Depending on how you wish to view it, Google’s new Global Mobile Edge Cloud strategy, which will deliver a portfolio and marketplace of 5G solutions built jointly with telecommunications companies, is about as good a role as connectivity providers likely can hope for, or stark recognition that a real estate play was always going to be the role service providers would assume.
Google Cloud and AT&T announced they will work together to “help enterprises take advantage of Google Cloud’s technologies and capabilities using AT&T network connectivity at the edge.”
One might translate that as “computing at the edge will be supplied by Google, racks, energy, cooling and security at the edge by AT&T,” albeit with access using the low-latency 5G network.
The two companies are testing a portfolio of 5G edge computing solutions for industries, such as retail, manufacturing, and transportation, that bring together AT&T’s network, Google Cloud’s leading technologies including AI/ML and Kubernetes, and edge computing to help enterprises address real business challenges, Google says.
Google Cloud also announced Anthos for Telecom, which will bring its Anthos cloud platform to the network edge, allowing telecommunications companies to run their applications wherever it makes the most sense.
Google also might partner with telecommunications companies to rapidly enable a global distributed edge by lighting up thousands of edge locations that are already deployed in telecom networks. The language is “can do so,” rather than “will do so.”
So far, this sort of collaboration, as well as Verizon's working with Amazon, tend to suggest that edge computing mostly will be supplied by the hyperscalers, while telcos mostly contribute edge computing facilities, while locking down some portion of the busines and enterprise 5G connections market.
That might realistically be about the best general outcome telcos can hope for. The danger is that they, once again, find they cannot move much beyond "connectivity" as their role in the ecosystem. There might be some incremental revenue created by supplying edge computing real estate.
But that will not move the revenue needle very much. It is hard to grow beyond dumb pipe. Edge computing now is shaping up to be the latest example of that reality.
That might realistically be about the best general outcome telcos can hope for. The danger is that they, once again, find they cannot move much beyond "connectivity" as their role in the ecosystem. There might be some incremental revenue created by supplying edge computing real estate.
But that will not move the revenue needle very much. It is hard to grow beyond dumb pipe. Edge computing now is shaping up to be the latest example of that reality.
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