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Rogers First in Canada to Deploy 5G on 3500 MHz Mid-band Spectrum

Rogers First in Canada to Deploy 5G on 3500 MHz Mid-band Spectrum Image Credit: Jackie Niam/Bigstockphoto.com

Rogers Communications announced it has started to deploy its 5G 3500 MHz spectrum holdings, with the first location going live in Nanaimo, BC.

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.

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.

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.

Tony Staffieri, President and CEO, Rogers Communications
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. 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.

Jorge Fernandes, Chief Technology Officer, Rogers Communications
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.

Author

Ray is a news editor at The Fast Mode, bringing with him more than 10 years of experience in the wireless industry.

For tips and feedback, email Ray at ray.sharma(at)thefastmode.com, or reach him on LinkedIn @raysharma10, Facebook @1RaySharma

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