Recently, the "2022 China Cloud-Network-Intelligence Conference," themed "Cloud-Network Intelligence: Building the Foundation of the Digital Economy," was successfully held. During the conference, the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT), along with industry partners such as China Mobile, China Telecom, China Unicom, and Huawei, jointly released the "Best Practices White Paper on Edge Computing." The white paper focuses on the technical roadmap for edge computing implementation and systematically addresses various challenges encountered in the process. It provides significant technical references for clarifying the development direction of edge computing technology and enhancing the edge computing technology system.
With the accelerated commercialization of 5G, the edge computing industry has transitioned from a phase of conceptual hype to a period of rapid development. Both the supply and demand sides of the industry have begun to vigorously promote the commercial deployment of edge computing products. By 2025, edge computing is expected to have a market size exceeding trillions, handling more than 75% of various business data. Currently, telecommunications operators are in a leading position within the edge computing industry. The deployment and application of 5G networks can meet the mobility requirements of business terminals and the low-latency requirements for business message transmission, making most edge application scenarios practical.
The white paper highlights that to fully leverage the advantages of 5G networks—high bandwidth, low latency, and massive connectivity—and to foster the development of vertical industries and edge computing services, both networks and services are increasingly "shifting downward" This shift is moving from relatively centralized, large-scale data centers to the edges at municipal, district, and county levels and below. This trend also introduces new requirements for edge computing infrastructure, the general capabilities of platforms, operations and maintenance, cloud-edge collaboration, and security.
The white paper provides a detailed analysis of the feasible models for the large-scale commercial promotion of edge computing and shares typical application cases. For instance, it includes the industry's first multi-plant 5G+MEC industrial internet private network project, a collaboration between China Unicom, Daiwa Thermal and Magnetic, and Huawei. Another example is the nation's first 5G+ shared MEC cloud-edge integrated smart factory, jointly developed by Huzhou Mobile, Zhejiang Jiuli Special Materials Technology Co., Ltd., and Huawei. Additionally, there is the 5G+ smart factory demonstration project created by Suzhou Mobile and Hengtong Group, as well as China Mobile, CATL, and Huawei's 5G enterprise private network, which boasts the largest coverage area in the country and is based on 5G dedicated lines and exclusive MEC.
The white paper concludes with a call to action for all industry stakeholders to strengthen open collaboration. It advocates for the advancement of MEC industry development driven by 5G technological innovation, empowering the digital and intelligent transformation across various sectors, and jointly creating an intelligent, fully connected world.
