AT&T said it already operates 10 localized 5G network capabilities “edge zones” across the U.S.
U.S. operator AT&T said it is implementing regional Standalone (SA) 5G cores for the deployment of edge networks, which enables the carrier to offer low-latency services.
“5G was designed and is now being deployed in a much different manner than previous wireless generations. In short, we’re moving network services much closer to our users. If you can reduce the geographic distance between the user and the online service or data they’re accessing, response time or “latency” speeds up,” AT&T’s CTO Jeremy Legg said in a blog post.
“Imagine a connected car, or even someday soon a fully autonomous car, on a 5G network where the 5G standalone network core is in the same city or region. That reduced latency means cameras, radars, and other sensors on that car can scan the environment and send the data across a localized network to be analyzed and responded to in near real time,” Legg wrote. “Of course, for that to work seamlessly, the cloud services that do that analysis also have to be located in the same region. And modern software-defined network services are needed to optimize all that data movement.”
The executive said that AT&T is currently building a model based on local Standalone network cores, local public cloud or private data center computing resources and software-defined network capabilities and virtualized network functions.
“We call these localized 5G network capabilities “edge zones”, and today we have 10 of them up and running across the U.S., with a goal of getting to an even dozen by the end of 2022. Many more will follow in 2023 and beyond,” Legg said in the post.
He also said that the telco’s standalone network cores and software defined network capabilities will be located in network data centers close to cross connect facilities that have fast connections to nearby cloud facilities run by cloud providers including Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud and AWS.
Legg also said that these edge zones powered by regional 5G standalone network cores will open a range of new capabilities that are not possible with 4G.
“For example, we’ll be able to provide new managed services over our 5G network to customers that need customized capabilities for particular uses and applications,” he wrote. “Similar to a virtual private network and consistent with open internet principles, this will ensure users have the network resources they need for mission-critical applications.”
“As we build out and activate more edge zones, we’ll explore different options for how we make them accessible to developers, either through the hyperscalers’ app stores and other interfaces or through software development kits,” he added.
