When the speed of light is a drawback — you know it is time for a new approach! Over the past couple of years, it has been abundantly clear that cloud services cannot compute the flood of data created by mobile devices and provide meaningful analysis — even at the speed of light. That is because of the latency created by the distance of the cloud to the device via backhaul. That is the conundrum Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) can solve.
MEC aims to negate latency by providing computing capabilities closer to the device. It emboldens a wide variety of applications such as Virtual/Augmented Reality — and is critical for technologies such as autonomous vehicles where every millisecond counts. Edge computing will play a crucial role in 5G, the next generation of connectivity that promises to usher in the age of robotics, autonomous cars, immersive media, AI and IoT.
The OTT land grab
According to industry analysts at ABI Research, 5G could generate nearly $250 billion in revenues. 5G sounds like a welcome, lucrative respite for operators whose revenues have been in decline. Industry observers, however, are cautious because of the encroachment from OTTs who have decimated traditional revenue streams such as voice and messaging. When was the last time you paid for a text message?
OTTs are now closing in on the mobile operator’s beachfront property — connectivity. Project Fi from Google and Amazon reselling mobile services in markets such as Germany are just two examples of the OTT land grab of connectivity. And if connectivity is the beachfront property, then MEC is the front-door key for operators that opens the potential to monetize 5G – and prevents them from becoming “dumb pipes” for OTT traffic.
Operators have the geographic and topological reach, thanks to their infrastructure, to connect devices online. MEC is a natural progression and to unlock its potential; there are five key strategies that mobile operators must implement.
1. Provide clarity to see beyond the fog. The architecture required for MEC has caused some confusion amongst businesses. That is because there are multiple routes with competing Open Source standards, different security protocols, various monitoring and hosting applications and even a technology — Fog Computing. Developers looking to capitalize on edge technology, have to navigate different challenges and a plethora of options given the new technologies available. Mobile operators have the opportunity to provide clarity to developers and businesses — and it starts with the creation of a robust ecosystem.
2. Create a developer-centric ecosystem: Developers of applications for edge devices play a critical role. Companies such as Amazon currently provide developers with easy and flexible access to the public cloud, innovative software solutions and monitoring systems that give developers complete control. Operators can better this.
Create a developer-centric edge ecosystem. Have a platform where developers can easily provision their applications and at the same time tap into the API and algorithm economy.
The platform needs to give developers the flexibility and control that the public cloud provides. Ultimately, the operator ecosystem can provide ultra-low latency connectivity that developers crave to be innovative and disruptive. Haptic communications and gesture control for robotics are just the start for 5G. It sounds clichéd — but it is true. The possibilities are endless.
3. Deploy carrier-grade architecture: The architecture for the ecosystem needs to be robust so that developers can migrate easily with very little friction. Operators pride themselves when it comes to Quality of Experience (QoE) for their subscribers — so this ethos needs to transcend to MEC too. Operators must have the frameworks in place that integrate automation, orchestration, etc. with end-to-end visibility to maximize the service. Right across from user, developer and operational experience to networking and applications to cloud-native architectures and even business models to ideation. If you build it, they (the developers) will come.
4. Embrace the cloud-first mindset: To win a battle, sometimes it is important to think like your adversary. In the mobile operator vs. the OTT land grab struggle, not only should operators embrace cloud-native architecture, they even need to adopt a cloud OTT-style mindset. Why? Typically, operators have long testing cycles, conduct a number of trials and interoperability checks that can take years – and of course, wait for standards to be agreed. This can often stifle innovation. OTTs don’t bother with standards and see networks as just a vehicle to get to their user. Their priority is launching the latest product faster than the competition – and for most OTTs, standards are a constraint on the pace of their growth.
The choice for operators is clear. Do you wait for standards before deploying MEC or does implementation come first? Some mobile operators have not been hanging around; they have already launched their MEC offerings.
5. Innovate with your business model: Similar to the multiple use cases for 5G, MEC has multiple business models. One such approach could be similar to a cloud-based business model — just larger in scale – with more monetizing opportunities for operators. Developers will come to the operators to monetize their applications that connect to millions – even billions of devices. The operators, in turn, will be able to secure revenues from developers and the end users of those devices.
Whatsmore, an operator’s MEC strategy could give rise to a marketplace where developers would share services and technologies with other developers and leverage APIs and the connectivity to create even stronger, more profitable edge-based applications. And there are business models around technologies such as autonomous and connected cars and the operator’s MEC ecosystem could foster an app store style system that could democratize AI and ML technologies for mass market utilization. Again, the possibilities are endless.
MEC also opens possibilities for operators to provide low latency connectivity solutions for public safety, connected and autonomous cars by partnering with automotive companies, connected homes, and industrial IoT. Computer vision and video analytics can help operators to create business models with vehicle insurance, transport optimizations, assisted driving, etc. The cost for providing such services can come down significantly as operators can save on backhaul cost by analyzing HD video at the edge of the network instead of transferring the huge amount video streams to central offices and clouds.
There’s no doubt that MEC and 5G will usher an era of technological breakthroughs. Mobile operators and their beachfront properties are in prime position to capitalize this opportunity. It just depends on how agile, nimble and innovative the mobile operator wants to be.
