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Singtel and Optus expand 5G ecosystem play via AWS Outposts

Designed to allow customers to develop low latency 5G solutions
Bill Chang (Singtel)

Bill Chang (Singtel)

Singtel and Optus have unveiled plans to expand 5G ecosystem capabilities to enterprise and start-up customers in Singapore and Australia, rolling out Amazon Web Services (AWS) Outposts to drive digital transformation adoption.

The move is designed to allow customers to develop low latency 5G solutions via multi-access edge compute (MEC) infrastructures, leveraging Outposts to allow robotics, drones, autonomous vehicles and artificial intelligence offerings to operate at ultra-low latency.

“We’re pleased to work with a world-class cloud provider like AWS to expand Singtel’s and Optus’ 5G ecosystems and increase the adoption of edge computing by enterprises and start-ups,” said Bill Chang, CEO of Group Enterprise at Singtel.

“Our 5G ecosystems of partners, including global cloud providers, technology providers, device manufacturers and apps developers, provides an essential one-stop hub for enterprises’ and start-ups’ 5G and edge computing needs.”

As both Singtel and Optus prepare to launch 5G offerings in Singapore and Australia, Chang - recently inducted into the Channel Asia Hall of Fame - said the technology giant is committed to deepening collaboration with AWS to expand further across the wider region.

“This will enhance our portfolio of 5G edge computing apps to empower enterprises with the means to accelerate their digital transformation,” he added.

First launched in December 2019, Outposts allows service providers to operate the full suite of AWS tools and services on-premises.

Meanwhile, MEC via Outposts can be accessed from the closest Singtel site to help businesses operate applications that use AWS tools and require ultra-low latency data processing. Singtel can also deploy MEC with Outposts to the customer’s location for trials involving confidential data that the end-user prefers to retain on-premises.

According to Phil Davis - managing director of Asia Pacific and Japan at AWS - the alliance will also help “unlock the potential of 5G networks”.

“AWS Outposts will provide the underlying compute and storage for Singtel’s and Optus’ 5G MEC infrastructures, allowing their customers to develop applications that require ultra-low latencies over the 5G network to support use cases such as machine learning inference at the edge, smart cities and smart factories, and autonomous vehicles,” he explained.