Bell partners with Western University for 5G research centre

Western University’s London campus will be transformed into a “living lab” as part of a partnership with BCE Inc. to test applications for the 5G network. Bell will spend $2.7 million on the advanced 5G research centre and deploy 5G infrastructure and equipment on the campus, with the hope the partnership will bolster drone security and shape smarter cities and communications systems. 5G applications set to be studied include industrial Internet of Things use, virtual and augmented reality technology, autonomous vehicles, multi-access edge computing, battery and small cell research, machine learning and artificial intelligence, Bell and Western said in a Thursday press release. "We continue to look for innovative partnerships that put our research community in a position to have real impact on society," Western’s acting vice-president Sarah Prichard said in the release. "By using campus as a 'living lab' for new technologies like 5G, we're offering a unique opportunity to ask a full range of important questions across disciplines." Researcher Mark Daley, Western’s special advisor to the president on data strategy, said connectivity was a core value of the university’s research culture. “This partnership will enable research that is built on both the better technical connectivity of 5G technology, and the interdisciplinary connectivity between Western and Bell,” he said in the release. Bell vice chair Wade Oosterman said in the release that the partnership would help to keep Canada at the forefront of global network innovation. The partnership is the second 5G research centre to be created as part of a joint venture between a Canadian telecommunications provider and higher education institution. Last November, Rogers Communications Inc. and the University of British Columbia said they had launched a multi-million dollar 5G “smart campus” announced in September 2018. It also follows other developments related to the advancement of 5G networks. Last July, a public-private partnership involving the federal, Ontario and Quebec governments, alongside five companies including Ericsson AB and IBM Corp. announced a wireless network used to test 5G technology was operational. Meanwhile another test-bed non-profit -- the Centre of Excellence in Next Generation Networks (CENGN) -- received $63 million in funding from the Ontario government in its 2017 budget. CECGN seeks to help small and medium enterprises test 5G-enabled technologies before they hit the market. Bell also announced on Thursday that it had launched its initial 5G service in Montreal, the Greater Toronto Area, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver. Fully developed standalone 5G networks are not expected to be deployed until at least next year, after the federal government last week delayed the 3500 MHz spectrum auction until June 2021.

Bell partners with Western University for 5G research centre

Brief | June 11, 2020

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Bell partners with Western University for 5G research centre

Brief | June 11, 2020

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