T-Mobile US is taking a decidedly different tack with mobile edge computing than its domestic competitors. While AT&T and Verizon front loaded edge into their respective 5G network strategies, T-Mobile effectively views it as a later opportunity that doesn’t merit a big early splash. 

“We have not talked much about edge computing or cloud computing because we’ve been busy working with our customers to try and figure out what is the best solution that will meet their needs,” John Saw, the operator’s EVP of advanced and emerging technologies, told SDxCentral.

“We’re trying to work closely with our enterprise customers to really solve the real pain points rather than to make announcements in the press about access to public clouds,” he explained. “Public clouds are already very accessible. It’s a very large scale business.” 

It’s a “slightly different focus” than AT&T and Verizon, both of which have inked and promoted partnerships with multiple hyperscalers to assemble public and private edge networks riding on 5G. Verizon is taking the most broad approach thus far with Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, and IBM. AT&T has similar arrangements with Microsoft, Google, and IBM. 

Saw doesn’t dismiss the notion that clouds are gaining prominence in mobile networks, particularly as it relates to edge computing, but the operator is investing in the exploration and development of 5G use cases that will actually be adopted by enterprises before it shares details about the vendors involved in that effort.

Multiple T-Mobile executives also highlighted this strategy during the operator’s investor conference last week. Instead of searching for new revenue from underdeveloped services, the carrier is deliberately targeting near-term growth in established segments where it’s historically underperformed: business, rural areas, and home broadband. 

Indeed, mobile edge computing, private networks, massive IoT, and advanced 5G use cases were not included in the operator’s financial outlook. CEO Mike Sievert described those “unforeseen 5G opportunities” as additional “upside,” but not critical to its financial performance in the short term.

“Our 5G network creates a platform for growth beyond core wireless, and we’re focused on helping our enterprise and public sector customers realize value from these emerging technologies at scale,” Mike Katz, EVP of T-Mobile for Business, said during the event.

T-Mobile will share “real commercial use cases” once it develops and establishes demand with various enterprises, but for now it’s working with enterprises to determine the most opportunistic path for private edges that will meet specialized needs and transform their respective businesses, Saw explained. 

“Nobody is going to be closer to a T-Mobile customer than us,” Saw said. “We have connectivity to our customers that is closer than anybody else can get to them, and that’s the definition of an edge. And we can bring 5G capabilities and services on that.”

Just because T-Mobile hasn’t announced any partnerships with public cloud providers or other vendors doesn’t mean it won’t eventually do so, he added. “As in all things with 5G, I think a lot of our efforts have to be done through partnerships,” Saw said, adding that many vendors have strengths that T-Mobile can leverage for nascent opportunities.

T-Mobile has a broad 5G network and expertise in many areas that deliver unique capabilities, “but that’s not the whole answer,” Saw explained. “That is why … we need to build something that is bigger than ourselves, and that applies to edge computing as well. I see us working closely with some of the big partners out there to bring all of this together.”