Tech giant Google has announced that its Cloud Networking edge computing platform will support private cellular networks in its managed offering, giving enterprises more flexibility and control over their infrastructure.

This new addition brings Google into the same league as other big-name cloud providers such as Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure, which already offer private cellular network services to clients. With this move, Google is in a prime position to capture much of the market that AWS and Azure have already built up over the past few years in this emerging space.

The company will offer 4G LTE cellular network connectivity in 16 countries through partners that include Verizon, Ericsson, Nokia, and others who already have agreements with mobile carriers worldwide.

Google Cloud's Edge offering uses software-defined networking to combine distributed base stations with fog computing, which can be run on standard servers, combined with Google's cloud services, such as its App Engine, Cloud Storage and Big Query.

The company hopes to address the challenges faced when deploying scaled edges through partnerships with independent software vendors.

With the help of these vendors, Google aims to test-run and utilize new edge use cases in its cloud environment and at the edge, combining AI and machine learning tools with global edge networks.

Private cellular networks, meanwhile, will be able to be provisioned with virtualized RAN to give connectivity in addition to cellular coverage.

Betacom is one of the software vendors working with Google to station its private wireless service on the Google Distributed Cloud Edge, enabling enterprise users to access intelligent manufacturing applications via 5G networks.

Another vendor is Celona's 5G LAN solution, which allows for the deployment of private cellular networks tightly integrated with exiting app policies and security. In addition, as a Google edge resource, the 5G LAN network can be used to accelerate private cellular adoption.

Businesses in highly-sensitive industries such as manufacturing, public safety, retail, and healthcare have been hesitant to adopt private cellular due to stringent regulations around data privacy and the need for reliable performance.

This new service will allow businesses of all sizes across many industries more easily adopt private cellular deployments while meeting stringent requirements around data privacy.

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