OTTAWA – The Federal Government is banking on big data to help it make smarter use of the country’s wireless spectrum.
On Monday, ISED minister Bains officially opened The Big Data Analytics Centre, a new research facility within Ottawa’s Communications Research Centre that will collect and analyze vast amounts of data on Canada’s wireless spectrum in order to optimize the limited amount available. Specifically, the research will help the Feds to predict where on the wireless spectrum there are unused radio waves that can help to support wireless networks straining under the current data traffic loads created by Canadians’ use of smartphones, tablets, TVs and radios.
“We can’t make more wireless spectrum, but we can make better use of it”, said Minister Bains, in a statement. “To do that, we need to understand exactly how it’s being used and where. We need to know, in real time, where there are unused radio waves that could be put to work. Big data is the key to understanding that. It gives us the power to turn data into useful insights that allow us to predict where the surplus capacity will be at any given time.”
The research at the Big Data Analytics Centre may also be used in other ways, such as to further the deployment of the Internet of Things.
“Using big data analytics, cloud computing, crowdsourced information, data fusion and state-of-the-art visualization, the Centre enables our researchers to work with big data in ways that were previously not possible to support sustainable spectrum management and help foster innovation in Canada”, added Communications Research Centre president Dr. Jean Luc Bérubé.
Photo of Minister Bains at Monday's launch event via Twitter
