Canada’s major telecom operators are taking early steps toward the next great leap in wireless technology.
Bell, Rogers and Telus are all participating in a global effort to develop operating standards for fifth generation wireless networks, with Bell Canada, the nation’s largest telecommunications company, set to begin testing of the emerging architecture.
“Bell [has] built a reputation for broadband network leadership and we plan to be out front on 5G too,” said Mark Langton, a spokesman for Bell Canada parent, Montreal-based BCE Inc.
“We’ll begin 5G trials shortly and are involved in writing the 5G specs as a member of the Next Generation Mobile Networks consortium.”
Telus is partnering with third parties to research and test the evolving standards in a 5G Living Lab at the company’s Vancouver home base, while Toronto-based Rogers Communications is taking part in standards setting through the various industry bodies involved.
Rogers spokesperson Andrew Garas, however, noted that 5G isn’t a technology standard yet and likely won’t be for at least a couple of years adding that “we don’t have any details to share on future plans.”
And while 5G remains in a conceptual phase, Canadian operators have a new impetus to act after the Ontario government in March announced a partnership with Chinese networking gear maker Huawei aimed at accelerating the development process in the interest of economic growth.
Participation in 5G development allows operators and equipment manufacturers input on specification requirements being codified for a network technology that aims to meet demand for digital content that is taxing the capacity of existing third-and fourth generation systems.
The promise of 5G technology starts with ultra-fast connections up to 40 times quicker than 4G, but a more subtle benefit is the concept’s signal prioritization that would give a message warning a self driving car of an impending collision, for example, precedence over a video game download.
Experts say 5G will all but eliminate latency or connectivity gaps, making video buffering and delays in Skype connections a thing of the past, while defaulting to the strongest signal to allow a seamless transition between cellular and Wi-Fi.
It would also allow efficient handling of a very large number of devices including smart objects in the Internet of Things to support always accessible connections.
As such, it is expected to usher in ultra HD video on smartphones and pave the way for innovative new applications in segments including entertainment, health and transport.
5G pricing
Despite the promise of network efficiencies that would lower operators’ costs per byte of service, ultra-fast, data-vacuuming connections won't come cheap.
The technology promises speeds up to 40 times faster than 4G, allowing download of an “8K,” 3-D video on a 5G smartphone in six seconds versus six minutes on 4G, according to Nokia.
Higher download speeds have been accompanied by big jumps in data usage in markets including Canada and 5G would boost that trend considerably, Cisco says in a separate report.
Netflix, meanwhile says a standard-definition streaming video viewed on a phone or tablet uses up to 0.7 GB of data per hour; HD video uses up 3 GB; 3-D video uses up 4.7 GB and 4K video uses 7 GB, more than three times the average monthly data plan.
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Originally Posted by BavarianBeast
