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5G Needs Edge Computing to Deliver on Its Promises

5G Needs Edge Computing to Deliver on Its Promises Image Credit: ra2studio/Bigstockphoto.com

Edge computing will be a key enabler for 5G to deliver on its bandwidth and latency requirements. In the short term, it can enable developers to provide a “5G experience” at scale. In the long term, it will be necessary to optimise customer experience for real-time, data hungry applications.

Edge computing: a key enabler to making the 5G hype real

Telecoms operators have reported that 5G in the lab can deliver network speeds that are more than twenty times faster than LTE1. But, this does not reflect the experience of the average user. And 5G roll out in many countries will be limited in terms of coverage and capabilities for several more years, given that the ultra-low latency standards will only be revealed in 3GPP’s Release 16 later this year. This is why it is likely that, for 5G to deliver on its promises, it must be coupled with edge computing.

Edge computing can enable 5G to deliver on its latency and bandwidth requirements. While 5G will increase the capacity of the network, and make it faster, edge computing will enable applications to be hosted physically nearer to the end-user. This means that data packets do not have to travel as far, i.e. all the way to a centralised cloud. Consequently, applications with low latency and high bandwidth requirements (e.g. augmented reality, IoT, cloud gaming, etc.) should be able to deliver on customer experience with edge computing, before 5G has matured.

Figure 1: By processing data closer to the end-user, edge computing can deliver decreased latency and bandwidth

Short term benefits: Edge can break the 5G “go slow” cycle

Edge will be a key enabler of 5G in the next 2-5 years, as rollout of 5G infrastructure continues. Part of this will help to break 5G’s chicken and egg dilemma. Operators have been slow to invest in capex-heavy 5G rollout2​ while they are still searching for 5G’s “killer application” all while the business case is still unclear. Equally, application developers cannot progress their 5G applications until they are guaranteed test sites in the first instance, and then widescale coverage across a multi-national customer base.

Edge computing, if deployment of sites is accelerated, can enable applications to deliver some of the benefits of 5G at scale, sooner. For example, an architect firm wants to introduce AR headsets to collaborate on producing a 3D CAD model. The headset needs to be lightweight, with good battery life and mobility - hence the need to offload compute from the device itself. However, one of the two sites does not yet have 5G coverage. Using 4G and edge computing, a similar quality of customer experience to 5G can be achieved. This can convince the company (and the headset manufacturer who may need to release new 5G-enabled devices) of AR’s potential, without the need for widespread coverage. More information on this particular use case and how edge computing can impact it can be found in our recent report 'What edge developers want from telcos now'.

In summary, 5G needs edge computing to drive demand for its services. Today, there are only nascent markets for the types of applications 5G enables: augmented reality, mass IoT, robotics, AUVs/drones, etc. Edge computing can provide developers an environment to create the 5G applications that do not exist today even without “full 5G” being available yet.

Long term benefits: ultra-reliable low latency won’t be achieved without edge

In the long term, a combination of 5G and edge computing will be needed. This is for two key reasons:

1. To achieve ultra-low latency, necessary for further out use cases like autonomous drones or remote telesurgery, the combination of 5G and edge computing will be necessary. This means both a bigger, faster pipe in conjunction with a shorter distance for the data to travel.

2. Edge can enable operators to change their backhaul business models. For data-heavy applications, such as those requiring high-definition video or extensive data analysis, even with 5G, sending data constantly back to the cloud will be expensive and deteriorate the customer experience. Instead, data could be filtered out, with the full stream travelling only as far as a local edge site, before being analysed, rationalised, and only what is necessary streamed and stored in the centralised cloud. If operators decouple access and backhaul connectivity pricing, offering reduced backhaul for streaming to the edge rather than the centralised cloud, they can incentivise application developers to use edge computing sites, rather than on-premise or on-device workarounds. For more information, see decouple from cloud connectivity to succeed in edge compute.

Figure 2: For many applications, 5G + edge will be required for optimal performance

Although the benefits of using 5G and edge are clear, making this a reality will be a challenge for mobile operators. For 5G to be provisioned, orchestrated and managed by operators in a cost-effective way, they will need to increasingly virtualise and automate their networks. Achieving this will make running a more distributed network of edge computing sites more viable. Operators should see investments in edge computing and 5G as critical enablers of each other – both for short term and long term wins.

1: e.g. Deutsche Telekom reported that data rates should reach 10 Gbit/s and that their researchers had achieved network latency of one millisecond in lab tests.
2: There are some notable exceptions including operators in US, China, Korea and Japan who are already aggressively investing in 5G. In comparison, markets in Europe have been relatively slow and have tempered enthusiasm.

Author

Tilly Gilbert is a Consultant at STL Partners, specialising in edge computing, AI and automation. Tilly has been involved with several research programmes focused on edge computing including with a Tier-one operator and an edge computing start up. She has co-authored the report “What edge developers want from telcos now”. In addition, Tilly has worked on projects including telco SMB strategy, customer experience, AI and blockchain. She has a BA in English Literature and Language from Oxford University and an MA in English Literature from the University of Pennsylvania.

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