Dell Technologies Inc. is stepping up its push into 5G and the network edge today, partnering with the Korean telecommunications provider SK Telecom Co. Ltd. and VMware Inc. to improve content delivery and application experiences.

The idea is to remove the complex network path between devices and the location where data is hosted, the companies said. To do this, they’re partnering on an initiative called OneBox MEC, which is billed as a single box multi-edge computing approach that will deliver simple, integrated and private 5G and edge computing.

Edge computing concerns data produced by mobile devices is processed closer to its source instead of sending it across long routes to data centers or clouds. Traditionally, devices collect data and send it all to a data center or cloud for processing. By processing data onsite, it’s possible to reduce backhaul traffic to the central repository, resulting in much lower latency.

The OneBox MEC platform will be based on the Dell EMC PowerEdge XE2420 server that will provide high performance, data-intensive, low latency services at the edge. It will be built on SK Telecom’s existing 5GX MEC software, while VMware will throw in its Telco Cloud Platform.

Dell said OneBox MEC is aimed at network providers and system integrators and will enable new 5G and edge computing capabilities, simplifying deployment and operations and delivering reliable and predictable performance with low latency and secure connectivity.

Latency is a bigger problem than most people realize, Dell said. In a STL Partners study commissioned by Dell, SK Telecom, VMware and Intel Corp., it was found that 40% of enterprises reported issues with the latency of their existing networking systems. Meanwhile, 61% of in-hospital patient monitoring systems reported performance issues, and 45% said they were also concerned about reliability.

“Dell Technologies has worked closely with VMware and SK Telecom to develop cloud-native solutions and completed proofs of concept deployments designed to optimize 5G and edge computing content delivery and user experience,” David Trigg, Dell’s vice president of market development, said in a statement. “With this collaboration, we will deliver 5G-enabled edge computing solutions, to give enterprises new options to quickly act on data where it resides.”

Dell has been building out its 5G and edge capabilities for some time. In 2019 it announced it was partnering with AT&T Inc. to build open-source 5G networks for edge computing centers.

Then in November last year, it announced a partnership with Fedex Corp. and Switch Inc. to create multiple “technology hubs” across the U.S. that will provide the necessary compute, storage and connectivity resources for clients that want to process data at the edge. Dell said the hubs will be built using a combination of Dell’s cloud infrastructure and Switch’s edge data center technology, and placed strategically in secure FedEx locations around the U.S. in order to provide nationwide coverage.

Analyst Holger Mueller of Constellation Research Inc. said the race to 5G is really about telecommunications providers upgrading their backend infrastructure to enable the superior performance expected of 5G devices.

“Dell is doing this with a custom platform to run SK Telecom’s 5G platform, which will only really appeal to that company’s customers and prospects,” Mueller said. “More interesting than the platform is that this documents better than anything else the tremendous revenue potential for 5G.”

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