What is Google’s Verified Peering Provider Program

In an internet dominated by cloud services, the question is no longer just “which provider do I choose?” but rather “where does my traffic actually travel to reach that provider?” Google has been building a colossal global private network for years, and now takes a step further with its Verified Peering Provider (VPP) program, a sort of “quality seal” for operators and ISPs that guarantee optimized connectivity to its public services (Workspace, YouTube, Google Cloud, etc.).

This move comes alongside significant changes in its peering policy: Google is reducing reliance on public exchanges (IX) and betting on high-capacity private interconnections (PNI), which compels many actors to further professionalize their network relationship with the Mountain View giant.

In this context, Verified Peering Provider emerges as a key piece for companies that need low-latency, high-availability access to Google, without getting involved in the “muddy waters” of negotiating direct peering or meeting demanding technical requirements.

What exactly is a Verified Peering Provider?

The Verified Peering Provider program is a Google “badging” initiative that identifies a set of ISPs that have demonstrated:

• Redundant private connectivity to Google’s network.
• Good operational practices and capacity (high-bandwidth PNIs, multiple locations, etc.).
• Stability and geographic diversity in their interconnections.

These providers receive a badge at one of two levels:

• Silver VPP: guarantees redundancy at the PoP level (multiple PNIs toward Google’s network within the same area).
• Gold VPP: requires redundancy at the metropolitan level (private connectivity to Google in multiple distinct metros), enhancing resilience against regional failures.

For Google, this is a way of saying: “if you connect to the internet through one of these ISPs, your path to Google is much more predictable and robust”.

Important: the program is voluntary for ISPs and does not replace Google’s peering policy; participants still need to meet standard peering requirements (minimum traffic, good BGP practices, redundancy, etc.).

What does VPP bring to Google’s customers?

From the perspective of a company using Google Workspace, Google Cloud APIs, YouTube, or other public services, VPP addresses three main headaches:

1. Simplified connectivity

• The company does not need to meet the requirements for Direct Peering with Google.
• It also doesn’t have to manage BGP sessions with Google or think about interconnection topologies.
• It only needs to purchase IP Transit or Dedicated Internet Access from an ISP that is a Verified Peering Provider; that ISP handles maintaining and optimizing peering with Google.

In practice, this is a way to “outsource” the complexity of peering to the operator.

2. Built-in high availability

• Google requires redundant connectivity: multiple PNIs in different locations and physical routes.
• The Silver badge guarantees PoP redundancy; Gold ensures redundancy at the metro level.
• All traffic to Google travels over dedicated private fiber, not just “best effort” internet.

The result is a more predictable experience during critical moments: marketing campaigns, Workspace usage peaks, large data transfers to Google Cloud, etc.

3. Access to the entire Google universe via the same optimized route

With a VPP, the customer gets optimized access to:

• Google Workspace (Gmail, Drive, Meet…)
• Google Cloud (public APIs, Cloud VPN, services accessible via public IP, etc.)
• Other consumer services like YouTube, Maps, Search…

Google does not charge extra for using VPP: Google does not bill for consulting or selecting a Verified Peering Provider; the economic relationship is between the customer and the ISP (tr transit or DIA, SLAs, etc.).

What does becoming a Verified Peering Provider mean for ISPs?

For an operator or ISP, becoming a VPP has a clear business implication:

• Commercial differentiation: can display the Silver or Gold badge on their website and proposals, certifying that their connectivity to Google meets higher standards of redundancy and quality.
• Visibility within Google channels: listed on the official VPP website, with logo, sales regions, and contact info, providing an additional acquisition channel.
• Strengthening the relationship with Google: aligning with program requirements enables a closer, coordinated technical relationship (troubleshooting congestion, events, peering policy changes, etc.).
• At no cost to join: Google does not charge a fee to participate; the real costs are in deploying the network architecture (PNIs, capacity, redundancy), which many global carriers already have in place.

For medium or regional European operators, the VPP badge is a way to compete head-to-head with international giants—at least regarding connectivity to Google.

How does it compare to other “premium” connectivity services?

Google’s Verified Peering Provider program does not operate in isolation. Other major players offer similar solutions aimed at improving connectivity to their services through partnerships.

The most comparable are:

• Azure Peering Service (APS) from Microsoft.
• AWS Direct Connect from Amazon Web Services (though more focused on private “leased line” connectivity than public peering).

Azure Peering Service

Microsoft offers Azure Peering Service as a service that allows clients to get optimized, monitored routes to services like Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, and other Microsoft public services, working with partner ISPs.

Partners of Azure Peering Service must meet technical requirements similar to VPP:

• Having redundant PNIs with Microsoft at each interconnection location.
• No rate limiting on those links.
• Maintaining physical diversity of connections.
• Properly announcing infrastructure prefixes and supporting LAG/LACP for aggregated links.

This program is clearly focused on improving connectivity to Microsoft’s SaaS services, with visibility and metrics available in the Azure portal (latency, routes, etc.).

AWS Direct Connect

For AWS, the equivalent offering is less a “verified peering” program and more AWS Direct Connect:

• Provides dedicated, private connections from the client’s data center or network to AWS.
• Offers more predictable performance than internet and lower egress costs compared to public traffic.
• Integrates with AWS Transit Gateway, enabling a single connection to act as a “hub” for multiple VPCs and regions.

AWS collaborates with Direct Connect Delivery Partners and colocation providers, but the approach differs: it’s less about “marking” ISPs that offer good paths to AWS services and more about providing private carrier-level circuits between corporate networks and the cloud.

Comparison table: Google VPP vs Azure Peering Service vs AWS Direct Connect

Why do these programs matter (a lot) after 2025?

The trend is clear: connectivity to the major clouds is no longer “simple Internet”. The shift is towards a model where:

• Hyperscalers prefer private, predictable interconnections over scattered sessions on hundreds of public IXs.
• Companies need SLAs and optimized routes to critical SaaS and PaaS services.
• ISPs investing in network infrastructure and agreements with major platforms gain a clear competitive advantage.

In this landscape, programs like Verified Peering Provider, Azure Peering Service, or the Direct Connect ecosystem are ways that Google, Microsoft, and AWS bring order and standards to a world that otherwise would be opaque to the end customer.

For a company designing its connectivity strategy, it’s no longer enough to ask “what speed do you give me?”; the question now is:

“Are you a Verified Peering Provider for Google? Are you a partner in Azure Peering Service? Do you have Direct Connect, ExpressRoute, or equivalent connections with the hyperscalers I use?”

FAQs

How does a Verified Peering Provider differ from direct peering with Google?

With Direct Peering, the company negotiates and manages interconnection directly with Google, meeting traffic, redundancy, and operation requirements, and managing BGP sessions with Google. With a Verified Peering Provider, that complexity is delegated to the ISP: the customer only contracts business internet (transit or DIA), and the operator ensures optimized interconnection with Google according to the program’s standards.

Is using a VPP sufficient for critical applications on Google Workspace or Google Cloud?

For most companies, yes: a VPP offers redundancy and optimized routes to Google’s public services, enough for email, collaboration, and many cloud applications. However, extremely sensitive projects may combine VPP with solutions like Cloud Interconnect, Cloud VPN, or multi-homing architectures depending on their business continuity policies.

How can I tell if my operator is Silver or Gold Verified Peering Provider?

Google maintains a public list of Verified Peering Providers, showing which ISPs are certified, their sales regions, and badge levels. It also details the metros where they have multiple PNIs to Google. Before contracting, it’s advisable to check that list and confirm with the provider’s sales team what specific architecture they will deploy in your case.

What should I ask an ISP before contracting them as a Verified Peering Provider?

Some key questions:

• What badge do you hold: Silver or Gold?
• In which cities do you have private PNIs with Google, and what is your total capacity?
• Do you include any specific SLA for latency or availability towards Google Workspace / Google Cloud?
• How do you manage physical redundancy (fiber routes, data centers, backhaul carriers)?
• Do you provide visibility into routes and metrics (loss, jitter, etc.) towards Google?

The more detailed the answers, the clearer whether the ISP is just selling internet or truly aligned with Google’s new preferred traffic routing approach across its global network.