Ericsson and Telstra are developing a 5G edge computing enterprise system with an extension into the hybrid cloud space. This collaboration could unlock potential use cases in agriculture, IoT, enterprise branch services and smart cities.

The two companies plan to collaborate to develop an enterprise edge cloud developed specifically for the Telstra domain. This collaboration builds on the 2019 announcement between Ericsson, Telstra and an Australian financial institution to trial 5G edge computing technologies for the financial services sector.

This partnership could help drive innovation across industries by developing technology to enable seamless orchestration, network exposure and service assurance. These capabilities will help make possible consumption-based interfaces between cloud providers and the Telstra network.

With agile, enterprise-tuned network services across its network, Telstra should be able to promote enhanced services for enterprise customers.

The enterprise edge cloud is expected to be delivered within months and act as a catalyst for the development of a reusable and open framework. With this, the Telstra network will be able to cater to unique user needs, where network services can be offered either on the edge or on-premise.

Emilio Romeo, head of Ericsson in Australia and New Zealand, said: “With this extended partnership with Telstra into enterprise edge cloud, we continue to push the boundaries of technological innovation, bringing the benefits of 5G and edge to enterprises, while supporting Telstra to create new services across its network.”

Ericsson and Telstra will continue to explore technologies for various industries over the coming months. These industries could benefit from repeatable design and orchestration of edge computing’s foundational capabilities for use cases with high requirements on scalability, security, availability, low latency and bandwidth.

“We’re pleased to be working with Ericsson to develop this enterprise edge cloud,” said Nikos Katinakis, Telstra group executive. “This is a natural progression from last year’s trial around 5G edge computing and will serve as a framework for us to bring the benefits of 5G to the hands of Australians. It also paves the way for future use cases into other industries, such as agriculture and manufacturing. As the 5G rollout continues across Australia, harnessing edge computing will enable us to tap into the potential of 5G technology, ensuring that Australia and our customers remain at the cutting edge of mobile technology.”

The companies hope that enterprise use cases for agriculture, industrial IoT, enterprise branch connectivity services and smart cities could unlock the potential of innovation by bringing more services to users.