The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) is hosting an all-day conference all about 5G wireless networks later this week.
The event is set to be hosted at the National Arts Centre in downtown Ottawa on January 23rd, 2019 and the main discussion will be “the current status of 5G and what it means for Canada.”
5G is considered the next iteration of mobile connectivity and the successor to 4G Long-Term Evolution (LTE). Although the technology’s exact purpose remains a continually evolving question, it has a variety of theoretical objectives, including significantly faster smartphone data connectivity, autonomous vehicles, smart home devices and, particularly in a Canadian context and improved rural fixed internet connections.
- Some key players in the industry who will be speaking at the event include:
- Bruce Rodin, vice-president of wireless networks at Bell
- Deborah Evans, chief policy officer at Rogers
- Arnold Abramowitz, vice-president of access networking engineering at Rogers
- Michael Piaskoski, director of municipal and industry relations at Rogers
- Patrick Rhude, head of product management security, at Nokia
- Brian O’Shaughnessy, senior vice-president and chief technology officer at Freedom Mobile, Larry Murat, vice-president of networks product development solutions at Ericsson
- Dean Brenner, senior vice-president of spectrum strategy and tech policy at Qualcomm
- Paul Cowling, senior vice-president of legal and regulatory affairs at Shaw
Wednesday’s event will begin at 9am and will feature various panels throughout the day focusing on 5G development around the world, an update of where 5G stands in Canada, what 5G networks will look like, the importance of spectrum and security concerns.
In Canada, several industry leaders have said that while mmWave is a key spectrum for 5G, 3.5GHz spectrum will provide ubiquitous coverage and is supported by more devices.
Chip-making giant Qualcomm noted in its 2016 report that it considers the spectrum band to be the primary one suitable for the introduction of 5G in Europe.
“In order for Canada to keep pace with other nations and regions around [the] world, we urge ISED to make the 3.5GHz band available for commercial mobile use as soon as possible,” Qualcomm said.
Other players like Bell, Telus, and telecom infrastructure company Nokia have also joined in the plea.
In June 2018, Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains announced 3.5MHz spectrum auction consultations and set the date for an auction in 2020.
5G is a hot topic right now because of Canada’s bilateral spat with China after Vancouver authorities arrested Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei’s global chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou on December 1st, 2018. She was granted bail but faces extradition to the U.S.
Huawei is partnered with Bell and Telus to provide equipment for the rollout of 5G networks.
Source: CWTA
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