With the gradual advancement of 5G commercial use, edge computing (MEC), which can connect 5G commercial potential and downstream industry opportunities, is moving to the wind, showing strong market demand in industrial Internet, 79492-01 autonomous driving, Internet of Things and other fields. IDC predicts that by 2020, more than 50 billion devices and devices will be connected to the Internet, and 40% of data will need to be analyzed, processed, and stored at the network edge. Therefore, the edge computing market size will exceed one trillion yuan.

Facing one of the future’s unlimited 5G core technologies, the three major operators have laid out edge computing, driving the integration and development of 5G networks and new technologies in various fields, and realizing the further extension of 5G capabilities.

Three major operators competitive layout edge computing

79492-01 The so-called edge computing, in essence, is a subclass of cloud computing, for the difference between edge computing and cloud computing, someone has figuratively taken the octopus as a metaphor. Cloud computing is like clouds in the sky, can not be seen and touched, like the brain of an octopus, edge computing is similar to those small claws, a claw is a small machine room, closer to the device and the user. Cloud computing is to grasp the whole, edge computing is more focused on the local, cooperate with each other, optimize and supplement each other.

In terms of edge cloud operation and management, operators are accelerating 5G commercial use and seizing edge computing vents.

The first phase of China Mobile focused on the layout of smart city, intelligent manufacturing, live games, car networking four areas.

79492-01 China Mobile set up the edge Computing Open Lab in 2018 to build a platform for joint innovation, open source application testing and product incubation in the edge computing field, focusing on key areas such as smart city, intelligent manufacturing, live games, and car networking. Promote the prosperity of edge computing industry ecology.

At the 2019 Barcelona Communications Show, China Mobile released the “China Mobile Edge Computing Technology White Paper”, which for the first time proposed the technical system of China Mobile edge computing around the “Pioneer 300” pioneer action, that is, in 2019, 100 test nodes can be evaluated for deployment of edge computing devices, and 100 edge computing capability apis will be opened. Bringing in 100 edge computing partners to drive commercial adoption.

79492-01 At present, China Mobile has released Sigma platform, BC-Edge, OTII edge custom server, and is committed to creating a comprehensive edge computing hardware and software system, exploring to provide end-to-end solution services for vertical industries.

China Unicom (00762) in 2018 has carried out edge cloud scale pilot in many provinces and cities across the country, actively promote MEC edge cloud scale commercial, with MEC edge cloud as the anchor point, to promote the “cloud network edge end industry” five coordination has become an important strategy of China Unicom 5G.

In order to synchronize the pace of 5G commercial use, China Unicom and Intel and other ecological partners launched the MEC edge cloud to end solution – EdgePOD winning Edge.

In order to further expand the ecology, China Unicom will use the “1+1+N+X” model to set up a group BU, an operation center, N incubation bases and X provincial special groups, national linkage and resonance edge.

79492-01 Chen Dan, senior director of edge computing of China Unicom Group, revealed that in March 2020, the national MEC operation platform was commercially launched, and the whole process of marketing support, business ordering, and automatic monitoring was opened up.

China Telecom, according to Zhang Jianmin, head of MEC research and development at the 5G research and development Center of the China Telecom Research Institute, China Telecom has completed the research and development of the edge computation-based technology version. With fixed mobile, a variety of network access capabilities, and support for a variety of networks to access edge computing nodes, at the same time, the platform can provide a convenient deployment environment for third parties, and provide unified open capabilities to serve third parties.

In addition, China Telecom Chairman Ke Ruiwen also stressed the need to strengthen the independent innovation of key core technologies such as network slicing, edge computing, and network AI.

China Telecom is building a new generation of cloud network operating system, including the deployment of full cloud and multi-access edge computing based on 5G core, the proposed 5G MEC fusion architecture, based on the general hardware platform, to support the rapid deployment of MEC functions and business applications. China Telecom independently developed the MEC platform, and has been successfully applied, China Telecom will gradually iterate to improve the MEC platform.

At the Tianyi Intelligent Ecology Expo last year, China Telecom and Cambrian signed a strategic cooperation agreement, and the two sides will establish a comprehensive strategic partnership in the field of artificial intelligence and smart chip technology, and jointly build 5G, AI and edge computing ecology.