Google is making an all out push to enable its cloud platform to support mobile network operators and announced an expansive agreement with AT&T and other networking giants as part of that effort.

The No. 3 cloud provider today detailed a three-part strategy for carriers, including driving revenues from 5G business services, data-driven experiences, and improving operations in core network infrastructure. “Rapid technology advancements are impacting the telecommunications industry, whether it’s the rise of 5G and network-centric business models or new connected devices and applications,” Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian said in a prepared statement. 

In a bid to boost enterprise services delivered by 5G, Google Cloud has created the Global Mobile Edge Cloud, an open cloud platform for it and network operators to jointly develop applications and a distributed edge.

AT&T and Google Cloud are uniting some resources under that platform to create and deliver 5G edge computing services. Those applications will ride on the AT&T Network Edge and make use of Google Cloud’s capabilities in Kubernetes, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, data, and analytics.

Microsoft and AT&T reached a similar agreement a year ago to test and develop a hybrid edge deployment model that later boasted improved network performance of up to 50%. It’s unclear the extent to which AT&T’s cloud efforts with Microsoft and Google differ, but AT&T’s broader cloud agreement with Microsoft is reportedly valued at more than $2 billion and calls for Microsoft to be the “preferred cloud provider” for non-network applications including Microsoft’s cloud-based Office 365 tools. AT&T also has a cloud agreement with IBM.

Vodafone, Wind Tre, and Altice USA were all named among early adopters in Google Cloud’s push into the network operator market.

Germany’s T-Systems is also partnering with Google Cloud to provide consulting services, migration support, and managed services for enterprises. The agreement calls for T-Systems to build a Google Cloud-specific center where enterprises can evaluate their business requirements and build custom cloud services to help achieve those desired outcomes. The center will focus on large-scale workload migrations to the cloud, SAP applications, and the development of AI and machine learning services.

Other partnerships announced today will bring Amdocs’ and Netcracker’s software to Google Cloud for operational and business support services. The companies claim the combination of their capabilities will enable operators to reduce IT costs by using Google Cloud to virtualize network functions and orchestrate support capabilities in the cloud. 

Google Cloud today also announced Anthos for Telecom, an effort to bring its Anthos cloud platform to the network edge. Based on Kubernetes, Anthos for Telecom, is being positioned as a platform for network-centric applications. The company says it is bringing its capabilities in data- and AI-driven technologies to bear to help network operators improve customer service and build personalized offerings more quickly based on those insights. 

Google is reportedly operating under an internal deadline to become a top-two player in the cloud market by 2023. Google Cloud lags considerably behind rivals Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft, and appears to also now be following their lead into the telecommunications market.