Telstra announces 5G enabled edge computing

Bringing cloud, apps, data and analytics closer to Australian customers

Telstra has announced the availability of Telstra Edge, Australia’s first 5G enabled edge computing solution delivered by Telstra Purple. Telstra Edge enables enterprises to extend cloud services and data analytics to the edge of the network that can simplify operations and improve the performance, security and reliability of data intensive applications.

Telstra Edge is a catalyst for Telstra’s vision to deliver a sovereign and sustainable national computing fabric. The Telstra Edge fabric is the latest advance in distributed cloud computing providing the ability for customers to deploy applications and process data on site or in a central cloud.

Use cases such as Industry 4.0, autonomous vehicles, augmented and virtual reality solutions that are enabled by 5G demand low latency and high resiliency, security and data sovereignty. Telstra Edge delivers these capabilities by enabling apps and data analytics to be deployed closer to where data is created and where actions need to be taken. Some of the other benefits and capabilities of Telstra Edge are:-

  • Enabling a range of advanced video analytic use cases for customers in retail, manufacturing and local government to perform real-time analysis and insights for object recognition, safety, compliance and asset tracking.
  • Allowing Australian retailers to manage inventory and reduce loss while gaining increased insights to improve customer experience through near real-time analysis of video and point of sale data.
  • Assisting organisations to quickly and securely create pop-up and temporary sites supporting businesses with operations in remote locations.
  • Providing industry mobility which is particularly important in transportation and supply chain industries including emergency services.

“Telstra Edge converges the best of global compute with Australia’s largest mobile network bringing apps, data and AI closer to customers. Together with our partners Microsoft and Ericsson, we are enabling an expanding ecosystem of device, app, and AI developers to deliver Industry 4.0 innovation and immersive end-user experiences” said Angela Logothetis – Telstra Executive Group Owner for Edge, Cloud and Private Networks. “We make it easy to adopt edge computing by offering professional and consulting services from Telstra Purple. In addition, Telstra’s joint Venture with Quantium’s AI Solutions, is now bringing these capabilities to the edge.”

Telstra Edge has been developed in collaboration with global technology partners’ Microsoft and Ericsson . Initially released as a customer premises solution based on the Microsoft Azure Stack Edge, it brings together Telstra’s internet, 5G network services and security capabilities delivered and managed by Telstra Purple.

“Telstra’s customers can now leverage a complete set of Azure services and technology components from the broader Azure ecosystem to rapidly build, and deploy innovative solutions deployed at the edge – but managed centrally from the cloud.” said Shawn Hakl, Microsoft’s VP of 5G Strategy.

A platform for today’s digital network-centric world

In the latest “State of Cloud, Edge and Security I Australia 2022-23” Paper, Omdia is predicting that 92% of Australian enterprises expect to have edge solutions deployed within the next two years. This move is driven by the need of these organisations for lower latency, greater network efficiency, and better control over data for compliance reasons. Additionally, Australian businesses report that real-time data analytics enabling improved business decision-making, market assessment, and customer service is another key driver for edge adoption.

“Telstra Edge is the fabric we’ve developed to accelerate the transformation of a digital and sustainable Australia. Our product, our partners and our Purple people combine to Australian businesses move at the pace of today’s digital network-centric world,” added Angela. “This is just the beginning and we will continue to work with both customers and partners to further enhance capability and ensure that it’s ready for what the future holds for Australia.

Visit The Telstra Edge site for further information.