NTT Limited Edge as a Service Platform Simplifies Global Connectivity and Edge Infrastructure

While there’s been plenty of activity around digital transformation in recent years, including in the Internet of Things (IOT) arena, enterprises have struggled to cobble together all the components required for effective applications that reach from the cloud to the edge. That’s especially true for global companies with IOT and other applications they want to deploy in numerous countries.

At Upgrade 2023, a pair of executives from NTT Limited presented a solution: Edge as a Service. Parm Sandhu, VP of Enterprise 5G Products and Services for NTT Limited, explained the Edge as a Service platform pulls together all the components required to support edge applications.

“We brought together connectivity, the core computing platforms, as well as the application management and AI analytics platforms so [companies] can achieve the goals that they want to achieve,” Sandhu said. Because the platform is offered on an as-a-service basis, it spares companies all the typical up-front capital expense involved in building out their own edge infrastructure.

In terms of hardware, the platform includes hyper-converged computing infrastructure to bring high-performance computing to the edge in what is essentially a micro data center. On top of that sits applications including AI analytics, data aggregation, and a multi-cloud management stack.

For connectivity, the platform offers NTT’s Private 5G Network service to connect to devices and low latency applications at the edge in more than 20 countries.

“What we provide essentially is global cellular connectivity,” said Romain Durand, Research and Innovation Director for NTT-Transatel. He is also co-founder of Transatel, which NTT acquired about 4 years ago.

NTT has created an abstraction layer, dubbed Mobile Virtual Network Operation (MVNO), to mobile networks worldwide, in effect making the company a virtual global network provider. 

“We have signed access agreements with more than 190 operators,” Durand said. “So, we are almost covering all the world.”

To connect devices, Transatel developed virtual SIM technology, or e-SIM, that obviates the need to install a hardware SIM in each device. Car manufacturers, for example, use it to support applications ranging from autonomous driving and maintenance to in-car entertainment services.  

Airbus uses the technology to collect data during flights, then upload it to the cloud upon landing to support predictive maintenance applications for its planes, he said. It’s all done while adhering to strict security requirements.

“They were very happy to find one partner that could do it at a global scale and not only in one country or one region,” Durand said.

Ubigi, a brand of Transatel, which is a member of NTT Group, offers a consumer version of the e-Sim technology that enables travelers to connect their devices at rates far less expensive than they’d typically pay to the likes of AT&T or Verizon in roaming fees.