Bridge Alliance, TM Forum partner to simplify the edge for the global telecommunications industry

Collaboration to set industry standards on open APIs for multi-access edge computing (MEC)

Bridge Alliance, the mobile alliance covering 34 markets * and TM Forum, the industrial association dedicated to digital transformation through collaboration whose members cover 180 countries, have entered into a strategic partnership.

Their goal is to simplify the adoption of edge computing for global telecommunications companies, thereby accelerating digital transformation efforts and enabling them to capitalize on new business opportunities.

What is MEC used for?

MEC processes data closer to where it is generated instead of sending it to the cloud for applications such as cloud gaming, drones, robots, autonomous vehicles, and augmented and virtual reality (AR) applications. / VR).

Bridge Alliance and its member telecom operators * will adopt the TM Forum Open APIs to provide open, transparent and accessible CEMs at scale. This plan will pave the way for MEC’s ​​interoperability and standardization globally.

Operators could develop MEC to build capacity in areas such as location-based services and optimize content storage and distribution closer to their customers for faster response times.

The idea is that they will also be in a better position to develop mutually beneficial partnerships with hyperscalers.

Support programs

Bridge Alliance conducts proof of concept and live deployments of MEC services through its Federated Edge Hub which connects MEC platforms across its member operators.

This enables them to integrate their respective edge platforms and provide on-demand edge IT services regionally to support their customers.

TM Forum explores the challenges of integration, interoperability and service management associated with MEC through its open APIs and Catalyst Rapid Proof of Concept Program.

TM Forum has more than 850 member companies – including the world’s 10 largest network and communications providers – providing services and equipment in 180 countries.

* Bridge Alliance is a mobile alliance for major operators and their customers in Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa. The members and partners of Bridge Alliance are: Airtel (India, Sri Lanka and Airtel subsidiaries in Africa: Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Kenya, Malawi, Madagascar, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia), AIS (Thailand), China Telecom (China), China Unicom (China), CSL Mobile (Hong Kong), CTM (Macao), Globe Telecom (Philippines), Maxis (Malaysia), Metfone (Cambodia), MobiFone (Vietnam), Optus (Australia), Singtel (Singapore), SK Telecom (South Korea), stc (Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait), SoftBank Corp. (Japan), Taiwan Mobile (Taiwan) and Telkomsel (Indonesia).