Combining SKT's 5G Network with AWS' Cloud Computing
Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon Web Services (AWS), announced the launch of AWS Wavelength, a service based on a 5G network, in a keynote address at the Amazon re:Invent held at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas of the United States on Dec. 3.
AWS Wavelength is infrastructure that includes AWS compute and storage services on a 5G network edge of a mobile carrier's data center. It minimizes latency time in connecting mobile devices to applications by implementing the AWS solutions on the edge of a 5G network.
"When customers develop an application related to machine learning, autonomous driving and augmented reality (AR) and want to connect it to the last mile, they want AWS solutions to be internalized at the edge of a carrier's network as the application does not have the time to reach the network center,” Jassy said. For this, he said, AWS has to rely on mobile carriers, but in this case, things become complicated and problems occur. "So, we have embedded AWS storage compute into a 5G network."
AWS also put forward a plan to collaborate with 5G pioneer SK Telecom. Together, the two companies will launch commercial 5G mobile edge computing (MEC) services.
"We are ready to combine the benefits of SK Telecom's 5G network with AWS’ cloud computing to bring a tectonic change to every individual, enterprise and industry," said Yoo Young-sang, head of SK Telecom’s MNO Business Division. "We will implement interesting application cases such as high quality interactive media, autonomous driving and smart factories."
"For smart factories, we can use AWS Wavelength and SK Telecom's advanced 5G solutions to shorten the response time of robots performing maintenance, security, and manufacturing operations, enabling our factories to run more efficiently without additional cost," Yoo said. “SK Telecom and AWS help third-party developers and companies improve the quality of their experience, create business models, and shorten time to market for new revenue opportunities by providing 5G multi-access cloud services.”