Trilogy Networks brings edge cloud to Alabama, adds Pluribus Networks to Rural Cloud Initiative

“The U.S. government is injecting over $30 billion into rural infrastructure over the next several years,” said George Woodward, president and CEO of Trilogy Networks, in a prepared statement.

“Our decision to deploy Trilogy’s high-capacity edge compute and storage platform was almost a no-brainer – they are the only entity involved in this high-tech segment that has shown a genuine interest in engaging with operators such as us to bring the benefits of edge computing to rural markets in the early stages rather than as an afterthought,” said John Nettles, President, Pine Belt Cellular, in a prepared statement. Once Trilogy’s platform is installed in Pine Belt’s main network hub in Selma, Nettles said the company will then start the process of pushing functionality to selected sites throughout Central Alabama.

“These ties to the public clouds will make it possible for us to integrate across the U.S. with the full spectrum of applications providers and carriers and will bring the real benefits of high-bandwidth, low-latency edge and 5G services to the area” Nettles said. “Together, we achieve the scale necessary to have a voice nationally and presence globally.”

Pluribus joins Rural Cloud Initiative 

Trilogy Networks’ Rural Cloud Initiative has welcomed its latest partner, Pluribus Networks, and will roll out the Pluribus Netvisor ONE and Adaptive Cloud Fabric (ACF) across its distributed cloud network platform to improve network operations and ensure automation, security and visibility for Trilogy’s highly distributed ConEx edge compute architecture.

The Rural Cloud Initiative aims to boost production and development in precision agriculture in rural markets through IoT and Artificial Intelligence without increasing cost. The transformation process will initially focus on using edge computing in combination with both private and public 5G wireless networks to deliver real-time agriculture-related data collected by IoT devices. The ultimate goal: double the crop output in the U.S. using the same amount of land and water resources.

The Adaptive Cloud Fabric, which is based on an open, controllerless SDN architecture, will be used as network fabric for Trilogy’s ConEx edge cloud platform. Pluribus says it offers a low power solution that delivers full network automation, virtualization, network segmentation, visibility, and analytics.

“For precision agriculture to achieve the maximum potential, it’s imperative the edge be brought directly to the farm operation,” said George Woodward, CEO at Trilogy Networks and board member on the US Precision Agriculture Connectivity Task Force, in a prepared statement. “Partnering with telecom operators and optimizing our platform with a powerful software-defined networking fabric from Pluribus will enable the Rural Cloud Initiative to deliver the real-time business intelligence needed by America’s two million farmers.”

“Closing the digital divide is critical for all segments of the global economy to thrive, and by bringing the network edge closer to the farm, we can support an important mission during a time when the world has never been more reliant on the integrity of the food chain,” said Kumar Srikantan, CEO at Pluribus Networks. “By removing the complexity, cost, latency, and risk associated with distributed cloud networking, we can deliver solutions that possess the specific requirements for highly distributed applications, such as precision agriculture, to succeed,” he noted.

Analyst Perspective

“To perform effectively, infrastructure deployed in distributed cloud environments must meet specific requirements related to reduced operational complexity, cost constraints, space limitations and power attributes. The controllerless SDN-driven approach from Pluribus is well suited to the specialized networking needs of distributed cloud environments, providing automated network intelligence and simplicity in a cost-efficient manner.”

Brad Casemore, Vice President, Datacenter Networks at IDC, in a prepared statement for Pluribus Networks

Article Topics

edge computing  |  networking  |  Pluribus Networks  |  Trilogy Networks  |  wireless