Rogers expands 5G network to 50 markets, including Thompson-Okanagan – Business News

Photo: Canadian Press

Rogers Communications is expanding its 5G technology to 50 new markets starting today – including communities in Thompson-Okanagan.

The roll-out includes 26 cities in BC, including Kelowana, Kamloops, Vernon, Salmon Arm, Penticton and Osos.

Several lower major territories are also included.

The company said it would launch the technology in a mix of small towns and large cities in Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan.

Hamilton, Waterloo, Ont., Gatino, Q., Edmonton, Calgary, Victoria, Surrey, BC, Regina and Saskatoon all have access to 5G, Rogers January roll-out downtown Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal.

The new service guarantees instant speeds for downloads, uploads and streaming.

However, many Canadians do not have immediate access to technology because the network requires the use of a 5G-enabled phone.

Rogers has a few 5G phones on the market, but more is expected to come and consumers will change when upgrading older devices.

“5G marks a major technological transformation that will change the way British Columbians live and work,” said Rick Sellers, president of Rogers, BC. “Strong digital infrastructure and this next-generation technology are key to productivity and innovation as we gain power from the epidemic, and as we reset the territory worldwide for BC and Canada in the future.”

Rogers launched Canada’s first 5G Smart City pilot earlier this year with the City of Kelowana and the University of British Columbia.

This year the company launched network sites in West Kilowana and Osoyos.

With an ultra-short delay, the lag between sending a request and the network responding could theoretically drop to a millisecond, which the company claims is 400 times faster than the blink of an eye.

Earlier this year, Rogers announced that it would bring 350 new jobs into the local economy by 2021 through its BC Customer Solution Center in Kellogg.

– With files from Canadian Press