Canada
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December 16, 2020 – While Canada's initial 5G deployments focused on adding 5G radios to existing 4G infrastructure, Rogers is now bringing standalone 5G networks to Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver. Using equipment from Ericsson, the new networks were launched on December 16. Canadian customers will require more advanced 5G phones to use this core, however, since devices currently available in Canada are only designed to connect with non-standalone 5G and 4G networks.
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December 15, 2020 – On December 15, Videotron announced Montreal as the starting point for its commercial 5G service, with plans to expand the network across Quebec. Its 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) will be provided by Samsung, covering 600MHz, 700MHz, 2.6GHz and AWS bands. Samsung's RAN supports both LTE and 5G New Radio (NR) technology, making the network more efficient to operate.
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December 8, 2020 – Xplornet says it plans to bring 5G to rural Canada at the same time as next-generation wireless reaches Canada's largest cities. On December 8, the rural-focused provider confirmed it will use Ericsson equipment to deploy 5G wireless broadband to residents and businesses in non-urban parts of Canada. This partnership positions Xplornet to begin offering 5G services in summer of 2021.
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December 10, 2020 – New research from Ookla says Canada’s median 5G download speed (209.24 Mbps) ranked third among its G7 peers in 2020. The U.S. ranked sixth at 64.11 Mbps. Canadians also had the second-most time spent on 5G connections, at 7.5%. Between Q3 2019 and Q3 2020, Canada saw a 7,600% increase in 5G deployments. Ookla additionally notes that Canadian users may not experience the fastest speeds that 5G can offer until 3.5GHz spectrum is auctioned here next June.
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Global 5G
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December 15, 2020 – Despite COVID-19, 5G sales were nearly as strong in 2020 as predicted before the pandemic, partly thanks to the introduction of the iPhone 12. This momentum should continue in 2021, as 5G coverage increases, devices become less costly, and more applications tap into 5G's strengths. 2021 is also when 5G will transform a wide range of industries – including health, retail, robots and cars – with Bosch, Volkswagen and many other companies adding custom 5G networks to their facilities next year.
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December 14, 2020 – 5G Americas is highlighting research that shows 5G subscriber growth in the past 12 months was four times greater than 4G, with 225 million 5G subscribers being added. During third quarter 2020, commercial 5G networks totalled 143 around the world, with a further 37 expected to go live before the end of this year. In Q3, there were 3.4 million North American 5G connections, meaning that over a million 5G connections were added last quarter, representing quarterly growth of 47% in North America.
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December 2, 2020 – Based on a study of Telefónica’s 5G network, Nokia research has found that 5G networks can be up to 90% more energy efficient than 4G. As the global transition to 5G will involve vast increases in traffic, such reduced power consumption is vital. In 2019, Nokia helped to modernize over 150 base stations by supplying zero-emission products, reducing their energy consumption by 46% on average.
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