Edge Data Centres draw major investments as India moves closer to 5G rollout

• Edge Data Centres help telcos provide faster performance and lower latency.
• NxtGen Datacenter and Cloud Technologies to set up 236 edge data centres across India.
• Indian government PSU — RailTel to establish 102 Edge Data Centres.

India’s 5G plans finally seem like taking shape as the Indian government has already announced the complete ecosystem of 5G networks. While there is so much going on in the 5G sector, one big development is the ‘Edge Data Centres’ that are said to provide a better user experience and aid in the adoption of digital services.

The Indian government PSU RailTel is likely to establish 102 edge data centres in tier- 2 and tier-3 towns. NxtGen Datacenter and Cloud Technologies have promised to set up 236 edge data centres.

As the name suggests edge data centres are located at the edge of the network. These are small facilities located close to the nearby public area. An edge data centre is set up to deliver cloud computing resources and cached content to the end-users. The two are responsible for providing faster performance and lower latency as it eliminates the need to move the data from distant data centres to process it. Eventually giving end users a faster, stable and more responsive network.

Edge data centres are connected to larger data centres and multiple data centres. They are responsible for processing the data close to the origin. As processing takes place close to the end-users, network services are delivered faster and with minimal latency, as mentioned. This allows 5G telecom service providers to offer a better customer experience.

Edge data centres are in focus for the 5G boom
RailTel, Central Government PSU has decided to create edge data centres across 102 locations, especially in tier-2 and tier-3 towns. This activity will entail an investment opportunity of around ₹500 crores. RailTel is one of the largest neutral telecom infrastructure providers in India that owns a countrywide Optical Fiber Cable (OFC) network of over 60,000 RKM along the Railway track. This investment opportunity and initiative of RailTel will boost the Digital India mission of the Indian government.

NxtGen Datacenter and Cloud Technologies is also ready to invest ₹1300 crore to set up 236 edge data centres in India by the first quarter of 2022-23. The company’s CEO & MD, A.S. Rajgopal said they are looking forward to developing new facilities in Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, and Chennai. Presently, the company has four edge data centres in Faridabad, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Ahmedabad.

This move is also looked at as another important step towards digital transformation. In addition, it will provide opportunities for skilled manpower with job opportunities in the sector.

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is about to complete its trials for the 5G spectrum. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is also working parallelly to make sure the auction process of 5G goes out soon.

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