Google pushes deeper into telecom industry with 5G partnership

The deal shows Silicon Valley’s growing role in managing the networks that underpin the Internet, not just the data that runs through them. It also underscores how a medley of businesses are jostling for slices of the nascent 5G wireless market. — AFP

Google will bring its cloud services closer to customers using 5G wireless equipment built by Ericsson AB, stamping its mark on a business that was once the sole preserve of phone companies.

The US tech giant and the Swedish company struck a partnership to offer cloud computing for time-sensitive applications such as robotics and virtual reality that will only work when the digital signal travels over a short distance.