Canada
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February 11, 2021 – While still in the early days of 5G deployment, a new report by Ookla says that Canada’s median 5G download speeds are already 205% faster than 4G. The report said Quebec and Alberta had the fastest 5G speeds in the fourth quarter of 2020, while B.C. had the most commercial deployments, and Alberta had the highest time spent on 5G. Montreal was the city with the fastest median 5G download speed (220.9 Mbps), followed by Calgary at 195.23 Mbps and Edmonton at 183.24 Mbps.
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February 10, 2021 – Last summer, TechRadar reported that a revival of BlackBerry’s phone brand could be underway with the U.S. company OnwardMobility. Last week, OnwardMobility's CEO spoke to Nikkei Asia about the upcoming product, saying “more details will be announced within the next few months.” Although Peter Franklin said OnwardMobility is still developing its distribution plan, TechRadar is now reporting that a release date for the 5G-enabled BlackBerry smartphone could be revealed "very soon."
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February 4, 2021 – In a conference call with analysts on February 4, BCE Inc. said it will undertake an unprecedented investment program over the next two years to accelerate network growth. $1 billion will be spent on increasing connectivity, with plans to double 5G coverage by the end of 2021. Bell’s 5G network currently serves over 150 communities. The capital plan is the company’s largest to date and will add up to 900,000 fibre and rural wireless home internet locations, for a total broadband footprint of 6.9 million.
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Global 5G
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February 10, 2021 – France’s spectrum agency ANFR says it has authorized 19,938 5G sites as of February 1, and that 5G sites increased by 10.5% in January. 48.9% of these sites are now technically operational. In France, mobile operators currently provide 5G using three frequency bands: 4,413 sites have been authorized in 700 MHz, while 5,678 have been authorized in 2,100 MHz and 4,775 sites are authorized in the more recent 3.5 GHz band. AFNR notes that some sites are shared between operators.
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February 8, 2021 – According to PC Magazine, conspiracy theorists tend to overlook the fact that low- and mid-band 5G technologies are based on radio frequencies that have been safely used for decades. At the same time – despite concerns about the use of high-band 5G – such millimeter-wave frequencies are so weak they can be blocked by glass, leaves, clothing and skin. Meanwhile, although mmWave coverage is limited, years of study have found no effects on humans at the power levels set by regulators like the FCC.
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February 1, 2021 – Speaking to the Centre for Regulation in Europe, Telefónica’s chairman called for greater deregulation and new rules for a digital world that will support telcos while promoting “growth, quality employment, sustainability and inclusion." José María Álvarez-Pallete said digitalization can add 3.2 points of annual growth to Europe’s GDP and highlighted the role connectivity has played during COVID-19. He further called 5G a revolution that requires a "new mindset from operators and regulators.”
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