MEC VS Edge computing

As the world becomes increasingly connected, the business landscape is fast evolving. Experts say that the COVID-19 pandemic has forced organisations to deliver digital experience and is likely to have transformed consumer behaviour forever^1.

From a shift to remote working to a surge in e-commerce shopping, businesses will have to adapt fast to deliver the best experiences and provide customers with instant access to information. To be able to do so, they can utilise a new network architecture that delivers low latency for applications, while reducing the cost of delivering data.

Multi-access edge computing (MEC), built on the edge computing network architecture model, will become the launchpad where enterprises can harness the full potential of 5G. This will help to spur the development of next-gen technologies including IoT, immersive experiences and AI-powered intelligence.

Powering the delivery of 5G, MEC and edge computing are opening new and exciting opportunities across various industries including transportation, manufacturing and retail.

While MEC and edge computing are closely related, they have important distinctions.

Edge computing is a model (or a concept) that brings technology resources, such as compute and storage, closer to the end-user where the data is being generated. These locations can include the industrial premises of your customers, the base of cell towers, smart homes, retail stores and even automated vehicles.

Edge computing provides a whole host of benefits that comes from this data localisation, significantly reducing the distance where information has to travel. This helps to deliver lower latency, faster data processing and bandwidth savings on the customer’s network.

MEC is the practical application of edge computing that provides an environment for cloud-computing capabilities at the edge of the service provider’s network, closer to the user.

That means data can be processed as close as possible to the source where the data is being generated, achieving the benefits of edge computing such as lower latency, reduced data bottlenecks and higher bandwidth. With MEC, businesses will be able to enjoy greater data performance and faster processing together with storage cost savings from the localisation of data.

The MEC architecture also helps to enhance the capabilities and functionality of networks including 5G to allow businesses to develop groundbreaking applications.

5G is poised to deliver ultra-fast mobile data speeds of over 1Gbps with extremely low latency coupled with network reliability.

With MEC, these benefits are magnified as data can now be collected, analysed and utilised locally without the need to connect to the cloud. This enables ultra-low latency with super-fast data transmission that is needed to develop and operate the next wave of interactive applications².

With MEC & 5G, enterprises will be able to develop:

From AR to VR retail shopping experiences, brands will be able to create seamless, customised shopping experiences. This is an area of essential development for a world that is used to learning, working and shopping from home.

Through the combination of 5G & MEC, companies will be able to develop realistic environments with applications from low latency VR gaming experiences to immersive business meetings and remote repair services.

5G allows for effective IoT deployments to become a reality where huge amounts of data can be harnessed, stored and analysed in real-time.

This allows companies to fully embrace IoT to develop better solutions and experiences for their customers as well as gain deeper insights to optimise business operations from the data collected.

Next-gen security monitoring will require 5G capabilities in order to transmit huge amounts of data without putting a big strain on traffic load.

Individual cameras will be able to handle and process the data generated on the spot without the need to travel to and back from the cloud. Utilising the combination of MEC and 5G, analysis can be conducted on the stop to help identify threats in real-time for immediate action.

Manufacturers will be able to integrate performance tracking capabilities with IoT and advanced robotics while handling the huge data load in near real-time. This allows for the rapid deployment of agile smart factories. Manufacturers will also be able to swiftly detect faults and adjust schedules autonomously.

Utilising MEC & 5G, companies can develop and deploy groundbreaking applications in a variety of environments from on-premises to the cloud such as Microsoft Azure.

Powered by MEC and edge computing, 5G is set to unlock exciting revenue opportunities for businesses across multiple industries, giving developers the capabilities to develop truly groundbreaking technologies and solutions.

Singtel’s 5G edge compute infrastructure allows Microsoft Azure customers to cost-effectively access the benefits of 5G and MEC. This means providing the ability for real-time data analysis, private connectivity and ultra-low latency to applications in the Azure cloud.

Singapore is on track to roll out 5G by 2025^3. Looking to harness the capabilities of 5G? Contact us today.

¹ McKinsey, How COVID-19 is changing consumer behavior—now and forever, July 2020.

² CNA, Ultra-fast speeds and super-low latencies: Unlocking the future with Singtel 5G, November 2020.

³ IMDA, Singapore on track to develop vibrant 5G ecosystem, underpinned by a world-class, secure and resilient 5G infrastructure, June 2020.