Vertical Divider

5G Creates Demand for Edge Computing
March 04, 2019

The introduction of 5G and 5G phones creates new problems, which in the tech world are also rebranded as “opportunities.”  While 5G is super-duper fast, the way the Internet is currently built for the age of cloud computing isn’t ideal for 5G. If everyone is going to connect a gazillion gadgets that are always on and always sending data and are automated and need to make decisions in time measured in less than milliseconds, then sending the data across geographical distances to a centralized cloud where the data is analyzed and processed and then sent back creates too much latency, no matter how fast those Amazon and Google hamsters are making those cloud computing wheels spin. So all that computing needs to be pushed physically closer to the devices, or even placed on the devices, to support autonomous vehicles and connected factories and wireless live streaming so virtual reality can really hum. Granted, announcements about gear for edge computing are not the stuff that Internet clicks are made of. But this week companies like Intel, Qualcomm, and ARM and various partners are discussing new chips and hardware and software for edge computing.  There is also a lot of chatter about artificial intelligence, which is needed to really handle this coming flood of data. And the telecom industry is belatedly getting into stuff like blockchain, including an announcement from the Linux Foundation’s Hyperledger project about a new group particularly focused on how distributed ledgers can help the industry use data more effectively.