Who Wins at the Edge?

Dean Bubley

Edge computing almost certainly is going to create opportunities, but for whom? Alibaba and China Tower are working to create edge computing services, said Yang Yang, ShanghaiTech University School of Information Science and Technology co-director and professor.

But note something about that partnership: it is the app provider and the tower company that are working to create edge computing, not the connectivity provider. 

Amazon Web Services has partnered with several global telcos to create Wavelengths, an edge computing service using telco real estate. Initial partners include Verizon, Vodafone, KDDI and SKTelecom. But note there that that the edge computing service is supplied by AWS. The telco role is connectivity and rack space. 

Yang Yang

AT&T seems, at least initially, to favor a prioritized routing approach for enterprise data centers, essentially staying out of the colocation space. Another version of the AT&T service has Microsoft Azure supplying the edge computing, colocated inside enterprise data centers. 

The point is that multi-service edge computing might wind up being a smaller business for connectivity providers than had seemed possible a few years ago. 

John Ghirardelli

How much change will 5G bring to the rest of the internet ecosystem?  “Less than you think” or “almost everything” are the range of expectations for 5G expressed at a PTC’20 panel on 5G implications. Much hinges on which part of the ecosystem one examines. 

Mobile network physical infrastructure will change, but the business model could change even more. 5G will have the greatest and early impact on the telecom industry itself, argued Dean Bubley, Disruptive Analysis owner. New providers will emerge, including wholesale roles, private 5G operators and enterprise 5G networks as well, he says. 

Ramy Katrib

The physical layer changes might be least revolutionary. “5G is just another evolution of the ecosystem, using a wider range of frequencies, more fiber, bringing new entrants into the space and expanding the ecosystem,” said John Ghirardelli, American Tower Corporation director. 

On the other hand, there are many new technologies, including MIMO, network slicing and edge computing, said Yang,

Dense small cell networks with fiber extensively and deeply deployed are some other changes 5G will bring.

Gary Kim

Applications and business models might be where the greatest 5G changes happen. All prior mobile generations were built around human end users on phones. The 5G network is the first where machines, sensors and servers will outnumber phones, and where computers--not people--are the most numerous devices. 

That alone changes the business model from a consumer-driven mobile phone business to an enterprise-focused sensor connection business. In short, enterprise internet of things might drive new revenue, not consumer smartphone use. 

Also, 5G will differ from 2G, 3G or 4G, which served people using intelligent devices, said Yang. In comparison, most 5G device will be “stupid,” requiring computing support at various places in the network, autonomously on devices, someplace in the metro area or remotely. 

Which parts of the computing ecosystem benefit is the big question. It might be easy to suggest that application providers, device suppliers, edge computing as a service suppliers and others might benefit more than connectivity providers. 

But 5G could revolutionize scripted television production, because “a big pain point is connecting video production to the internet,” said Ramy Katrib, DigitalFilm Tree founder and CEO. “We compete with FedEx or physical media,” he said. 

And one key requirement is ensuring data recoverability even if connections are interrupted. “We assume there will be service interruptions,” Katrib said. So a key “killer app” is the assurance that all data is recoverable, even in the face of file transfer interruptions. 

Moving video files straight to editing suites will be revolutionary, Katrib argued. 

And patience might be required. “5G will be really popular by the time 6G arrives,” Yang quipped. “We are early days in terms of edge computing,” said Ghirardelli.