Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) announced Monday a $45-million investment that will support the creation of a 5G testbed and living lab program as part of a $66-million project led by Canada’s Centre of Excellence in Next Generation Networks (CENGN).
Based in Kanata, Ont., CENGN plans to develop eight living labs across Canada and support more than 100 Canadian startups and scaleups through the project, according to a CENGN news release. Living labs will be located in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec, and will focus on the validation of 5G and advanced network technology solutions across several industries, including smart manufacturing, mobility, smart buildings, campuses, robotics, and smart agriculture. The program will also focus on environmental stability by developing technologies to improve environmental outcomes across multiple sectors, according to ISED’s press release.
The federal government’s investment is being made through ISED’s Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF). Industry partners supporting the project include Ericsson Canada, Nokia Canada and Rogers Communications.
“Since its founding in 2014, CENGN has been a welcome addition to the Kanata tech community,” said Jenna Sudds, member of Parliament for Kanata–Carleton and federal minister of families, children and social development, who made the SIF funding announcement Monday at a special event, on behalf of Minister of Innovation François-Philippe Champagne.
“Telecommunications technologies such as 5G provide the infrastructure that allows our economy to thrive, and the sector is a true catalyst for our economy. Every new job in the telecommunications industry creates 1.3 new jobs within the broader Canadian economy, and this investment is expected to create and maintain an estimated 400 new highly skilled jobs across Canada,” Sudds said in a statement.
“CENGN living labs leverage the latest cutting-edge technology in cloud, 5G and edge computing to provide sector-related testing environments that empower Canadian startups and scaleups for their next step in commercial growth,” said CENGN’s president and CEO, Jean-Charles Fahmy. “Our services will enable Canadian innovators to test, validate and certify their solutions and generate Canadian IP, driving the digital transformation that is essential for enhancing our country’s industry competitiveness and productivity.”
Photo borrowed from CENGN’s website
