Editor’s note: RCR Wireless News is going all out with “Throwback Thursdays,” tapping into our archives to resurrect top stories from the past. Fire up your time machine, put on your sepia sunglasses, set a date for #TBT and revel in the memories.
Rogers rolls out mid-band 5G
Canadian telecommunications company Rogers Communications announced the deployment of 5G mid-band spectrum this week to complement its nationwide coverage. According to Rogers, the company has activated 3500MHz of coverage on its 5G network, starting with Nanaimo, British Columbia. Activation of mid-band coverage will continue in urban areas such as Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver. Rogers said it will activate other regions according to a schedule set by the Canadian government. As the first company to activate 3500 5G spectrum, Rogers is asserting its first-mover advantage in the Canadian telecommunications market, as it did in October 2021 when it announced the nationwide deployment of its 5G Standalone (SA) network. The two capabilities combined will enable Rogers’ future 5G use cases, including edge computing, network slicing, private networks and ultra-low latency IoT. The Canadian telecommunications company noted that the mid-band coverage will provide additional network capacity, enabling higher data transfer speeds and ultra-low latency communications for its customers. … Continue reading
Bell Canada touts mid-band “5G+”
Canadian telecommunications operator Bell will begin rolling out “the next evolution of 5G,” which it calls 5G+. This refers to the 3500MHz radio spectrum that the company secured last year for $2.07 billion. When Bell purchased the spectrum, Chief Technology Officer Stephen Howe commented: “We are well positioned in the 3500MHz spectrum and are ready to further advance our nation-leading 5G services. We will harness the full power of this technology to help bridge the digital divide by providing enhanced broadband access to rural and remote communities.” Now, Bell claims that 5G+ is “optimized for demanding apps and services” and is “the fastest mobile technology ever in Canada.” … Read more
Telus also unveils mid-band 5G
Canadian telecommunications company Telus announced that it is deploying new 3.5 GHz spectrum to its existing 5G wireless network to provide enhanced capacity, lower latency and faster communications to customers in Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Edmonton and Victoria. The deployment is part of a larger investment that has seen the company invest C$220 billion ($169.2 billion) in network infrastructure and operations in Canada since 2000, according to Telus. The company said it plans to continue deploying the new spectrum to other parts of the country in 2022 and 2023. Telus said the 3.5 GHz spectrum will enable multi-access edge computing (MEC) and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, facilitating important advancements in healthcare, agriculture, energy, transportation and manufacturing. “Telus is committed to advancing the Canadian economy through world-class broadband infrastructure. Telus’ significant investment in our 5G wireless network will help solve society’s most pressing challenges, including education, food security and climate change,” said Tony Gehran, EVP and COO, Telus. “The rollout of our 5G wireless network is [3.5 GHz] Spectrum is a critical step in unlocking the potential of 5G, especially as it spurs innovation across industries. We believe Canada should follow international best practices to ensure sufficient spectrum is available as quickly and affordable as possible, so all Canadians can enjoy the social, environmental and economic benefits 5G will bring. That’s why we continue to advocate for responsible, strategic and predictable regulatory policy as we see this as a critical opportunity to drive the timely and ubiquitous use of 5G. “… Read more
Google Cloud targets private 5G
Google Cloud has followed hyperscale giants Microsoft and AWS into the private 5G market with a host of specialist vendor and channel partners, including Betacom, Boingo Wireless, Celona, Crown Castle and Kajeet. The company says it offers “turnkey” private 5G with the option to run network management, control and user plane functions on-site in the cloud and edge clouds. The company says its recent major deals with operators will also give enterprises a way to roam beyond on-premise private 5G setups, allowing remote control over a range of edge functions. Interestingly, the press statements of the two new vendor partners at first glance seem to suggest that Celona is geared towards smart building and real estate deployments, and Kajeet towards school deployments, and both offer CBRS spectrum in the US. Meanwhile, a note from Betacom, which handles network design and services for public macro and private micro networks and favors the familiar pairing of Airspan and Druid for providing radio (RAN) and core networks, suggests it is focused on the Industry 4.0 space and is ready to tackle smart factories and the like within the new Google Cloud camp. Of course, the lines are blurred: Celona’s announcement is just as focused on large-scale real estate installations. … Read more
Dish reaches 20% coverage milestone
“Will they or won’t they” is a question that has been constantly debated in the telecommunications industry for months now. Will Dish Wireless meet the Federal Communications Commission-imposed deadline of serving 20% of the population by June 14, 2022? On the day, conflicting rumors were published that confirmed Dish’s impending success or failure. However, before the market opened on Wednesday, Dish confirmed that it had indeed met the FCC deadline and provided new 5G service to more than 20% of the United States by June 14. At this time next month, Dish will be filing its construction report with the FCC, so more detailed information will have to wait until then. But for now, Dish seems to be celebrating the win. “As of June 14, Dish provides 5G broadband service to more than 20% of the U.S. population. “This is a major milestone in building the world’s most advanced cloud-native 5G open RAN network, and Dish continues to change the way the world communicates,” the company said in a statement. Dave Mayo, executive vice president of network development at Dish Wireless, thanked a number of Dish partners in announcing the milestone. He thanked AWS, Cisco, CommScope, Dell, Fujitsu, Intel, JMA, Mavenir, Nokia, Oracle, Palo Alto, Qualcomm, Samsung and VMware, adding, “We are the only major network in the world built primarily with American vendors.” Dish Wireless’ rollout has gotten off to a rocky start. The company’s chairman, Charlie Ergen, told investors earlier this year that the company’s greenfield 5G network rollout was six months behind schedule. … Read more
Gradual expansion of C-band spectrum usage
Verizon, AT&T, aviation industry stakeholders and federal regulators say they have taken a series of steps to allow carriers to use an expanded amount of C-band spectrum near airports in a phased manner, while continuing to protect aircraft radio altimeters from potential interference from 5G C-band operations on the ground. “We believe we have identified a path forward for aviation and 5G C-band radio to continue to safely coexist,” Acting Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Billy Nolen said. “We appreciate Verizon and AT&T’s willingness to continue this important and productive collaboration with the aviation industry.” Verizon EVP and Chief Administrative Officer Craig Silliman said in a statement that the various parties reached an agreement that provides “a path forward that allows Verizon to fully utilize C-band spectrum for 5G around airports on an expedited and clear timeline.” Based on the agreement with the FAA, we will gradually lift our self-imposed restrictions on the deployment of 5G networks around airports over the coming months, which will allow even more consumers and businesses to benefit from the incredible capabilities of 5G technology. This progress is the result of months of close collaboration with the FAA, FCC and the aviation industry and lays the foundation for continued, robust 5G deployments.” Verizon and AT&T had delayed their initial launch in the C-band after the FAA and aviation industry players raised concerns about the impact that terrestrial 5G operations in this band could have on radio altimeters, which determine an aircraft’s altitude above the ground and are especially important in low visibility conditions. … Read more
US Cellular and Ericsson test 5G at altitude
US Cellular and Ericsson have begun using drone technology to test the carrier’s 5G network’s performance at altitude. The trial, supported by Ericsson Connected Drone Testing and Ericsson Device Analytics, flew a drone equipped with a 5G smartphone and RF measurement equipment between two of US Cellular’s commercial 5G towers in Beloit, Wisconsin. The goal was to capture and analyze 5G network connectivity and speed data in the air and compare it to results captured at ground level to “ultimately understand what is needed for the use and success of 5G connected drones.” While in the air, drone-mounted equipment collected performance metrics such as signal strength and quality, upload and download speeds, and latency at various altitudes. The data was collected using both low- and high-band spectrum, the companies said. “Our testing of wireless connectivity at altitude lays the foundation for improved drone connectivity in the air, providing command and control capabilities and making it easier, faster and safer to share real-time imagery and data,” said Narotham Saxena, vice president of technology strategy and architecture at U.S. Cellular. … Read more
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