Vancouver-based national carrier Telus announced that it has partnered with Ericsson and Nokia to build its 5G network.
“Our team is committed to rolling out superior network technology from urban to rural communities, fueling our economy and driving innovation as we power Canadians into the 5G era through an unparalleled network experience,” said Telus CEO Darren Entwistle in a press release.
This announcement comes hours after Bell stated that it has also partnered with Ericsson. Bell announced its partnership with Nokia earlier this year.
Bell and Telus are now both following a multi-vendor strategy for the rollout of their 5G networks, as the carriers await the government’s decision regarding its Huawei 5G security review. Both carriers have previously indicated interest in working with Huawei for their 5G network rollouts.
Earlier this year, Telus stated that it will use its existing Huawei equipment for the first phase of its 5G rollout. The carrier said that its Huawei equipment is restricted from the sensitive radio access portion of the network, and says this approach has been approved by the government.
It’s currently unknown if Telus will continue with this plan following today’s announcement or if it will rip out the existing equipment, which it has described as being an expensive process. MobileSyrup has reached out to Telus for more information.
Bell and Telus now join Rogers, which is also partnered with Ericsson for its 5G network. Rogers launched its initial 5G network earlier this year in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Vancouver.
Telus says that its 5G deployment will support economic growth that will be essential for the virtualization of health, education, teleworking, and stimulating the economic growth and recovery given the impact of COVID-19.
“With its blazing speeds, responsiveness, reliability and capacity, Telus’ 5G innovation will not only power consumer applications such as mobile gaming and virtual reality but it will also enable the broad supply chain of Canadian industry to compete globally in the areas of IoT, Industry 4.0, and advanced health and agriculture technology outcomes,” Telus notes.
The carrier has not indicated when it plans to launch its initial 5G network.
Source: Telus
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