40 Years Later: The Canada Day Call in Toronto that Launched a Nation’s Wireless Future
Rogers celebrates 40 years of wireless in Canada—from a historic call in 1985 to a nationwide 5G network—and sets its sights on the next generation of innovation, connecting Canadians wherever they go.
It’s been 40 years since the mayors of Toronto and Montreal picked up bulky, briefcase-sized cellular phones and made Canadian history with Ted Rogers, the founder of Rogers Communications.
With thousands looking on in Nathan Phillips Square on July 1, 1985, Art Eggleton, Toronto’s Mayor at the time, placed Canada’s very first cellular phone call to his Montreal counterpart, Jean Drapeau. The Rogers Canada Day phone call changed our country, marking the beginning of a revolution that would transform how Canadians live, work, and connect.
It was a milestone inspired by bold vision. Sharing that stage for the monumental phone call was Rogers, the visionary founder of Rogers, who saw not just a technological feat, but the beginning of a wireless future. “It’s a great day for Canada to have this new high-tech industry start and be pioneered by Canadians,” he told the crowd in the square.
Today, looking back Eggleton recalls the magnitude of the moment. “That call didn’t just connect two cities. It connected Canada to the future.”
Rogers believed in taking risks and making strategic bets to invest in the next generation. In fact, for the first 25 years, the company didn’t make a cash profit in wireless. The company’s founder wasn’t chasing immediate returns, he was investing long-term to build a connected future few could imagine.
As history goes, Ted Rogers’ bold vision laid the foundation for decades of wireless innovation in Canada, with Rogers investing $45 billion in its wireless network since the 1980s.
Since that first call in 1985, each new generation of wireless technology has opened doors to new possibilities. 1G introduced voice calls. 2G added texting. 3G brought email and web browsing. And with 4G, the smartphone era took off – powering streaming, social media, and the rise of the on-demand economy with companies like Amazon, Uber and AirBnB, changing the way we live.
Rogers has led the way through the wireless milestones. In 2008, the company introduced the iPhone to Canadians. In 2011, Rogers became the first to launch a nationwide LTE network. And in 2020, Rogers introduced Canada’s first 5G service, unlocking faster speeds, lower latency and a new era of innovation for everything from wearable technology to connected healthcare.
The scale is staggering: In July 1985, mobile networks handled 100 calls per day. Today, Canadians make 100 million calls and use 6.5 billion megabytes of data on the Rogers wireless network every day.
What started with a 10-pound phone is now a pocket-sized connection to the world for Canadians. Rogers now connects millions of Canadians every day on Canada’s largest and most reliable 5G network – whether they’re using Waze to get directions to Long Beach in Tofino, BC, FaceTiming a friend from Signal Hill in St. John’s, Newfoundland, or making a call from Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto.
The Next 40 Years: The Sky is the Limit
Rogers has come a long way, but the company isn’t slowing down. It continues to expand its 5G network, now reaching over 2,500 communities, and is rolling out 5G+. But its sights are set even higher, said Mark Kennedy, Chief Technology Officer, Rogers.
With satellite-to-mobile connectivity on the horizon, Rogers is preparing to bring coverage to more places, extending connectivity beyond the limits of terrestrial networks. Whether you’re hiking in Northern British Columbia or travelling on a remote Ontario highway, the next generation of wireless will keep you connected.
As Rogers celebrates 40 years of wireless in Canada, it looks to the future with the same spirit that made that first call possible back in 1985 on Canada Day: a belief in the art of the possible, a commitment to relentless innovation and a drive for groundbreaking firsts.
Originally appeared on torontolife.com