Rogers begins rollout of Canada’s first 5G network

Rogers will start rolling out Canada's first 5G network in downtown Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal in time for when 5G devices become available this year. The Rogers 5G network will expand to over 20 more markets by the end of the year. 

5G will introduce new capabilities that are significantly more advanced than previous generations of wireless technology. 1G let customers make mobile phone calls, 2G enabled text messaging, 3G powered email and internet browsing, 4G delivered faster speeds and the on-demand economy. Over the next several years, 5G will transform businesses and industries with increased speed and capacity, more efficient use of spectrum, improved battery life and lower latency. 5G  will also support a massive increase in the number of connected devices that require near instantaneous access for applications like augmented and virtual reality, smart communities, remote patient health care, robotics and driverless vehicles.

The company has also announced it is the exclusive Canadian member of the global 5G Future Forum, a first-of-its-kind 5G and mobile edge computing forum that includes Verizon, Vodafone, Telstra, KT, and América Móvil.

Rogers is also partnering with Ericsson, North America's 5G provider of choice, to boost and densify their network with 4.5G and 5G technology. Rogers has partnered with Ericsson since the launch of wireless services in 1985. 

Rogers 5G services will be available exclusively on Rogers Infinite plans with unlimited data and no overage fees.

Rogers has established key strategic Canadian partnerships to research, incubate and commercialize made-in-Canada 5G technology and applications. This includes R&D partnerships with the University of British Columbia, the University of Waterloo and an incubator at Communitech. Rogers is also collaborating with government and industry through Ryerson University Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst and ENCQOR 5G. Internationally, Rogers is a founding member of the new 5G Future Forum, which will create a common framework for 5G applications enabled by mobile edge computing across the Americas, Asia-Pacific and Europe.

The Rogers 5G network initially uses 2.5 GHz spectrum in the downtown cores of Vancouver,Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal and will expand to use 600 MHz 5G spectrum later this year. 600 MHz is best suited to carry wireless data across long distances and through dense urban buildings, creating more consistent and higher quality coverage in both remote areas and smart cities. In the future, Rogers will also start deploying 3.5 GHz spectrum and dynamic spectrum sharing, which will allow 4G spectrum to be used for 5G. Rogers will also turn on 5G in the Rogers Centre, Scotiabank Arena and Rogers Arena to enhance how fans watch the game in the future as innovation and applications develop.