Edge Computing for Communication Service Providers: A Review on the Architecture, Ownership and Governing Models

With the development of 5G, the telecommunication industry is having a great expansion of its digital infrastructure, modernizing it, and therefore, adopting cloud computing paradigm in different ways. For instance, virtual network functions (VNFs) which can be implemented by using cloud virtual machines or containers. This whole paradigm may be built and managed by the communication service provider or by public cloud providers. In this article we present a synthesis of these possible approaches, focusing on the architectural design, ownership of the machinery, and governing models available.During the past years we worked in several market solutions, in this article we bring up the different models that were identified among the major players. We introduce the current technologies available for developing such complex systems and the possible directions that can be taken by cloud providers, communication service providers, or even third-party companies. Finally, in this work, we present a suggestion of classification of the different Edge Computing solutions and how its adoptions can be directed towards the different ownership and governing model through different architectures.