Bell Canada moved on being the first Canadian operator to launch multi-access edge computing (MEC) services using Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) Wavelength platform.

The Bell Public MEC service embeds AWS compute and storage capabilities at the edge of Bell’s 5G network. The Wavelength technology is then tied into AWS cloud regions that host the applications. This moves access closer to the end user or device to lower latency and increase performance for services such as real-time visual data processing, augmented/virtual reality (AR/VR), artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML), and advanced robotics.

“It also allows us, because that link between the application and the edge device is a completely controllable link – it doesn't involve the internet, doesn't involve these multiple hops of the traffic to reach the application – it allows us to have a very particular controlled link that can give you different quality of service,” explained George Elissaios, director and GM for EC2 Core Product Management at AWS, during a briefing call.

AWS currently counts Wavelength customers in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, South Korea, Japan, and now Canada. It also has deals with Verizon, Vodafone, SK Telecom, and Dish Network.

Bell Canada explained that the service is targeted at enterprise customers. It will initially offer services to enterprises in Toronto, with expansion planned into other major Canadian markets.

“The AWS partnership is an important opportunity for us to organize and transform differently as a company as well,” explained Jeremy Wubs, SVP of product, marketing, and professional services at Bell Business Markets.

Bell Canada and AWS initially announced their Wavelength plans last June. Those plans pointed to an initial deployment in Toronto by the end of 2021, followed by Montreal in the first quarter of 2022, and Vancouver in spring 2022.

At that time, Wubs told SDxCentral that the carrier was impressed with the overall experience and pace of development of the Wavelength platform.

“We’ve talked with a lot of large enterprises and governments in Canada to measure interest and understand how they might use it,” Wubs said. Some organizations are, like Bell, interested in moving business applications to the cloud to improve performance. Other companies are exploring the use of MEC for augmented reality and smart manufacturing, he said.

Bell Canada last year also struck a deal with Google Cloud to move IT infrastructure, network functions, and on-premise applications to Google Cloud. It will tap into Google’s Anthos for Telecom platform to initially focus on analytics, network automation, orchestration, and other elements.

Wubs explained that the deals represent "two streams" for the carrier. The AWS Wavelength deal is focused on the carrier's go-to-market plans in helping Canadian enterprises take advantage of 5G MEC services to support business use cases. The Google deal is more internal "and is part of our evolution, virtualizing more of our network, leveraging AI, machine learnings in our processes, in our call center environments," he added.