Telesat will work on 5G technology and demonstrations in partnership with Canadian program ENCQOR 5G. Under the agreement announced Tuesday, Telesat plans to conduct demonstrations, trials and pilots of 5G connectivity, using the ENCQOR testbed, satellite assets, and national and international 5G infrastructures.

ENCQOR 5G is a program between Québec and Ontario working to establish the first Canadian pre-commercial corridor of 5G wireless communication technologies. It involves anchor business partners Ericsson, Ciena Canada, Thales Canada, IBM Canada, and CGI. 

Telesat and ENCQOR 5G said this agreement will further the development of 5G and digital communication technologies and drive economic growth in Canada, expanding internet connectivity to rural and urban areas. Telesat plans to integrate its Lightspeed Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) constellation into 5G networks in the future. 

“We felt a partnership with ENCQOR 5G was a natural next step in fusing the satellite industry with mobile networks to accelerate the future of 5G technology,” said Stephen Hampton, manager of Public Policy at Telesat. “We think this will have a marked impact on the citizens of Canada and will set the stage to export technologies and 5G networks to the global market – especially once we seamlessly integrate our highly advanced Telesat Lightspeed LEO satellite network into these 5G networks.”