Verizon hopes Nvidia will give it the edge in private 5G

Called 5G Private Network with Enterprise AI, it's a blend of the US telco's wireless and mobile edge compute (MEC) solutions and Nvidia's AI enterprise software and NIM microservices. The result is real-time, on-premises AI that can offer new degrees of efficiency and automation.

Cutting edge stuff, and presumably quite expensive too, what with the combination of on-premises cloud, private cellular networking and Nvidia-powered AI workloads. This is probably one for large, campus-sized customers, rather than plucky start-ups.

Whatever the shape or size of the intended customer, they will be able to get their first glimpse of 5G Private Network with Enterprise AI next February, when Verizon engineers are slated to begin demoing it.

"Generative AI, with its predictive capabilities, is poised to be a critical component of digital transformation and future business growth in almost all industries," said Srini Kalapala, SVP of technology and product development at Verizon. "We're leveraging our network's unique strengths including private networks and Verizon's global industry leadership in private MEC, combined with Nvidia's AI compute capabilities to enable real-time AI applications that require security, ultra-low latency, and high bandwidth.

“Our ongoing investment in our network infrastructure means we're uniquely positioned to deliver these powerful AI services at scale, driving the digital transformation and fuelling the future growth of businesses worldwide."

To drive home its point, Verizon cited stats from a PwC study that found 75% of business executives considered AI a business advantage and were either already using it or planning to do so. The telco also quoted a McKinsey survey that revealed 50% of companies had adopted AI in at least one business function, with 71% planning to expand AI use in the near future.

"Enterprises everywhere are racing to integrate AI solutions that bring new value to their employees, partners and customers, and can also help them operate with extreme efficiency," said Ronnie Vasishta, SVP of telecom at Nvidia. "Verizon's integration of Nvidia's full stack AI platform into its new solution for running AI workloads on private 5G networks is a big step forward in helping enterprises of all sizes reach their business objectives faster with AI."

AI hype aside, the launch also coincides with the accelerating take-up of private 5G. According to a recent ABI Research forecast, the private 5G market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 63% between now and the end of the decade. That compares to a more sedate rate of 21%for the more mature distributed antenna system (DAS) market.

ABI predicts that private 5G is on course to becoming a $19.4 billion market by 2029, while the DAS market will be worth $44.2 billion.

Those that can enhance their private networking portfolio – like Verizon has with Nvidia – are more likely to capture a greater share of that value.