Mobile Area Networking (MAN) is the new Local Area Networking (LAN). Telecom operators continue building next-generation mobile communications systems such as 5G in support of digital transformation (DX). As these transformations are realized, telecom technologies are proactively adapting to the exponential increase in data and services. These data and services, until recently, were homogeneously provided by regionalized public cloud infrastructure systems. With new network access methods such as private mobility, DX is spawning data outside the public cloud. Data flows are becoming more decentralized and traverse a distributed set of telecom services. Therefore, policy enforcement must distinguish these new DX traffic patterns.
These new telecom services, which are strategically placed outside the centralized data center, are called Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) technology. The following diagram depicts the relationship between these areas:
Private Wireless is closely aligned with the ETSI MEC technology which is developed in accordance with European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) definitions. This technology is adopted in several 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) specifications as part of the next-generation telecom services outside the public cloud.
This jointly developed design offers various network policy services in the 5G era by incorporating the following guiding architectural principles:
- Make highly geographically distributed computing resources available through a connected system.
- Make resource connectivity transparent and secure regardless of physical location or network access type.
MEC technology advancements drive the adoption of new forms of connectivity that were previously highly proprietary and lacked interoperability. As operators continue to push for open interfaces and architectures, the Private Wireless reference architecture serves as a foundational anchor point for bridging digital innovation with network transformation and the realization of a 5G services-based architecture and the telecom services edge.
As connectivity and data consumption increase dramatically, telecom operators are constantly refining infrastructure operation to maintain efficiency while delivering on the escalating usage demand. Operators can maintain or exceed Quality of Service (QoS) and Service Level Agreement (SLA) demands by bringing the services operation to the edge. These service levels may be reflected as new or improved services to customers.
One of the main objectives of a MEC-type architecture is to relocate the computing of data and services from centralized cloud data centers to the edge of the network. This computing is performed closer to the customer to maximize efficiency—frequently just beyond the enterprise customer premises. The implementation of MEC can also reduce latency and deliver on the promise of near real-time performance, especially for high-bandwidth applications. MEC is considered essential for 5G because it facilitates the optimization of 5G network resources.
Dell Technologies has embraced the MEC trend and the massive network transformation that are taking place in the telecom industry. MEC will become an anchor point that drives the adoption of decentralized radio access methods, next-generation network core, and infrastructure technologies, enabling operators to take advantage of the enterprise digital transformation. Dell Technologies is focused on edge verticals and use cases.
Dell Technologies is focused on adding private connectivity options, such as SD-WAN and private 4G/5G/CBRS, to various use cases in the business-to-business and business-to-customer markets. This integrated offer enables operators to reduce the time-to-market to take advantage of the momentum in the digital transformation industry and focus on the use cases instead of the networking.