Edge Computing in 2026: Building Low-Latency Applications with 5G

Edge computing isn’t new, but 5G is making it practical. With sub-10ms latency becoming achievable, we can finally build real-time applications that were impossible before.

Network infrastructure Photo by Jordan Harrison on Unsplash

Why Edge Computing Matters Now

Traditional cloud architecture:

User → Internet (50-100ms) → Cloud Region → Response

Edge architecture:

User → 5G (1-5ms) → Edge Node → Response

For gaming, AR/VR, and real-time collaboration, that 50ms difference is everything.

The Edge Computing Stack in 2026

Major Platforms

Platform	Locations	Use Case
Cloudflare Workers	300+ cities	Serverless edge
AWS Wavelength	5G carrier POPs	Ultra-low latency
Fastly Compute	80+ POPs	Edge compute
Akamai EdgeWorkers	4000+ locations	Enterprise edge

When to Use Edge

Good fits:

Real-time gaming backends
AR/VR rendering offload
IoT data processing
Personalization at scale
A/B testing and feature flags

Not ideal:

Heavy database operations
Long-running batch jobs
Stateful applications

Data center Photo by Taylor Vick on Unsplash

Building an Edge Application

Let’s build a real-time game leaderboard with Cloudflare Workers:

Worker Code

// src/index.ts
import { Hono } from 'hono';

interface Env {
  LEADERBOARD: KVNamespace;
  SCORES: DurableObjectNamespace;
}

const app = new Hono<{ Bindings: Env }>();

// Get top scores - served from edge
app.get('/leaderboard', async (c) => {
  const cached = await c.env.LEADERBOARD.get('top100', 'json');
  if (cached) {
    return c.json(cached);
  }
  
  // Fallback to Durable Object
  const id = c.env.SCORES.idFromName('global');
  const stub = c.env.SCORES.get(id);
  const scores = await stub.fetch('/top100');
  
  return scores;
});

// Submit score - consistent via Durable Objects
app.post('/score', async (c) => {
  const { playerId, score } = await c.req.json();
  
  const id = c.env.SCORES.idFromName('global');
  const stub = c.env.SCORES.get(id);
  
  const result = await stub.fetch('/submit', {
    method: 'POST',
    body: JSON.stringify({ playerId, score }),
  });
  
  return result;
});

export default app;

Durable Object for Consistency

// src/scores.ts
export class ScoresDurableObject {
  private scores: Map<string, number> = new Map();
  private state: DurableObjectState;

  constructor(state: DurableObjectState) {
    this.state = state;
  }

  async fetch(request: Request): Promise<Response> {
    const url = new URL(request.url);
    
    if (url.pathname === '/submit') {
      const { playerId, score } = await request.json();
      
      const current = this.scores.get(playerId) || 0;
      if (score > current) {
        this.scores.set(playerId, score);
        await this.state.storage.put(playerId, score);
      }
      
      return new Response(JSON.stringify({ success: true }));
    }
    
    if (url.pathname === '/top100') {
      const sorted = [...this.scores.entries()]
        .sort((a, b) => b[1] - a[1])
        .slice(0, 100);
      
      return new Response(JSON.stringify(sorted));
    }
    
    return new Response('Not found', { status: 404 });
  }
}

AWS Wavelength for 5G

When you need carrier-grade low latency:

// CDK Stack for Wavelength deployment
import * as cdk from 'aws-cdk-lib';
import * as ec2 from 'aws-cdk-lib/aws-ec2';

export class WavelengthStack extends cdk.Stack {
  constructor(scope: cdk.App, id: string) {
    super(scope, id);

    // Wavelength Zone VPC
    const vpc = new ec2.Vpc(this, 'WavelengthVpc', {
      maxAzs: 2,
      subnetConfiguration: [
        {
          name: 'wavelength',
          subnetType: ec2.SubnetType.PUBLIC,
          // Wavelength zones have special naming
        },
      ],
    });

    // Carrier Gateway for 5G traffic
    const carrierGateway = new ec2.CfnCarrierGateway(this, 'CarrierGW', {
      vpcId: vpc.vpcId,
    });

    // EC2 in Wavelength Zone
    const instance = new ec2.Instance(this, 'EdgeServer', {
      vpc,
      instanceType: ec2.InstanceType.of(
        ec2.InstanceClass.G4DN,
        ec2.InstanceSize.XLARGE
      ),
      machineImage: ec2.MachineImage.latestAmazonLinux2(),
      // Deploy to Wavelength subnet
    });
  }
}

Edge Database Patterns

Pattern 1: Read Replicas at Edge

           ┌─────────────┐
           │   Primary   │
           │   Database  │
           └──────┬──────┘
                  │ Replication
    ┌─────────────┼─────────────┐
    ▼             ▼             ▼
┌───────┐   ┌───────┐   ┌───────┐
│ Edge  │   │ Edge  │   │ Edge  │
│ Read  │   │ Read  │   │ Read  │
│ Replica│   │Replica│   │Replica│
└───────┘   └───────┘   └───────┘
   US          EU         APAC

Pattern 2: Edge Cache + Central Write

// Read from edge cache, write to central
async function getData(key: string, env: Env) {
  // Try edge cache first
  const cached = await env.EDGE_KV.get(key);
  if (cached) return JSON.parse(cached);
  
  // Fall back to central database
  const data = await fetchFromCentral(key);
  
  // Cache at edge for next request
  await env.EDGE_KV.put(key, JSON.stringify(data), {
    expirationTtl: 60,
  });
  
  return data;
}

Measuring Edge Performance

// Instrument your edge functions
export default {
  async fetch(request: Request, env: Env): Promise<Response> {
    const start = Date.now();
    const colo = request.cf?.colo; // Edge location
    
    try {
      const response = await handleRequest(request, env);
      
      // Log to analytics
      env.ANALYTICS.writeDataPoint({
        blobs: [colo, request.url],
        doubles: [Date.now() - start],
        indexes: [request.cf?.country],
      });
      
      return response;
    } catch (error) {
      // Error tracking
      console.error(`Edge error at ${colo}:`, error);
      throw error;
    }
  },
};

Cost Optimization

Edge computing can get expensive. Keep costs down:

Cache aggressively - Every cache hit saves compute
Use edge for routing - Heavy compute stays in region
Batch edge writes - Reduce Durable Object transactions
Monitor per-region costs - Some POPs cost more

What’s Next

Edge computing in 2026 is about picking the right tool:

Cloudflare/Fastly: Serverless edge, great DX
AWS Wavelength: When you need 5G carrier integration
Self-hosted edge: Maximum control, maximum complexity

Start with serverless edge for new projects. Graduate to Wavelength when latency requirements demand it.

Building edge applications? The key is thinking about data locality from day one—not bolting it on later.

이 글이 도움이 되셨다면 공감 및 광고 클릭을 부탁드립니다 :)