Dell EMC CTO John Roese discusses the disruptive power of 5G
In order to scale 5G networks and mature services from enhanced mobile broadband to include ultra reliable low latency communications and massive support for the internet of things, operators need to take an IT-centric approach to deploying the next-generation of cellular. This new network is marked by a distribution of cloud computing from the data center right out to the mobile edge.
“It’s not just a new radio access network,” Dell EMC Chief Technology Officer John Roese said in a discussion about the company’s role in enabling service provider’s 5G efforts with RCR Wireless News. “It’s an edge compute model; it’s an automation layer that we’ve never seen before; it’s data center modernization. We’re heavily invested primarily in building out the edge–putting compute as close to the real-time environment as possible. That layer didn’t exist in 4G. It hasn’t existed in mobile before.”
So what does moving normally centralized compute and storage functionality closer to the end user actually enable? With 5G, use cases that require very low latency require edge compute for many reasons, chief among them the constraints of the speed of light. To conduct precision control of autonomous vehicles carrying materials around a mining site or guide robots through a warehouse facility, 5G is the connectivity medium that supports near-real-time data analysis, which enables these emerging automation applications.
This is all part of the journey to 5G. Early commercial applications tend to be constrained with an eye on controlling the numerous variables that impact service level. In the case of autonomous mining, industrial sites are much more constrained than what you’d see if the highway system was filled with autonomous vehicles. Another early 5G application, fixed wireless home broadband, limits the number of moving pieces as compared with full-on mobility. This allows operators and their ecosystem partners to prove out technology and business cases prior to scaling up and iterating at which point the truly disruptive force of 5G will be felt.
“I think the disruption is similar to what 4G did in terms of disruption,” Roese said. “5G is about taking all of the cloud experiences that we’ve created in the data center…and making sure they are mobile friendly and we have a mobile infrastructure that’s designed as a cloud platform. Really what we’re doing with 5G is extending the cloud to the mobile edge.”
To learn more about how Dell Technologies and its ecosystem of partners are enabling 5G, register to attend Dell Technologies World, April 29-May 2, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
