Telesat partners with Encqor 5G
January 12, 2022
By Chris Forrester
Ottawa-based satellite operator Telesat is partnering with 5G experts Encqor 5G.
A joint statement says that Encqor 5G seeks to establish the first Canadian pre-commercial corridor of 5G wireless communication technologies and unlock the massive potential of commercial and industrial industries (i.e., smart cities, e-health, e-education, connected and autonomous vehicles, on-demand entertainment/media and IoT).
Encqor 5G already has some big clients within its portfolio, including Ericsson, Ciena Canada, Thales Canada, IBM Canada and CGI, along with provincial coordinators like Prompt, ADRIQ and the Ontario Centre of Innovation (OCI).
Telesat says it will conduct demonstrations, trials and pilots that will advance 5G connectivity, particularly to industries operating in rural areas. This includes the utiliation of the Encqor testbed, satellite assets, as well as national and international 5G infrastructures. “The partnership will also allow both Telesat and Encqor 5G to collaborate with other industries, academia, and organisations across Canada and around the world,” says Telesat.
As for Encqor 5G it says that since its inception in 2017, the organization has created over 1,800 high-qualified R&D jobs and brought together a wide network of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), industry, government, researchers, and academia to collaborate on the creation and commercialization of new and disruptive products, processes, and services over a five-year span and beyond.
“As a leader in satellite communications and through our close collaboration with the Canadian, Quebec and Ontario governments, we felt a partnership with Encqor 5G was a natural next step in fusing the satellite industry with mobile networks to accelerate the future of 5G technology,” said Stephen Hampton, Manager of Public Policy at Telesat. “We firmly believe our combined efforts will not only benefit the Canadian Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and digital technologies industries, but that the development of these services will also minimise the current connectivity divide for industrial verticals. We think this will have a marked impact on the citizens of Canada and will set the stage to export technologies and 5G networks to the global market – especially once we seamlessly integrate our highly advanced Telesat Lightspeed LEO satellite network into these 5G networks.”