao Paulo. The company also expanded its presence with additional POPs in many cities already served, including London, Madrid, Paris and Amsterdam.

     

    These additions offer customers even greater connectivity and performance within these markets.

     

    “The majority of our customers offer their services to a global audience. Our continued worldwide expansion means content is as close as possible to the end-user’s digital doorstep,” Verizon Digital Media Services chief marketing officer James Segil said.

     

    He added, “Continuing to add points of presence to our network helps our customers deliver even their largest files quickly and efficiently no matter whether the viewer is watching video, shopping, gaming or sharing content.”

     

    Each new POP is built securely on Verizon Digital Media Services’ latest generation of delivery servers, with pre-built dedicated space for rapid expansion. The POPs have multiple diverse connections into last-mile networks and are provisioned to support the full suite of Verizon EdgeCast services.

     

    Located in one of the world’s busiest business gateways, Verizon Digital Media Services is now a part of a massive and diverse carrier-neutral Brazil, colocation site in Sao Paulo. Serving as one of the most important internet exchanges in the region, this Verizon-owned data center is in Sao Paulo’s high-tech corridor and has redundancy links across both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.

     

    “Brazil is one of the biggest markets in the world and our customers have let us know how important that market is to them,” said Segil. “This new, full-scale POP in Sao Paulo is already outperforming the demand for lightning-fast response times.”

     

    As demand grows from content providers and online consumers, Verizon Digital Media Services plans to add additional global POPs to meet that need, while the company continues to deliver Internet global traffic at top quality and at high speeds.

     

    Verizon Digital Media Services provides blazing-fast and secure websites, the highest-quality video, and massive scale for exceptional multi-screen experiences — all while reducing costs. The end-to-end platform removes the complexities of connecting an increasingly mobile world and enabling businesses to securely leverage the cloud.

     

     

  • Verizon promotes Francis Yip to lead Asia-Pacific business

    Verizon promotes Francis Yip to lead Asia-Pacific business

    NEW DELHI: US telecom operator Verizon has made a change to its top management. Francis Yip has been promoted to group vice president of Verizon Asia Pacific. Most recently he was Verizon managing direct for north Asia, responsible for its business in Hong Kong, China, Korea and Taiwan.

     

    Verizon Enterprise Solutions president Christopher Formant said that in his new role, Yip is responsible for delivering strategic cloud, security, mobility, network and connected machines solutions to Verizon’s multinational enterprise clients across the APAC region.

     

    Formant said: “Francis is an exceptional talent, and we believe he has the experience and expertise to continue to grow our business in APAC. His leadership in north Asia in the past two years has earned him a first-class reputation for commercial acumen. His in-depth understanding of technology businesses in Asia, particularly in emerging markets, will be instrumental in helping our customers move their businesses forward.”

     

    Prior to joining Verizon, Yip was responsible for managing Dimension Data’s north Asia operations. He has also held senior management positions at Equant (now Orange Business Systems) including general manager for China. A native of Singapore, Yip is fluent in several languages including English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean and Malay.

     

    He replaces Andrew Dobbins, who announced his retirement earlier this month. Verizon Enterprise Solutions provides advanced IT and communications services to enterprise and governments around the world.