Six cities will kick off American Tower Edge, a network of small modular data centers sited in Atlanta, Jacksonville, Denver, Boulder, Austin and Pittsburgh. The venture marks American Tower Corp’s foray into edge computing, reports Data Center Frontier.
“Now is the optimal time to invest and pave the way for enabling the next generation network and computing architectures,” said Product Manager U.S. Innovation for American Tower, Whitney Pesot. “American Tower is committed to innovation and supporting the needs of our customers now and in the future.”
American Tower has more than 170,000 cell tower sites, making it the world’s largest owner of wireless infrastructure. With its $7 billion in annual revenue, American Tower Edge has the backing to make its small modular data centers a successful arm of its business. In a press release, the company described its game plan: “Utilizing the ground space of our existing towers, where connectivity already occurs, we create an improved network architecture closer to key operators.”
Atlanta hosts The Edge Data Center, one of the six edge computing facilities. Edge computing bridges the gap between data center and wireless concerns. The Atlanta center connects dark fiber with a nearby Colo ATL co-location facility. Six edge modules inhabit the edge computing site, including a 100 kW unit and a 160-square foot form factor with 80 kW of capacity and four customer cabinets.
“American Tower’s new edge data center, strategically located in close proximity to our Colo Atl facility, enables us to extend the Colo Atl ecosystem with a reliable solution promoting increased flexibility for existing and future customers,” stated John Ghirardelli, General Manager for Colo Atl and Director, U.S. Innovation for American Tower.
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