LAS VEGAS — Amazon Web Services and Verizon formed a 5G partnership that will embed AWS compute and storage at the edge of Verizon’s mobile networks. It will use AWS’ new edge computing service called Wavelength to allow developers to deploy ultra-low latency applications to mobile devices using 5G networks.

In a surprise move at the end of AWS CEO Andy Jassy’s three-hour keynote, Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg joined Jassy on stage to announce the partnership. “It is a massive moment for us at Verizon,” Vestberg said.

The companies are currently piloting AWS Wavelength on Verizon’s edge compute platform in Chicago for some customers including video game publisher Bethesda Softworks and the National Football League. The partners say they will make the 5G edge service available across the United States in 2020.

While Verizon is AWS’ first Wavelengths partner, the cloud giant also teamed up with Vodafone in Europe, KDDI in Japan, and SK Telecom in South Korea, and will launch deployments with these operators in 2020. It plans to add more global partners as well, Jassy said.

“What [5G] means for our customer, if you want to have the types of applications that have that last-mile connectivity…those applications always need some amount of compute and some amount of storage embedded at the edge,” Jassy said.

These include ultra-low latency use cases like smart cities, streaming games, virtual reality, autonomous cars, and industrial equipment that can’t afford the extra hops — and time — to travel from a device, to a cell tower, to a metro and then regional aggregation site, and to the internet before they can access compute and storage resources running in AWS.

Wavelength embeds AWS compute and storage in so-called Wavelength Zones — AWS infrastructure deployments within the network operators’ data centers at the edge of the 5G networks. This means developers can deploy the portions of an application that require ultra-low latency within the 5G network, and then connect back to the rest of their application and cloud services running in AWS. It removes latency from multiple hops, and also provides a consistent experience for developers. They can use the same AWS APIs, tools, and functionality at the edge that they already use in AWS’ cloud.

It’s a smart move, both for AWS and for its mobile operator partners, said Patrick Moorhead, president and principal analyst at Moor Insights and Strategy.

“Previous mobile edge cloud plays have failed with 4G and 3G. Part of the issue was that the carriers were trying to do the work themselves and they weren't very good at it,” Moorhead said in an email to SDxCentral. “With AWS taking on some of that compute and storage at the edge I believe it has a much higher chance of succeeding. Now we have to have the killer apps, which I think will likely be game streaming and augmented reality.”

The first AWS Wavelength deployments will use Verizon’s 5G network, which is live in 18 U.S. cities as well as 16 sporting and entertainment arenas. Verizon plans to expand its 5G network to more than 30 U.S. cities by the end of the year.