Welcome to the Netrality News Roundup!
We’ve selected key articles on the latest news, developments, innovations and revelations in the colocation data center industry.
Don’t miss our bi-weekly news roundups to learn what’s going on with colocation, edge computing, and the brave new world of hybrid cloud, 5G, IoT, artificial intelligence, smart cities, virtual reality, and other technologies at the edge!
Verizon to double the number of cities with its 5G mobile service this year
Aaron Pressman, Fortune
“Verizon plans to double the number of cities covered by its superfast 5G wireless network by the end of the year while expanding coverage in the areas where it already has service.
Verizon is racing against rivals AT&T and T-Mobile to expand 5G coverage across the country, which can provide downloads 10 to 100-times faster than the average speed of current 4G LTE networks. For now, their coverage is limited, with T-Mobile providing service in the largest geographic area, but at slower speeds than competitors.”
The deployment of 5G is going to be a rocky road. We don’t yet know how rocky, but the journey from 4G to 5G is unlike any other previous upgrades. 5G has many promises, but its latency and processing requirements are simply too much for our current infrastructure to support on a large scale. The technology will have to be supported by interconnected data centers to support 5G’s speed, bandwidth and processing demands.
New edge AI chips promise IoT devices that won’t need the cloud
Chaim Gartenberg, The Verge
“Edge AI is one of the biggest trends in chip technology. These are chips that run AI processing on the edge — or, in other words, on a device without a cloud connection. Apple recently bought a company that specializes in it, Google’s Coral initiative is meant to make it easier, and chipmaker ARM has already been working on it for years…ARM intends for the chips to be used to develop new Internet of Things devices, bringing AI processing to more devices that otherwise wouldn’t have those capabilities.”
The ability to equip more IoT devices with AI means the proliferation of edge computing will only accelerate, requiring direct connections as close to users as possible. Local interconnected data centers are becoming a standard requirement for many technologies and industries.
InsuranceNews.net
“US Signal, a leading data center services provider, has released its ‘2020 State of Data Center Offerings’ survey. The study, which consisted of data derived from 110 U.S.-based IT decision-makers, revealed that security and compliance, backup and disaster recovery, and network availability are the top factors for the majority of surveyed companies when choosing a third-party edge data center provider…The survey went on to show that a substantial 91% of respondents were likely to select a data center provider that was located close to their users.”
Over 90% of respondents would prefer to connect to a data center located close to their users. Not only is colocation designed for processing data at the edge of the network as close to users as possible, but it is also the superior choice for availability, security, and backup and disaster recovery.
Trump wants to double spending on AI, quantum computing
Angus Loten, Wall Street Journal
“The White House on Monday proposed roughly doubling non-defense R&D spending on artificial intelligence and quantum information sciences, citing fierce global competition, while cutting overall funding for R&D. Within the next two years, annual spending on AI would rise to more than $2 billion and funding for quantum computing would increase to $860 million, according to the White House plan.”
This is welcome news. The United States currently leads the world in R&D spending as a percentage of gross domestic product, and according to Deloitte, AI technology will “exert an enormous impact on economic development and the nature of work. It will also radically reshape the competitive dynamics of many industries. Because of this, many leaders believe that their countries’ futures hang in the balance.”
Uber’s self-driving cars allowed back on California roads
BBC News – Technology
This comes nearly two years after one of Uber’s self-driving cars was involved in a fatal crash in Arizona. Uber scaled back its autonomous car operations following the incident. Receiving a permit in California – which has granted permits to 65 other transport firms – is the latest step in Uber’s revival of the program.
California allows companies to test self-driving technology with a backup driver in the car. Before the fatal crash, Uber’s self-driving cars were being tested in four locations in North America – Phoenix, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Toronto.
The tragic loss of life in Arizona due to an autonomous vehicle accident illustrates just how nascent this technology is, and how crucial it will be to ensure the absolute fastest processing speeds and reaction times possible for the inevitable future of self-driving cars.
