Verizon, AWS expand MEC platform to Dallas and Miami

Developers and businesses can now tap into the power of Verizon 5G Edge with AWS Wavelength in two new locations: Dallas and Miami. Verizon 5G Edge is a mobile edge computing (MEC) platform designed to enable developers to build applications for mobile end-users and wireless edge devices with ultra-low latency, extended battery life, massive throughput and more.

Verizon and AWS launched Verizon 5G Edge with AWS Wavelength in August in Boston and the Bay Area and have since expanded to seven cities overall, including Atlanta, New York and Washington, DC, with plans to reach ten cities by year end.

5G Edge moves the data and processing done by the applications and services closer to the end user at the edge of the network. This shortens the roundtrip that data needs to travel, reducing lag time, or latency, and helps critical, performance-impacting applications respond more quickly and efficiently.

AWS Wavelength brings AWS compute and storage services to the edge of Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network, allowing innovators to develop applications with increased speeds, massive bandwidth and ultra-low latency.

In the Cellular-Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) and Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) spaces, 5G and MEC are essential building blocks for enabling autonomous and connected vehicles.

Several C-V2X and V2X innovators are already testing their solutions at the edge of Verizon’s 5G network.

Renovo’s automotive data platform intelligently indexes and filters Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) vehicle-data in near-real time. Verizon’s 5G and MEC deployments have allowed Renovo to prove out new Network-ADAS safety features such as real-time alerts for all vehicles in the vicinity of an emergency-braking event and other situations where drivers need to react instantly to dangerous situations ahead.

“5G and MEC will be transformative for automakers, enabling them to offer new ADAS services that will keep drivers safe and informed of hazards in near real-time,” said Christopher Heiser, co-founder and CEO of Renovo. “With 5G and MEC, we have built a robust, low latency, and high bandwidth solution that aligns with the demands of today’s data-driven automotive product roadmaps. We look forward to testing with AWS Wavelength and Verizon 5G Edge.”

Savari is also testing how the high bandwidth and ultra-low latencies enabled by 5G and MEC can support applications that can provide warning information to drivers and pedestrians in near real-time.

“As we work together on the next generation of infrastructure hardware and software, we are enabling the intelligent transportation systems of the future in which vehicles will see around blind corners and intersections; avoid vulnerable road users like pedestrians and bicyclists; instantly react to emergencies via 360-degree awareness of the traffic grid; and share unsafe road conditions with other vehicles in real time,” said Ravi Puvvala, CEO at Savari. "The C-V2X trial with Verizon 5G Edge and AWS Wavelength leverages the power of 5G and MEC to create communication paths that are hyperlocal, highly reliable, and super-low latency to make our roads many times safer, with unprecedented levels of high efficiency and low environmental impact.”

LG Electronics is piloting a next-generation C-V2X platform using Verizon 5G Edge and AWS Wavelength to move data in near real time, which includes a service that is intended to improve driving safety with secure information sharing between vehicles, mobile devices and transportation infrastructures.

"With the advent of V2X, there is a consensus that such a technology can lead to improved safety, enhanced mobility (thus reducing congestion) and increased environmental protection (via reduced emissions). However, security and privacy are paramount and LG’s Authentication as a Service (AaaS) ensures such measures throughout its life-cycle management: Provisioning, Activation, Misbehavior Detection and Revocation,” said Rick Kreifeldt, SVP and General Manager of LGE America R&D Lab. “LG’s V2X Proof of Concept leverages Verizon 5G and AWS Wavelength to enhance LG AaaS’s capability to achieve timely message filtering with plausibility and consistency check."

“We’re already seeing today how customers are leveraging the powerful combination of Verizon 5G Edge and AWS Wavelength to create next-generation use case in industries ranging from transportation to healthcare,” said Tami Erwin, CEO of Verizon Business. “While we’re still in the early days of 5G, it’s astounding to witness the development of experiences that were not feasible before the advent of 5G and mobile edge computing.”

Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network enables throughput at least 25 times faster than today’s 4G networks; delivers ultra-low latency; and offers very high bandwidth. Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband is expected to eventually enable 100 times larger data volumes than 4G; and the ability to connect more than a million devices per square kilometer. Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband service is available in parts of 55 cities, while Verizon 5G Nationwide is available to more than 200 million people in more than 1,800 cities around the US.