Amazon Web Services (AWS) made some new announcements at its AWS re:Invent event, first unveiling AWS Wavelength, a system that uses 5G compute and storage at the edge to deliver millisecond latencies. New partnerships with Verizon, Vodafone, KDDI and SK Telecom aim to make the edge service available in the US, Europe, Japan and Korea.
AWS Wavelength lets developers build applications with single-digit millisecond latencies to mobile devices and users. The system embeds AWS compute and storage at the edge of provider 5G networks and will enable developers to serve use-cases like machine learning inference at the edge, autonomous industrial equipment, smart cars and cities, IoT, and augment and virtual reality (AR, VR). Amazon said the system also lets developers deploy the parts of an application that require ultra-low latency within the 5G network, with the rest connecting back to AWS cloud services.
AWS will work with Verizon to bring AWS Wavelength to the US. The partners are currently piloting the system in Chicago, using Verizon’s 5G Edge and mobile edge compute (MEC) system. The pilot is open to a select number of Verizon customers, including worldwide video game publisher Bethesda Softworks and the National Football League (NFL). Additional deployments will take place at other locations across the US next year.
AWS is also collaborating with other companies, including Vodafone, SK Telecom and KDDI, and expects to add more partners soon. Vodafone said it will bring AWS Wavelength to strategic locations on its 5G network. The system will be first become available in the UK and Germany, and then expand across other Vodafone markets.
