AWS for Industries

Verizon and AWS deliver mobile edge computing to customers in Boston and the Bay Area

Less than a year after Hans Vestberg, Verizon CEO, and Andy Jassy, AWS CEO, took the stage in Las Vegas at AWS re:Invent, we’re excited to share that 5G mobile edge compute is live for developers with AWS Wavelength at Verizon’s 5G Edge in Boston and the Bay Area. Starting today, developers and enterprises can build entirely new categories of applications. And we’re not done yet. Verizon and AWS have committed to launching 5G Edge in more cities by the end of 2020.

AWS Wavelength embeds AWS compute and storage services at the 5G Edge to enable applications with ultra-low latencies, and support use cases such as inference at the edge, autonomous industrial equipment, connected cars, smart cities, and smart factories, Internet of Things (IoT), and live and interactive video and game streaming. Verizon is the first in the world to partner with AWS to offer 5G network edge computing with AWS Wavelength.

From a technical perspective, Wavelength extends AWS infrastructure to Verizon’s networks by embedding AWS compute and storage services in Verizon’s data centers, at service access points on the edge of the 5G network. This enables traffic to reach application servers running in Wavelength Zones without leaving the mobile network, reducing the latency that would result from multiple hops to the Internet, and helping developers start to unlock the potential of 5G for their applications.

Getting started is easy. With just an AWS account, you can deploy your 5G applications in Wavelength Zones and seamlessly connect to applications and services in AWS Regions. Wavelength offers you the flexibility to scale up or scale down, and pay only for the resources that you use. Simply log-in to the AWS Management Console, request access at https://aws.amazon.com/wavelength/, and enable the Wavelength Zones you want to use for your account.

Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network is built for transformative experiences that can improve how we live, work and play. For example, 5G Ultra Wideband enables throughput that will be at least 10 times faster than 4G–up to ten gigabits per second; delivers ultra-low latency; offers very high bandwidth, with 100 times larger data volumes than 4G; and the ability to connect more than a million devices per kilometer.

We’re already seeing customers innovating in industries as varied as healthcare, entertainment, manufacturing, and sports. For example, Avesha, which pioneered an edge-based AI inferencing system and the world’s first network-based real-time machine learning polyp detection platform, is working with several hospitals to test machine learning inference at the edge using Wavelength and Verizon 5G to assist doctors in real-time detection and identification of  benign and potentially malignant polyps in real-time. Now, instead of running expensive on premises servers, hospitals can use the power of the cloud with GPUs available over 5G for ultra-low latency inference on video streams. Traditionally, machine learning inference on streamed video and imagery data required having a dedicated server with a GPU in the procedure room. If the system is not fast enough to keep pace with the endoscopic procedure, it could miss identifying polyps. But now, the Avesha platform is able to connect the procedure room with the inference models on high-performance GPUs at the cloud edge and the cloud backend that continuously updates the models, resulting in low latency performance with very high accuracy.

”Identifying polyps is difficult. Machine learning inference is an invaluable tool to help physicians make that diagnosis, but it requires near-real time analysis, comparing a live video feed to a dataset of several hundred thousand polyps,” said Raj Nair, acting CEO of Avesha. “AWS Wavelength on Verizon’s 5G Edge provides that intelligence to doctors during the exam improving the patient experience and potential outcomes, and fundamentally changing the diagnostic process.”

In the world of sports, ShotTracker is testing how its sensor-based technology can transform the game of basketball when computing is done at the 5G Edge. Its system delivers more than 70 unique and autonomous basketball stats and requires millisecond latency to provide teams, broadcasters, and game partners with instant analytics. 5G and AWS Wavelength will speed up the process and allow ShotTracker to layer more data, stats, and analysis — in real time — for teams, broadcasters, and fans. 5G provides the super-fast network connection and the ability to collect even more data from even more sensors, and compute at the edge means that data and things like comparative stats, can be available at the edge so analysis is near-instantaneous.

”In sports, seconds matter – it can be the difference between winning and losing – that’s why we are excited about the potential of ultra-low latency provided by AWS Wavelength and Verizon 5G Edge,” said Davyeon Ross, co-founder and president of ShotTracker. “Access to 5G and Edge compute unlocks unprecedented speeds and data access that will revolutionize how our data is consumed.”

We invite you to join Avesha, ShotTracker, LG, Sony, Tata Consultancy Services, Summit Tech, and Edgegap, along with a growing list of innovators on the journey with us to improve how we live, work, and play.

For more information on AWS Wavelength visit: https://aws.amazon.com/wavelength/ and for more information about Verizon 5G Edge visit: https://enterprise.verizon.com/business/learn/edge-computing/.

Other resources:

<Link to Avesha video>

<Link to Shot Tracker video>

<https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/compute/deploying-your-first-5g-enabled-application-with-aws-wavelength>

Matt Garman

Matt Garman

Matt Garman joined Amazon in 2006, is currently the Vice President of the Worldwide Sales and Marketing organization in Amazon Web Services (AWS), and also sits on Amazon’s executive leadership S-Team. He has held several leadership positions in AWS over that time. Matt previously served as Vice President of the Amazon EC2 and Compute Services businesses for AWS for over 10 years. Matt was responsible for P&L, product management, and engineering and operations for all compute and storage services in AWS. He started at Amazon when AWS first launched in 2006 and served as one of the first product managers, helping to launch the initial set of AWS services. Prior to Amazon, he spent time in product management roles at early stage Internet startups. Matt earned a BS and MS in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University, and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Tami Erwin

Tami Erwin

Tami Erwin is executive vice president and CEO of Verizon Business Group. She is widely recognized for her strategic impact, marketing and operations focus, technical savvy, and passion for people. As CEO of Verizon Business Group, a $30B+ business with over 26,000 employees that would be among the Fortune 30 if it was a separate entity, she and her teams deliver mission critical solutions to businesses worldwide and operates America’s most reliable wireless network and premier all-fiber network. Tami helps businesses, government, and communities connect to the global economy with intelligent edge solutions and prepare for digital transformation, innovation, and accelerated growth in the 5G era.