What’s believed to be Canada’s first 5G-powered smart campus has gone live at the University of British Columbia.
A statement from Rogers Communications said Tuesday university researchers can use it to test real-time 5G applications, as the company prepares to unveil a national network of the ultra high-speed mobile wireless system next year.
The system is the fifth generation of mobile wireless, offering speeds of up to 100 gigabits per second, making it about 100 times faster than 4G technology.
It also has the potential for nearly instantaneous links between devices and cellphone towers.
The university’s Point Grey campus includes several 5G towers and a computing and data storage facility similar to the cloud, but it saves time and bandwidth because it’s closer to where it’s required.
The smart campus initiative is part of a multimillion-dollar partnership with Rogers aimed at funding academic research in 5G applications and applied sciences.
Rogers said several research projects are underway, including development of earthquake and tsunami detection technology that takes advantage of the one- to two-millisecond connection time between transmitters and devices.
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The company said it’s continuing to test 5G in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver.
The Canadian Press
