Rogers and University of Waterloo partner on 5G research for Ontario

Rogers Communications and the University of Waterloo have signed a three-year, multi-million dollar partnership agreement to advance 5G research in the Toronto-Waterloo tech corridor.

The partnership will focus on 5G research in the areas of engineering, network design, applied mathematics and artificial intelligence.

Together they will create the first 5G smart campus in central Canada to test network infrastructure, frequencies and applications.

Establishing the first wave of research projects and construction of the smart campus will begin in early 2020. As part of the partnership, Rogers is a founding partner of the Gateway for Enterprises to Discover Innovation at the University of Waterloo (GEDI), a central place for companies to access the full potential of Waterloo’s research, talent and entrepreneurial ecosystem.

5G is touted as the first viable industrial wireless solution for manufacturers, because signals will be available indoors.

Rogers also announced it is the first wireless provider to work with ENCQOR 5G, a $400-million partnership led by the governments of Canada, Ontario and Quebec. ENCQOR has established the first pre-commercial 5G telecommunications corridor in Canada and brings together a vast network of companies, organizations and researchers who want to innovate by using the full potential of 5G. Through ENCQOR, Rogers will support small and medium-sized enterprises as they work toward 5G.

Recently, Rogers also turned on North America’s first 5G-powered campus at the University of British Columbia to facilitate academic research and testing.

To foster commercial 5G development in the Toronto Waterloo Region Corridor, the company has officially opened Rogers Create: a 5G Lab at Communitech, focused on accelerating and launching 5G applications.

Rogers has also partnered with Ericsson to boost and densify its fibre-powered network with 5G-ready technology.

As it prepares for commercial deployment of 5G in 2020, Rogers continues to test 5G in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver, and upgrade its national 4.5G network with the latest 5G-ready technology.