Japan’s NTT DoCoMo is linking its Open Innovation Cloud platform to international 5G networks using a dedicated network to help facilitate the use of cloud services across those borders.

NTT DoCoMo’s offering is based on its 5G X-Border Platform. It provides a dedicated network connection that is separate from the public internet between the carrier’s cloud platform and the 5G network operating outside of Japan. The carrier noted that this allows “customers to use cloud services with confidence in secure cross-border environments.”

This model is similar to direct connect offerings from other service and cloud providers.

The initial DoCoMo service being offered is the carrier’s AceReal platform with Thailand-based operator Advanced Info Services. That platform is part of NTT DoCoMo’s Open Innovation Cloud and provides technical support for workers in the field. In this case, those workers in Thailand can receive instructions from the support people in Japan using augmented reality (AR) smart glasses that are connected to the 5G network.

NTT DoCoMo noted that the platform targets technical support issues at manufacturing plants that can’t be resolved by sending a technician overseas due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The work with Advanced Info Services is set to go live on Oct. 15, with NTT DoCoMo planning to expand the offering to more markets later this year.

The carrier started its cloud platform in 2015, initially as a private cloud service. It was built on OpenStack and also tapped into different open source software models like the Fluentd logging platform, Prometheus monitoring system, and Grafana observability platform.

It eventually started selling outside access to the system in 2017. The carrier noted in a recent presentation that the cloud platform operates on a much smaller scale than that of hyperscale heavyweight Amazon Web Services (AWS).

The Open Innovation Cloud was used as part of a proof-of-concept (PoC) earlier this year with MobiledgeX to use multi-access edge computing (MEC) to distribute 5G applications around the world. It used a “markerless” AR application base that was distributed to the MEC platform, the Open Innovation Cloud, and connected to the operator’s 5G and LTE networks in Japan.

The companies claimed that with the computation required for the application being outsourced to the MEC platform and DoCoMo’s low-latency network, they were able to deliver an AR experience to hardware without native AR capabilities.

The work with Advanced Info Services builds on a trial conducted late last year where DoCoMo deployed 5G gear in Thailand to measure reception intensity and consistency with local network equipment.