Photo: CNW Group/Rogers Communications Canada

Rogers and the University of British Columbia (UBC) signed three year, multi-million dollar partnership deal to build a real-world 5G Hub on the UBC campus that will be a testbed and blueprint for 5G innovation in Canada.

Rogers will deploy 5G-ready network equipment and infrastructure at UBC starting in early 2019. The partnership will study 5G applications such as monitoring cars and traffic to develop smarter and safer cities. Other research interests include autonomous vehicles, machine learning, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and network slicing technology for use in robotics, farming, and medical applications. The partnership will also develop skills in computer science, applied mathematics, machine learning, and software development.

This partnership is part of Rogers multi-year program to bring 5G to Canadians and to drive Canada’s economic growth. The company announced a national infrastructure agreement with Ericsson, the 5G North American partner of choice, to boost and densify its fiber-powered network with 5G-ready technology. Earlier this year Rogers completed live 5G testing at Rogers Center and is currently testing 5G global standards. Rogers also continues to upgrade its 4.5G network with the latest 5G-ready technology to be ready for 5G commercial deployment in 2020.