Rogers first in Canada to launch 3500 MHz 5G spectrum, continuing 5G network leadership
June 15 2022 - 8:00AM
Rogers Communications announced today it has started to deploy its
5G 3500 MHz spectrum holdings, with the first location going live
in Nanaimo, BC this morning. The company will continue its
deployment across Canada, including the urban centres of Calgary,
Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver and multiple
rural areas. More regions will follow as they are released
according to the ISED timetable. Unlocking the 3500 MHz band
increases network capacity and will boost speed and deliver
ultra-low latency, paving the way for Rogers to offer infinite
service possibilities for consumers and business customers, from
augmented reality and machine learning to smart homes, vehicles and
cities.
“As the country’s biggest investor in 5G spectrum
and the first to launch 3500 MHz, we are excited to expand Canada’s
largest and most reliable networki to more families, businesses and
communities through the deployment of our 3500 MHz spectrum,” said
Tony Staffieri, President and CEO, Rogers Communications. “Today’s
deployment builds on our foundational 5G investment in low-band 600
MHz spectrum, so we can usher in a new era of mobile and fixed
wireless broadband that will create jobs, fuel innovation and keep
our economy competitive.”
New 3500 MHz spectrum capabilities will allow Rogers customers
to experience faster speeds, range and improved response and
download times. Rogers will leverage these new capabilities with
its partners on exciting new consumer use cases that will power
immersive 5G experiences. In fact, Rogers has already tested a
hockey Augmented Reality Immersive in-venue fan experience
leveraging Rogers 5G 3500 MHz network in partnership with AWS
Outpost Mobile Edge Computing (MEC), Ericsson, Immersiv.io, MLSE
and the NHL to showcase expected benefits to fans.
“We're ready to take Canada’s largest and most reliable 5G
network even further with the deployment of our 3500 MHz spectrum
assets, leveraging the full capabilities of the technology to bring
Canadians the best mobile experience wherever they may be,” said
Jorge Fernandes, Chief Technology Officer, Rogers Communications.
"The speed and capacity of 5G, coupled with our rapidly expanding
network footprints, offers endless possibilities for consumers and
business users, from smart homes, vehicles and cities, to augmented
reality and machine learning and we're eager to deliver these
benefits to Canadians no matter where they may live."
New capabilities will make many business solutions a reality for
Rogers customers. Network slicing in the healthcare sector, like
remote diagnostic capabilities, will provide real time images and
X-rays to health care providers as they work enroute to health
centres in ambulances. Using 5G MEC, port authorities will remotely
control autonomous haulage vehicles in real-time to improve
safety.
3500 MHz spectrum will enable improved capabilities and
services to customers:
- Rogers 5G SA
& 3500 MHz – Rogers was the first operator to bring 5G
to Canadians in early 2020, the first operator in Canada to launch
a 5G Standalone Core, the command-and-control centre of the
network, and the first to launch Canada’s first commercially
available 5G Standalone network, expanding 5G coverage. 5G SA is a
key milestone to evolve 5G and support future use cases like edge
computing and network slicing, which is further enabled by 3500 MHz
spectrum to deliver innovative, fixed and mobile broadband services
such as private networks and bandwidth and ultra-low latency on
demand.
- Broadband
IoT Applications – 3500 MHz spectrum will power new
customer experiences including enhanced smart city and public
safety applications, like road safety and efficiency or smart
parking solutions, for example.
- Rogers
Wireless Improvements – Rogers wireless customers with
eligible devices are expected to experience improvements in speed,
coverage, lower latency and capacity.
- Private
Wireless Networks – Commercial enterprises, universities,
and public sector customers will benefit from 3500 MHz spectrum to
provide a private wireless network for business and industrial
operations, which will be crucial in cases where Wi-Fi or existing
cellular networks have proven unreliable and ineffective.
- Wireless Home
Internet – 3500 MHz spectrum will provide increased
capacity and even more reliable services for customers, including
the ability to service more customers in underserved and unserved
rural, remote, and Indigenous communities with reliable
connectivity.
The Rogers 5G advantage Rogers is the only
national, coast-to-coast carrier in Canada to offer Standalone 5G,
necessary to fully enable technologies such as network slicing and
mobile edge computing (MEC) solutions. Coupled with the deployment
of 3500 MHz, this combination will offer extraordinary benefits to
consumers, including 5G private networks, enhanced AR/VR use cases
and remote medicine applications.
Rogers recently announced an exclusive strategic technology
alliance with Microsoft to combine Canada’s largest and most
reliable 5G network with Azure, unlocking 5G MEC and making Rogers
Canada’s largest operator partner of Microsoft Teams solutions and
first in Canada to offer Microsoft’s Operator Connect Mobile. The
two technology companies will also explore collaboration on R&D
opportunities to support the Internet of Things and MEC to advance
5G innovation and Canada’s digital economy.
Rogers is fueling the development of 5G in Canada by building a
robust technology ecosystem of R&D partnerships
with post-secondary institutions, including UBC, University of
Calgary, Sheridan College and University of Waterloo to
develop new 5G consumer and business services, including the
development of innovative 5G firsts and use-cases in the
transportation, healthcare and public sectors. The release of the
3500 MHz spectrum will further enhance this research
work.
About RogersRogers is a leading Canadian
technology and media company that provides world-class
communications services and entertainment to consumers and
businesses on our award-winning networks. Our founder, Ted Rogers,
purchased his first radio station, CHFI, in 1960. Today, we are
dedicated to providing industry-leading wireless, cable, sports,
and media to millions of customers across Canada. Our shares are
publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: RCI.A and
RCI.B) and on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: RCI). For more
information, please
visit: www.rogers.com or http://investors.rogers.com.For
more informationmedia@rci.rogers.com1-844-226-1338
A video accompanying this announcement is available
at: https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ae9515c5-75d0-4670-aac1-9c4b56a40100
i Rogers was ranked first in the umlaut Mobile Data Performance
audit in Q2,
2021. Visit https://www.umlaut.com/en/benchmarking/canada. Largest
based on total square kilometers of Rogers 5G coverage compared to
published coverage of other national networks.
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