Verizon expanded the reach of its 5G Edge deployment to three new markets as it expands its reliance on Amazon Web Services' (AWS) Wavelength edge compute service. The carrier also launched a new onramp for developers to take advantage of that expanded reach.

The Verizon 5G service is now available in Chicago, Houston, and Phoenix, pushing its total footprint to 13 of the nation’s top 20 largest markets. The Verizon-AWS partnership using Wavelength was initially announced in late 2019, and has quickly expanded in reach and depth. Verizon plans to have the service live in a total of 20 markets by the end of this year.

Earlier this year, Verizon added AWS’ Outposts on-premises data center platform to the broader 5G Edge service. The move integrated Verizon’s Private 5G networks and Private Edge platforms with Outposts, allowing customers to tap into the combination to deploy a fully managed private mobile edge compute network within their on-premises environment that can handle low-latency applications like intelligent logistics, robotics, and factory automation.

“AWS has built services such as Wavelength and Outposts, which are a couple different ways of deploying at the edge,” AWS CEO Adam Selipsky recently explained during the MWC Barcelona event. “There’s such a need for low latency, and a very high throughput, and massive connectivity; and putting the compute, and the artificial intelligence (AI), and the ability to really run micro infrastructure all the way out at the edge is starting to unlock brand new services.”

On top of the expansion, Verizon now offers its 5G Edge Discovery Service that scopes out the optimal mobile edge compute (MEC) location for any Verizon mobile client. This allows developers to host their latency-sensitive applications at locations closest to their end-users.