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Rogers invests $3.3 billion to secure the leading number of 3500 MHz licences in 169 of 172 regions, maintaining position as Canada’s largest national 5G network
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Rogers multi-decade investments support Canada’s economic growth, creates jobs, fuels innovation, and attracts investment to urban, suburban, and rural communities to bring the best of 5G to Canadians
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3500 MHz spectrum will complement Rogers foundational investments in low-band 600 MHz spectrum across all provinces and territories to enhance Canada’s first, largest, and most reliable 5G network
Rogers Communications announced it invested $3.3 billion in 3500 MHz band spectrum, covering 99.4% of the Canadian population, to enhance and accelerate the expansion of Canada’s first, largest and most reliable 5G network. This investment in Canada’s future positions the company as the largest single investor in 5G spectrum in the country across rural, suburban and urban markets.
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“This investment in 5G spectrum will build on our existing 5G assets and enable us to deliver the world-class connectivity Canada needs to increase productivity, fuel innovation, create jobs, and compete in a global economy for decades to come,” said Joe Natale, President and CEO, Rogers Communications. “We went into this auction with a clear plan and acquired the spectrum we need to continue driving the largest and most reliable 5G network in Canada and to deliver long-term value for our customers, shareholders and Canada.”
As Canada’s only operator of a truly national wireless network with spectrum holdings in virtually every community in Canada, Rogers has invested $3.3 billion (equivalent to $3.38 per MHz/POP) to acquire additional 20-year licences of 3500 MHz spectrum holdings in 169 out of 172 ISED Tier 4 regions across Canada, including all key regions, the majority of rural areas, and all urban centres including Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary and Ottawa. The spectrum purchase will be funded through the company’s existing cash balances and bank credit facilities.
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3500 MHz high-band spectrum, which has a unique combination of characteristics to enable new 5G applications and services, introduces the next generation of 5G innovation, including:
- Future of mobility – optimal combination of speed, capacity and coverage in one 5G spectrum band to deliver applications and services that utilize ultra-reliable, low latency broadband wireless networks for consumer and business customers, including wireless private networks
- Fixed Wireless Access – enables reliable connectivity to underserved and unserved rural, remote and Indigenous communities
- Broadband IoT Applications – powers new customer experiences including smart city and public safety applications, digital farming, and natural resources
- Mobile Edge Computing – enables high-capacity wireless cloud computing closer to end users, powering ultra-low latency for real-time applications, such as remote healthcare, robotics, manufacturing and industrial automation
Rogers was the first operator to bring 5G to Canadians in early 2020, and over the past year and a half it has delivered 5G connectivity to over 700 communities across Canada. By the end of 2021, 1,000 communities will have access to Rogers 5G. Most recently, 5G network leadership was recognized by umlaut, the global leader in mobile network benchmarking, which named Rogers 5G as “Best in Test” and Canada’s most reliable 5G network – demonstrating the premier user experience provided by Rogers. For more information, visit here.
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Rogers was also the first operator in Canada to launch 5G Standalone Core, the command and control centre of the network, powered by Ericsson in December 2020, a key milestone to evolve 5G and support ultra-low latency and future use cases, which will be further enabled by Rogers new 3500 MHz spectrum to deliver innovative fixed and mobile broadband services such as private networks, and bandwidth and ultra-low latency on demand.
Rogers has continued to evolve its 5G ecosystem, working with strategic partners to research, incubate and commercialize made-in-Canada 5G technology and applications with the University of British Columbia, the University of Waterloo, University of Calgary, Communitech, Ryerson University Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst and ENCQOR.
Over the past three decades Rogers has invested over $60 billion to bring next-generation connectivity to communities and businesses across Canada. Building on this investment, Rogers recently announced plans to combine with Shaw to invest $6.5 billion to deliver world-class connectivity across Western Canada, create up to 3,000 jobs, and close the digital divide faster than either company could alone. Together, the two companies will create Canada’s most robust wholly owned national network, delivering more choice and competition for businesses and consumers, as well as realizing the full benefits of next-generation networks for Canadians.
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