Apple To Build High-Speed Network, Compete With Amazon In Cloud

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) will build out its own high-speed network to support its much-anticipated music and television infrastructure and rely less on vendors, Bloomberg reported on Monday.

The new initiative will put Apple in competition with Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) in cloud services.

Related Link: Apple WWDC: This Expert Is 'Most Excited' About Apple Music

The leak comes ahead of Apple's suspected announcement of a streaming music service at this week's Worldwide Developer Conference, but is in line with two of Apple's stated initiatives: (1) to build a faster network, and (2) to upgrade its data centers.

The network will connect Apple's data centers in California, Nevada, North Carolina and Oregon, according to the report. Instead of relying on traditional networking and computing providers, Apple's infrastructure was custom built. Just this year, Apple has invested $1 billion into its data centers.

An analyst at IHS Infonetics Research said that it will allow Apple to control more of its user experience, something the company is known for. Practically, Apple will be able to shift computing resources to meet data demands.

Shares of Apple were 0.2 percent higher in pre-market trading ahead of the WWDC event. The stock has seen a 16 percent increase this year, reaching an all-time high above $134 per share. The stock closed Friday at $128.65.