Vapor IO Brings Edge Monetization to Cellnex in Europe Using AWS Outposts

Vapor IO, developers of the Kinetic Grid platform, the world’s first Open Grid network for delivering edge services, and Cellnex are working with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to bring AWS Outposts to Cellnex’s carrier-neutral edge data centers. The AWS Outposts will be capable of hosting edge services that integrate with AWS Regions and will be available first in Barcelona, Spain.

Enterprises and cloud technology providers looking for a seamless way to extend their applications to the edge can use familiar AWS services in an edge environment while also connecting back to the AWS Regions. Bringing AWS’ proven and familiar services to the Kinetic Grid creates a faster path to monetization of edge services for telecom service providers and mobile network operators.

“Building applications that extend from the core to the edge has never been easier,” said Cole Crawford, Founder and CEO of Vapor IO. “The new AWS Outposts are the perfect form factors for edge deployments. They are self-contained and remotely manageable, creating a performant operating environment for applications that use AWS services. Developers that build AWS-based applications at the core can now extend those skills all the way to the edge.”

In January of this year, Vapor IO and Cellnex announced their partnership to bring Vapor IO’s Kinetic Grid to Europe. The first European Kinetic Grid is currently being deployed in Barcelona and extends the reach of the 36 markets already served by Vapor IO’s Kinetic Grid in the United States. Via its partnership with Cellnex, Vapor IO plans to expand throughout Europe over the next couple of years thanks to the vast infrastructure for digital services that Cellnex currently operates.

Bringing AWS Outposts into Cellnex’s digital infrastructure with Vapor IO’s Kinetic Grid environment can improve the delivery of new, monetizable services by allowing for local processing on AWS Outposts. This makes it possible to reduce data traffic towards the core of the wireless and fiber networks while enhancing the ability to meet data residency requirements, making it possible to develop stable, low latency services that leverage familiar AWS services. Some of the anticipated commercial use cases include real-time computer vision for public safety, smart retail, industrial robotics, autonomous vehicles, medical imaging and online gaming. Moreover, the project will aid the efficient deployment of virtualized radio access network technology (Open RAN or vRAN).

Cellnex has made available a portfolio of small, carrier-neutral edge data centers and tower ground space for hosting Vapor IO’s Kinetic Grid and fully integrated AWS Outposts. In addition, several fiber routes, provided by Cellnex and/or Cellnex’s mobile network operator customers, can interconnect these edge Outposts creating a “grid” of edge nodes.

Vapor IO’s global Kinetic Grid platform is designed to support highly distributed edge locations to deliver next generation internet and communications capabilities to metropolitan regions. The company’s networking and automation software combines data centers, software defined networks and hyperscale backbones into a platform for hosting edge services at scale. Designed to support the world’s largest wireless carriers, cloud providers, web-scale companies and other innovative enterprises, Vapor IO’s Kinetic Grid combines neutral-host points-of-presence, software-defined interconnection and high-speed networking to deliver a highly distributed Internet and communications platform at the edge of the wired and wireless networks.

Eduardo Fichmann, Director of Global Product Strategy and Innovation at Cellnex noted, “Edge computing is more a question of when than why, and working with Vapor IO to host and integrate AWS Outposts into Europe’s first truly integrated core-to-edge, carrier-neutral Kinetic Grid environment will appeal to developers and service providers. Using Vapor IO’s Kinetic Grid platform and co-locating AWS Outposts with operator equipment at the towers or edge data centers will give rise to new revenue growth for the company. The familiarity and proven scalability of AWS services will help accelerate the deployment of applications and services that require computing in places physically closer to the end user.”