It is important to be aware of the pricing difference for AWS services when they are deployed to a Wavelength Zone versus a standard availability zone. The next figure shows an example of the difference for different EC2 instance types in us-east-1 (Northern Virginia region) and us-east-1-atl-1a (Atlanta Wavelength Zone):

Figure 7.25 – On-demand pricing differences for AWS Wavelength Zones

As you can see, the costs for the instance types in question are anywhere from 25% to 35% more per hour in a Wavelength Zone.

Summary

The introduction of AWS Wavelength Zones marks a significant stride in AWS’s efforts to seamlessly integrate cloud services with mobile edge computing, facilitating applications that require single-digit millisecond latencies. Customer needs are ever-evolving, and the push toward more immediate data processing, especially in the realm of 5G, has become apparent.

In this chapter, we discussed how mobile device connections are facilitated through carrier gateways, ensuring a smooth interaction between mobile networks and AWS services. Tools such as Route53 and Global Accelerator further optimize and direct the traffic, ensuring efficient routing. We also reviewed approaches to extending a VPC into an AWS Wavelength Zone, ensuring a seamless and secure environment for their applications.

Lastly, whether running EC2 instances, managing traffic with ALBs, or deploying applications with ECS or EKS, AWS ensures that users have a consistent and familiar experience.

In the next chapter, we will dive deep into edge computing services offered within the more than 450 points of presence (PoPs) AWS maintains globally.