MONTREAL – Two new 5G innovation hubs will be launched this fall in Quebec as part of the ENCQOR 5G initiative, a public-private partnership designed to boost economic growth driven by 5G technology.
Open to all Quebec-based small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and organizations interested in 5G, the hubs will be located at École de technologie supérieure’s Centech in Montreal and at Thales Canada’s Research and Technology centre and the Urban Science Joint Research Unit, located in Quebec City’s Metro High Tech Park.
Through the hubs, SMEs will have access to cutting-edge 5G infrastructure and will be accompanied by experienced resources for their experimentation, innovation or adoption projects. Financial resources will also be provided to SMEs in Quebec through ENCQOR’s innovation and adoption programs which will be launched in the fall and led by CEFRIO and Prompt.
The Evolution of Networked Services through a Corridor in Quebec and Ontario for Research and Innovation (ENCQOR) is a $400 million partnership that will see the federal government and the provincial governments of both Ontario and Quebec chip in $66.7 million each for a total of $200 million. Tech companies Ericsson, Ciena Canada, Thales Canada, IBM Canada and CGI will match the governments’ contributions and invest another $200 million into the project.
Over the next four years, ENCQOR pledged to establish the first Canadian pre-commercial corridor of 5G wireless communication technologies – the next generation of digital communication and the key to unlocking the massive potential of smart cities, smart grid, e-health, e-education, connected and autonomous vehicles, on-demand entertainment and media, and the Internet of Things (IoT), among others.
In advance of the fall launch of the hubs and financial programs, interested SMEs and organizations are invited to connect via the ENCQOR Quebec website.
