Rogers and the University of British Columbia (UBC) have announced a three year, multi-million dollar partnership to build a real-world 5G Hub on campus that will be a testbed for 5G innovation in Canada.
Starting early next year, Rogers will deploy 5G-ready network equipment and infrastructure at UBC. The partnership will study 5G applications such as monitoring cars and traffic to develop smarter and safer cities. Other research interests include autonomous vehicles, machine learning, artificial intelligence and network slicing technology for use in robotics, farming and medical applications. The partnership will also develop skills in computer science, applied mathematics, machine learning and software development.
“5G represents a massive technological transformation that will connect everything in our world from people and machines, to homes and cities. The global race to unlock its potential is underway,” said Joe Natale, Rogers president and CEO, in a press release. “Our partnership with UBC will ensure we bring our country and Canadians the very best 5G has to offer.”
Experts predict 5G can connect 500 times the number of devices versus 4G, estimating one million connected devices for every square city kilometre.
“UBC has significant expertise in leveraging its own infrastructure to create a unique ‘living lab’ environment that fosters creative problem-solving in a real-world setting,” said Professor Santa Ono, UBC president and Vice-Chancellor. “This partnership with Rogers opens exciting research and learning opportunities for our faculty and students in wireless technology. It is a great example of how universities and industry can work together to develop new knowledge and provide our students with the skills that are vital in building the digital economy.”
The partnership is part of Rogers multi-year 5G rollout, with a previously announced national infrastructure agreement with Ericsson to boost and densify the telecom’s fibre-powered network with 5G-ready technology. Earlier this year, Rogers completed live 5G testing at Rogers Centre and is currently testing 5G global standards, ahead of commercial deployment anticipated in 2020.
Subscribe Now – Free!
Broadcast Dialogue has been required reading in the Canadian broadcast media for 25 years. When you subscribe, you join a community of connected professionals from media and broadcast related sectors from across the country.
The Weekly Briefing from Broadcast Dialogue is delivered exclusively to subscribers by email every Thursday. It’s your link to critical industry news, timely people moves, and excellent career advancement opportunities.
Let’s get started right now.
