Bell Canada and Google Cloud have announced the expansion of their partnership with Bell’s deployment of Google Distributed Cloud Edge in its network.
This is the world’s first implementation of core network functions on Google Distributed Cloud Edge, a fully managed product that brings Google Cloud’s infrastructure and services closer to where the data is being generated and consumed.
This advancement builds on Bell and Google Cloud’s strategic partnership, announced in 2021, to combine Bell’s 5G network leadership with Google Cloud’s expertise in multi-cloud, data analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI), and to enable Bell to drive operational efficiencies, and deliver better customer experiences. In addition, the companies are working together to explore how 5G and mobile edge computing can power new opportunities across industries including manufacturing, healthcare, retail and government.
With this new solution, Bell says it is able to reimagine its network to drive several key outcomes, including:
- Scale: As data consumption reached record highs during the pandemic and continues to remain at new, higher levels, Bell is transforming into a multi-cloud network with Google Distributed Cloud as one of the key components in this transformation.
- Efficiency: By combining both Google Cloud’s and Bell’s expertise in data analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, Bell says it is able to better automate and orchestrate its workflows and networks, running at higher capacity with less effort and more locations than ever before.
- Innovation: With an open hardware and software approach, flexible cloud-native network, and API-driven environment, this partnership allows Bell to drive new business opportunities and bring the solutions to market faster.
- Flexibility: With the deployment of Google Distributed Cloud Edge, Bell has the flexibility to deploy core network functions like 5G and others in a variety of different architectures, while optimizing for cost and performance.
”Bell is building a network of the future that will scale up to embrace the demands of 5G-enabled applications, and additionally enable us to offer these capabilities to innovative 3rd party application providers who want to tap into 5G networks,” said Petri Lyytikainen, vice-president of network, Bell. “Our partnership with Google Cloud and our work with Google Distributed Cloud Edge will help us accelerate our cloud transformation journey.”