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September 01, 2020 - 6:00 AM
Rogers Communications is expanding its 5G internet system into 26 B.C. communities including seven in the Southern Interior, it announced today, Sept. 1.
Originally the system was rolled out in the downtown areas of Vancouver, Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal but will reach 60 cities and towns across Canada by the end of the year.
These will include Kamloops, Salmon Arm, Vernon, Kelowna, Penticton, Oliver and Osoyoos in what Rogers calls Canada’s “first and largest 5G network.” West Kelowna and Witset First Nation were added earlier so there will be a total of 29 B.C. communities with 5G.
5G is the latest upgrade in internet service and is said to be 10 to 100 times faster than 4G.
“The lag between sending a request and the network responding will theoretically drop to one millisecond, 400 times faster than the blink of an eye,” states a news release from the company. “This will allow for a massive increase in the number of connected devices and a range of capabilities and applications that require quick responsiveness.”
READ MORE: How Kelowna's 5G project could help save lives across Canada
That will allow for things like first responders having dedicated networks and farmers using wireless sensors that monitor soil conditions, Rogers said.
It is already being used on a limited basis by the City of Kelowna with pilot projects in conjunction with UBC Okanagan students looking at things like interactions between traffic, bicycles and pedestrians downtown.
Rogers’ 5G network will be available to customers on the company’s Infinite plans and unlimited business wireless plans on certain 5G-ready devices.
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