Bell Canada today shared plans to move some 5G network services into Google Cloud, marking its second hyperscaler deal in as many months and a realization of the operator's multicloud vision.

The operator’s initial plans include moving IT infrastructure, network functions, and on-premise applications to Google Cloud. The companies also intend to bolster the arrangement, which will run “throughout the next decade,” to develop cloud and edge services, and improve customer service and network capacity planning with the aid of automation and artificial intelligence.

Bell Canada plans to blend various resources and capabilities from multiple cloud providers into its 5G network infrastructure. The carrier last month said it will be the first Canadian operator with a 5G multi-access edge compute (MEC) service paired with Amazon Web Services (AWS) by the end of the year.

While early efforts with AWS have centered around 5G edge services, Google Cloud’s contributions will start inside Bell’s network infrastructure. Both hyperscalers, and likely others, will eventually provide multiple services according to their respective strengths and Bell’s goals, the operator said. 

“Early on in our journey, we’ve realized that each cloud partner brings different capabilities and has developed domain-specific ecosystems,” Tamer Shenouda, Bell’s director of cloud infrastructure and services, wrote in response to questions.

“In order to support an end-to-end transformation, our strategy involves multiple partnerships in domains like 5G, media, TV, MEC, and big data. We will obviously leverage the most mature ecosystem for each domain we are transforming with cloud,” he added.

Bell’s first efforts with Google Cloud will focus on analytics, network automation, orchestration, and other elements. “Some of these capabilities will start being embedded across various services later in 2021 and early 2022,” Shenouda wrote. 

Anthos for Telecom, Google Cloud’s multicloud offering for network operators, plays a starring role in that effort. The third-largest cloud provider recently landed deals with AT&T for its expanding 5G edge, and Ericsson to assist the network operator’s shift to a cloud-native infrastructure on Google’s platform. 

Operators, equipment suppliers, systems integrators, and software vendors are increasingly working with multiple hyperscalers to integrate their respective offerings to support internal goals and customers’ clouds of preference.

Shenouda said Bell Canada will address potential multicloud complications by “grouping certain applications and functions where it makes most sense. We will also leverage third-party partners, standards, and APIs to assemble an open ecosystem that enables multicloud capabilities.”

Bell’s current plans with Google don’t call for the use of its Global MEC offering, but Shenouda said the operator sees value in having multiple partners in the edge space. “We are closely following Google’s Global Mobile Edge Cloud strategy,” he said.