With growth on track to make it the second-largest smartphone market in the world, India is currently the place to be – for carriers and vendors at least. And Verizon won’t be left out.
Verizon Digital Media Services on Tuesday announced a new partnership with India’s largest telecommunications provider, Bharti Airtel Limited, to launch new points of presence (PoPs) in four Indian cities.
The PoP installations, located in Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and New Delhi, will leverage Airtel’s infrastructure to provide Verizon’s digital media platform services across the country.
“We are expanding our content delivery network in strategic markets that our customers care about, and we have found a long-term partner in Airtel Business,” Verizon Digital Media Services Chief Technology Officer Rob Peters said. “The launch of these strategic PoPs marks the beginning of a strong partnership between Verizon and Airtel Business and further cements our commitment to providing consumers in India, one of the fastest-growing markets for digital media consumption, with exceptional services and quality.”
Verizon said Tuesday it has already seen improved performance results for its platform in the wake of the PoP launches. Verizon said the partnership with Airtel has significantly decreased the amount of time required for Verizon Digital Media Services’ servers to receive, respond to and deliver on user requests.
Verizon Digital Media Services said it currently powers around 10 percent of all Internet traffic for more than 10,000 brands. Verizon said it has been increasing the number of its PoPs around the world to deliver content wherever its customers’ audiences are.
Verizon Digital Media Services already has PoPs in North and South America, Europe, Australia and Asia, the carrier said.
The news comes as vendors and operators alike position themselves to capture the massive growth expected in India’s smartphone market.
In recent months, Apple in particular has been working hard to secure permission to open its own retail stores in India.
Back in May, Apple CEO Tim Cook took a trip to India to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss Apple’s plan for the Indian market. The following month, Modi’s office announced it would ease restrictions on foreign investment in the country.
