Verizon has announced it is working with Microsoft Azure to bring Edge services onto its 5G network. The partnership pairs Verizon’s 5G interconnectivity with Edge applications devised and hosted on Azure.
Getting the Edge on 5G
The US telco provides what it calls its ‘5G Ultra Wideband network’. According to Verizon, this network enables a throughput 25 times faster than current 4G networks and is available in 55 cities across the US; along with some more limited 5G services in 1,800 cities.
Rima Qureshi, EVP, and chief strategy officer at Verizon, said: “We have built a network that provides real-world, 5G-enabled solutions today. By bringing together Verizon’s network and on-site 5G Edge platform with Microsoft’s expertise in cloud services, we will enable the development of the next-generation technologies everyone has been envisioning.”
Microsoft’s corporate VP, Yousef Khalidi said: “By leveraging Verizon’s 5G network integrated with Microsoft’s cloud and edge capabilities, developers and businesses can benefit from fast, secure and reliable connections to deliver seamless digital experiences from massive industrial IoT workloads to precision medicine.”
Logistics company Ice Mobility is testing the new pairing of Verizon’s network with Microsoft’s Edge. The company is using Edge computing to help with product packing. By gathering data in near real-time on product packing errors, the company could be saving between 15 percent to 30 percent of a product’s processing time.
Mike Mohr, CEO of Ice Mobility said: “We are especially excited to join Verizon and Microsoft to test how 5G and MEC can improve the quality assurance process. They truly have listened to our needs to provide automated real-time quality oversight and feedback, which will enable us to cost-effectively launch unique new products.”
