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Rogers first in Canada to launch 3500 MHz 5G spectrum, continuing 5G network leadership

Jun 15, 2022

Rogers turns on 3500 MHz in Nanaimo, BC with major urban centres and rural areas to follow

Use of spectrum expected to allow Rogers to deliver ultra-low latency, more capacity, faster speeds and new capabilities for consumers and businesses on Canada’s largest and most reliable 5G network

Company is country’s largest investor in 5G spectrum

TORONTO, ON (June 15, 2022) – Rogers Communications announced today it has started to deploy its 5G 3500 MHz spectrum holdings, with the first location going live in Nanaimo, BC this morning. The company will continue its deployment across Canada, including the urban centres of Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver and multiple rural areas. More regions will follow as they are released according to the ISED timetable. Unlocking the 3500 MHz band increases network capacity and will boost speed and deliver ultra-low latency, paving the way for Rogers to offer infinite service possibilities for consumers and business customers, from augmented reality and machine learning to smart homes, vehicles and cities.

“As the country’s biggest investor in 5G spectrum and the first to launch 3500 MHz, we are excited to expand Canada’s largest and most reliable network¹ to more families, businesses and communities through the deployment of our 3500 MHz spectrum,” said Tony Staffieri, President and CEO, Rogers Communications. “Today’s deployment builds on our foundational 5G investment in low-band 600 MHz spectrum, so we can usher in a new era of mobile and fixed wireless broadband that will create jobs, fuel innovation and keep our economy competitive.”

New 3500 MHz spectrum capabilities will allow Rogers customers to experience faster speeds, range and improved response and download times. Rogers will leverage these new capabilities with its partners on exciting new consumer use cases that will power immersive 5G experiences. In fact, Rogers has already tested a hockey Augmented Reality Immersive in-venue fan experience leveraging Rogers 5G 3500 MHz network in partnership with AWS Outpost Mobile Edge Computing (MEC), Ericsson, Immersiv.io, MLSE and the NHL to showcase expected benefits to fans.

“We’re ready to take Canada’s largest and most reliable 5G network even further with the deployment of our 3500 MHz spectrum assets, leveraging the full capabilities of the technology to bring Canadians the best mobile experience wherever they may be,” said Jorge Fernandes, Chief Technology Officer, Rogers Communications. “The speed and capacity of 5G, coupled with our rapidly expanding network footprints, offers endless possibilities for consumers and business users, from smart homes, vehicles and cities, to augmented reality and machine learning and we’re eager to deliver these benefits to Canadians no matter where they may live.”

New capabilities will make many business solutions a reality for Rogers customers. Network slicing in the healthcare sector, like remote diagnostic capabilities, will provide real time images and X-rays to health care providers as they work enroute to health centres in ambulances. Using 5G MEC, port authorities will remotely control autonomous haulage vehicles in real-time to improve safety.

3500 MHz spectrum will enable improved capabilities and services to customers:

  • Rogers 5G SA & 3500 MHz – Rogers was the first operator to bring 5G to Canadians in early 2020, the first operator in Canada to launch a 5G Standalone Core, the command-and-control centre of the network, and the first to launch Canada’s first commercially available 5G Standalone network, expanding 5G coverage. 5G SA is a key milestone to evolve 5G and support future use cases like edge computing and network slicing, which is further enabled by 3500 MHz spectrum to deliver innovative, fixed and mobile broadband services such as private networks and bandwidth and ultra-low latency on demand.
  • Broadband IoT Applications – 3500 MHz spectrum will power new customer experiences including enhanced smart city and public safety applications, like road safety and efficiency or smart parking solutions, for example.
  • Rogers Wireless Improvements – Rogers wireless customers with eligible devices are expected to experience improvements in speed, coverage, lower latency and capacity.
  • Private Wireless Networks – Commercial enterprises, universities, and public sector customers will benefit from 3500 MHz spectrum to provide a private wireless network for business and industrial operations, which will be crucial in cases where Wi-Fi or existing cellular networks have proven unreliable and ineffective.
  • Wireless Home Internet – 3500 MHz spectrum will provide increased capacity and even more reliable services for customers, including the ability to service more customers in underserved and unserved rural, remote, and Indigenous communities with reliable connectivity.

The Rogers 5G advantage
Rogers is the only national, coast-to-coast carrier in Canada to offer Standalone 5G, necessary to fully enable technologies such as network slicing and mobile edge computing (MEC) solutions. Coupled with the deployment of 3500 MHz, this combination will offer extraordinary benefits to consumers, including 5G private networks, enhanced AR/VR use cases and remote medicine applications.

Rogers recently announced an exclusive strategic technology alliance with Microsoft to combine Canada’s largest and most reliable 5G network with Azure, unlocking 5G MEC and making Rogers Canada’s largest operator partner of Microsoft Teams solutions and first in Canada to offer Microsoft’s Operator Connect Mobile. The two technology companies will also explore collaboration on R&D opportunities to support the Internet of Things and MEC to advance 5G innovation and Canada’s digital economy.

Rogers is fueling the development of 5G in Canada by building a robust technology ecosystem of R&D partnerships with post-secondary institutions, including UBC, University of Calgary, Sheridan College and University of Waterloo to develop new 5G consumer and business services, including the development of innovative 5G firsts and use-cases in the transportation, healthcare and public sectors. The release of the 3500 MHz spectrum will further enhance this research work.

About Rogers
Rogers is a leading Canadian technology and media company that provides world-class communications services and entertainment to consumers and businesses on our award-winning networks. Our founder, Ted Rogers, purchased his first radio station, CHFI, in 1960. Today, we are dedicated to providing industry-leading wireless, cable, sports, and media to millions of customers across Canada. Our shares are publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: RCI.A and RCI.B) and on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: RCI). For more information, please visit: www.rogers.com or http://investors.rogers.com.

For more information
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¹ Rogers was ranked first in the umlaut Mobile Data Performance audit in Q2, 2021. Visit https://www.umlaut.com/en/benchmarking/canada. Largest based on total square kilometers of Rogers 5G coverage compared to published coverage of other national networks.