Canada
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January 15, 2021 – On January 12, former Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne was sworn in as Canada's new Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry. The Prime Minister's Office said Champagne “deeply understands the needs and priorities of Canadians living in rural communities, including the importance of improving high-speed internet.” On January 13, Champagne signed a new general coordination agreement with the U.S. on radiocommunication and earth station spectrum use.
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January 11, 2021 – Université de Sherbrooke has committed to new telecommunications research in 5G fields such as manufacturing, IoT, and smart energy management. Its Interdisciplinary Institute for Technological Innovation will be equipped with advanced 5G systems from Bell. "The benefits of new technologies and their positive impact on return on investment will enable us to develop solutions to address many of society's needs," said VP of Partnerships and Knowledge Transfer, Vincent Aimez.
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Global 5G
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January 25, 2021 – Due to COVID-19, the UK is delaying its 5G spectrum auction by two months. Ofcom announced that its 700 MHz and 3.6-3.8 GHz auctions will now take place in March, rather than January. The regulator predicted such auctions could increase mobile capacity by 18% and enhance the deployment of 5G networks and mobile broadband. Operator BT said “the economy’s recovery from COVID-19 is dependent on resilient digital infrastructure and we urge Ofcom to resist any further requests for delays.”
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January 25, 2021 – As 5G rolls out, a key question for the mobile industry is how to make mmWave systems more cost-effective. Underestimating the role of mmWave could be a competitive disadvantage, according to a new report by GSMA. As mmWave systems scale up, the report found that increased choice of consumer equipment can reduce deployment costs and help to promote 5G adoption. It further urged governments to make 5G an economic catalyst by assigning mmWave bands to mobile services.
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January 14, 2021 – Together with vendors including Ericsson, Australian operator NBN Co has claimed a 5G transmission record for distance. The company used mmWave to send a stable, 1 Gbps 5G fixed wireless transmission across 7.3 km of Australia’s far south. NBN is relying on 5G to provide fixed wireless to rural Australia and said this range will increase in the future. It cautioned that wholesale services may be slower than 1 Gbps, however, due to equipment limitations, network design, and high user volume.
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January 13, 2021 – At CES 2021, Samsung America VP mobile product management, Drew Blackard, and Ice Mobility chair, Denise Gibson, shared their views on 5G’s future. As next-generation infrastructure develops, Blackard expects to see ‘only-on-5G’ applications, such as augmented reality, be enabled for the first time. 5G will also transform industries beyond the consumer space, according to Gibson, including supply chains for manufacturers and retail giants – while greatly reducing their environmental footprint.
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