The idea is to use Verizon’s on-site 5G Edge network integrated with Azure edge services so that it can enable ultra-low latency which can help businesses tap into real time data analysis and delivery.

Applications incorporating computer vision, augmented, mixed and virtual reality, digital twins or machine learning can be enhanced with 5G and MEC on the customer premise, helping transform the way industries such as retail, transportation, and logistics operate.

This could open the door for automated high-precision asset localisation, tracking and positioning in manufacturing. In healthcare, the increased speed, reduced latency and high bandwidth connectivity of 5G networks could enable real-time precision medicine using mixed reality and AI capabilities as well as seamless and fast sharing of large files to improve patient care.

Verizon EVP and Chief Strategy Officer Rima Qureshi said: “By bringing together Verizon’s 5G network and on-site 5G Edge platform with Microsoft’s expertise in cloud services, we will enable the development of the next generation technologies everyone has been envisioning.”