Equinix, Inc. (Nasdaq: EQIX) has deployed a 5G and Edge Technology Development Center which includes a 5G network from Nokia to test and validate various 5G services and use cases.

The 5G and Edge Technology Development Center brings together select ecosystem participants to develop end-to-end edge solutions by providing a production-ready interconnection sandbox environment from the radio network to the cloud.

Mobile network operators (MNOs), cloud platforms, technology vendors and enterprises come together to test, demonstrate and accelerate complex 5G and edge scenarios.

Equinix Fabric will connect distributed infrastructure and digital ecosystems on Platform Equinix. Customers can establish data centre-to-data centre network connections on-demand between any two Equinix Fabric locations within a metro or globally via software-defined interconnection.

The Dallas-based 5G and Edge Technology Development Center will initially focus on mobile hybrid multi-cloud connectivity, network slicing, distributed artificial intelligence and machine learning, enablement and orchestration of infrastructure, augmented and virtual reality, and gaming use cases.

Sean Hemphill, VP Webscale Business at Nokia, said: “As we look to a future where 5G is ubiquitous, the way that IP traffic moves between networks around the world will change completely, and interconnected data centres will play a crucial role in this new 5G-dominated future.

“Equinix’s approach to digital infrastructure enables access to a large ecosystem of end-users and service providers. Nokia IP solutions underpin Equinix Fabric, providing seamless interconnection between its global data centres.”

Justin Dustzadeh, CTO, Equinix, added: “As companies develop new 5G technologies and services, they need a real-world environment to test and bring their concepts to life.  

“With Equinix’s rich ecosystem of service providers, partners and clouds, the 5G and Edge Technology Development Center is an ideal place to fully test their concepts in a real way, enabling them to bring new capabilities to market, accelerate adoption and deliver new revenue streams faster.”