OTTAWA – The federal government announced Monday it will help Canada's 5G communications development by contributing to a previously announced public-private partnership designed to boost economic growth driven by 5G technology.
The $400 million partnership, dubbed Evolution of Networked Services through a Corridor in Quebec and Ontario for Research and Innovation (ENCQOR), originally announced in the fall of 2016 by the two provincial governments, 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.
The funds will help to create a new “5G corridor” enabling governments, businesses, and academics to link research facilities and laboratories across Eastern Canada in order to collaborate on the development of 5G technology and test products and services on 5G equipment. The network will provide access to advanced technologies such as programmable broadband networks, the Internet of Things, silicon photonics, big-data analysis and cloud computing.
“Technology is changing the way we live, work and engage with one another, and we are in a global innovation race”, said Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) minister Navdeep Bains, in the release today. “To prepare for the future, we must be bold, visionary and decisive. That’s why our government is investing in 5G technology. This investment in next-generation wireless technology will help make Canada a global innovation leader and secure 4,000 jobs.”
In addition to the 4,000 jobs, which ISED said includes 1,800 specialized 5G jobs over the next five years, the project is expected to create jobs at SMEs across Ontario and Quebec. ENCQOR is one of the first projects to be funded under the Government of Canada’s $1.26 billion Strategic Innovation Fund.
“This exciting 5G initiative will help our businesses here in Ontario – and across Canada – capitalize on the vast potential of high-speed communications technology to expand their horizons, accelerate their innovation, and transform the way we all live and do business”, said Ontario Minister of Research, Innovation and Science Reza Moridi, in the announcement.
“The Government of Quebec is proud to contribute to the success of the ENCQOR project, which will create an important synergy between businesses – particularly businesses in the information and communications technologies sector – and the research and innovation community”, added Dominique Anglade, Quebec Deputy Premier, Minister of Economy, Science and Innovation, and Minister responsible for the Digital Strategy.
5G connections could offer up to 10 gigabits per second of download speed when fully launched. With mobile data traffic expected to increase by 700% from 2016 to 2021, 5G technology will enable widespread adoption of new technologies such as autonomous vehicles and smart applications based on the Internet of Things.
