--- title: "MEC: Edge compute & AI | Nexus Observatory" description: "MEC, inside Edge compute & AI: device edge, far edge, near edge, regional edge and more. A modular edge data centre at the foot of the tower…" url: https://observatory.global/edge-ai/mec/ publisher: Nexus Observatory Inc. updated: 2026-10-27 --- [Nexus Observatory](https://observatory.global/) / [Edge compute & AI](https://observatory.global/edge-ai/) / **MEC** # Applications one hop from the radio. MEC, inside Edge compute & AI: device edge, far edge, near edge, regional edge and more. Every item is traced to its specification, from ISO/IEC 30141 (IoT reference architecture) to ETSI GS MEC 003 (framework and reference architecture), and runs on the open Observatory Protocol. [Plan with us](https://observatory.global/contact/) Architecture [The protocol](https://observatory.global/protocol/specification/) **Technologies**: 9 **At the frontier**: 1 **Protocol functions**: 3 of 8 **Industries served**: 8 Reference design, drawn to scale · drag to turn · hover a part **01** What it is ## Edge tiers and multi-access edge computing. Compute placed where data is produced and decisions are needed: the device, far, near and regional edge tiers, multi-access edge computing, modular edge data centres including the AI tower in a box, servers and accelerators, storage, power and cooling, ruggedisation, fleet orchestration, OTA and GitOps, and the hardware trust that makes remote sites safe to run. Each technology below carries what it is, what we do with it, and the standard it is drawn against. Compute and edge ### Device edge Compute inside sensors, gateways, vehicles and robots that acts on data with no network round trip. We design, integrate and deploy. ISO/IEC 30141 (IoT reference architecture) Compute and edge ### Far edge Servers at cell sites, towers and customer premises that host DUs, local breakout and latency-critical apps. We design, integrate, deploy, operate and maintain. ETSI GS MEC 003 (framework and reference architecture) · O-RAN WG6 Cloud Architecture and Deployment Scenarios Compute and edge ### Near edge Aggregation sites and central offices serving a town or district with shared compute and CU/core functions. We design, integrate, deploy and operate. ETSI GS MEC 003 · GSMA OPG.02 (Operator Platform telco edge requirements) Compute and edge ### Regional edge Metro and regional data centres that host heavier AI, storage and core functions for a province or region. We design, integrate and operate. EN 50600 (data centre facilities and infrastructures) · ANSI/TIA-942 Compute and edge ### MEC application enablement Platform services that let applications register, discover services and receive traffic rules at the edge. We design, integrate and operate. ETSI GS MEC 011 (edge platform application enablement) · 3GPP TS 23.558 (EDGEAPP) Compute and edge ### MEC service APIs Radio network information, location and other APIs that let edge apps adapt to network conditions. We design and integrate. ETSI GS MEC 012 (radio network information API) · ETSI GS MEC 013 (location API) Compute and edge ### Application mobility and edge federation Moving app state between edge sites as users move, and sharing edge capacity across operators. We design and integrate. ETSI GS MEC 021 (application mobility service API) · GSMA OPG.02 **Frontier** · Compute and edge ### Edge-cloud continuum Placing each workload at the device, edge or cloud tier by latency, cost, energy and data rules, and moving it when conditions change. We design, integrate and operate. 3GPP TS 23.548 (5GC enhancements for edge computing) · ETSI GS MEC 003 Compute and edge ### Data residency and jurisdiction controls Policy controls that keep data processed and stored in the locations a contract or law requires. We design and operate. ISO/IEC 27701 (privacy information management) · PIPEDA (Canada) **02** Architecture ## Where it sits, and what it speaks. MEC draws on 2 domains and 16 layers of the spectrum; the highlighted layers carry this area. It speaks 3 of the protocol's 8 core functions. Edge tiers and multi-access edge computing 9 Modular edge data centres and the AI tower in a box 8 Servers and accelerators 8 Storage and edge data management 6 Cooling and ruggedisation 10 Kubernetes and fleet orchestration 8 OTA updates, GitOps and software supply chain 8 Confidential computing and hardware trust 8 Edge inference, model serving and optimisation 10 Foundation models for Earth observation and geospatial 9 Time-series and sensor AI 8 Multimodal fusion and agentic operations 7 Federated and privacy-preserving learning 7 Physical AI and robotics (within red lines) 7 MLOps 7 Evaluation, model risk and AI governance 10 01**Join** Identity, attestation quote, signed policy. 02**Admit** Admitted for a stated scope, nothing wider. 03**Describe** What, where, how and by whom, with calibration. 04**Time** One clock across the grid, with its error bound. 05**Observe** Every value with quality and provenance. 06**Qualify** Tested against the specification, state on record. 07**Federate** Signed exchange across grids and trust domains. 08**Orchestrate** Software and configuration by signed plan. **03** On the grid ## Every site joins one observing grid. The open networks on the grid today, over real relief and the geodesic cells we count them into. A site built here enrols into the same grid. **04** In the field ## Where this runs, sector by sector. 4 deployment scenarios from the sector research that rely on mec. [Government and public safety Wildfire camera network and fire-weather stationsCamera towers with edge inference and co-located fire-weather stations, utility- or agency-funded.](https://observatory.global/sectors/public-safety/) [Industrial Utility private LTE for the grid edgeDistribution automation, distributed-energy control and wildfire-risk weather on a dedicated band.](https://observatory.global/sectors/industrial/) [Agriculture Farm or cooperative agromet network with crop modelsCompact stations and soil probes feeding irrigation, disease and frost models.](https://observatory.global/sectors/agriculture/) [Energy Utility grid-edge private LTESee industrial.](https://observatory.global/sectors/energy/) **05** Open and enterprise ## Open by default. Enterprise by contract. The open counterpart lives on the main site for anyone to read and run. The enterprise service is designed, deployed and operated with you, under contract. Open, on the main site - Class assumptions - Power and thermal methods Enterprise, on this site - MEC deployment - Edge AI sites **06** The rest of the line ## Edge compute & AI, area by area. [Edge compute & AI AI towerA modular edge data centre, delivered as one unit.](https://observatory.global/edge-ai/ai-tower/) [Edge compute & AI Edge AIInference on the stream, not the archive.](https://observatory.global/edge-ai/edge-ai/) [Edge compute & AI Scientific computeRun the model where the data lands.](https://observatory.global/edge-ai/scientific-compute/) [Edge compute & AI Physical AIDrones and robots, inside published red lines.](https://observatory.global/edge-ai/physical-ai/) ## Bring us the site. Survey, design, deployment and operation for mec. The form names who receives your details. [Talk to us](https://observatory.global/contact/) [contact@observatory.global](mailto:contact@observatory.global?subject=Edge%20compute%20%26%20AI%3A%20MEC) [Nexus Observatory](https://observatory.global/)**Edge compute & AI** . Inference beside the instrument.[Talk to us](https://observatory.global/contact/) Edge compute & AI - [AI tower](https://observatory.global/edge-ai/ai-tower/) - [MEC](https://observatory.global/edge-ai/mec/) - [Edge AI](https://observatory.global/edge-ai/edge-ai/) - [Scientific compute](https://observatory.global/edge-ai/scientific-compute/) - [Physical AI](https://observatory.global/edge-ai/physical-ai/) Technologies - [Edge tiers and multi-access edge computing](https://observatory.global/technologies/edge/edge-tiers-and-multi-access-edge-computing/) - [Modular edge data centres and the AI tower in a box](https://observatory.global/technologies/edge/modular-edge-data-centres-and-the-ai-tower-in-a-box/) - [Edge inference, model serving and optimisation](https://observatory.global/technologies/ai/edge-inference-model-serving-and-optimisation/) - [Foundation models for Earth observation and geospatial](https://observatory.global/technologies/ai/foundation-models-for-earth-observation-and-geospatial/) Industries - [Public safety](https://observatory.global/sectors/public-safety/) - [Civil resilience](https://observatory.global/industries/) - [Nature](https://observatory.global/industries/) - [Oceans](https://observatory.global/industries/) - [Energy](https://observatory.global/sectors/energy/) - [Telecom](https://observatory.global/industries/) - [Transport](https://observatory.global/sectors/transport/) Service platforms - [Observatory Protocol](https://observatory.global/protocol/) - [Protocol & Grid](https://observatory.global/grid-services/) - [Software](https://observatory.global/software/) - [Hardware & power](https://observatory.global/hardware/) - [Sensors & instruments](https://observatory.global/sensors/) - [Connectivity](https://observatory.global/connectivity/) - [Earth observation & GeoAI](https://observatory.global/earth-observation/) © 2026 Nexus Observatory Inc. 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