Microsoft's pitch to telcos for 5G and beyond

The new offer – Azure for Operators – is said to "provide operators with the agility they need to rapidly innovate and experiment with new 5G services on a programmable network."

There are a lot of moving parts here and the story will evolve, so we'll keep covering it. But first, let's go back and see what helped nudge Microsoft from enterprise cloud specialist to credible telco cloud leader in the eyes of network operators. The company's cloud and IT competitors all want a piece of the ongoing 5G buildout and the IoT explosion that some are expecting to follow shortly thereafter. In the last year, Microsoft hasn't been shy about putting its money where its mouth is:

• Orange says yes to Microsoft Azure MSP party
• How Amazon, Microsoft and Google are courting - and challenging - telcos
  
• HPE positions itself as 5G arms dealer
• Microsoft locks down more IoT security with latest acquisition
• Podcast: Decoding Microsoft's M&A moves
• Microsoft gets serious about telecom with Metaswitch purchase
• Microsoft's 5G, edge computing and private wireless ambitions come into focus
• With Affirmed Networks purchase, Microsoft looks to plug 5G into Azure
• Google Cloud tightens its ties to telecoms
• SES & Microsoft Ink Unearthly Cloud Partnership
• Deconstructing the Telco Cloud

— Phil Harvey, Editor-in-Chief, Light Reading