Vidéotron has officially launched its 5G network, with the rollout to begin gradually in Montreal and then other urban centres in Quebec.
The carrier says that 5G will become a vital economic driver for Quebec businesses as it will allow them to break into new markets and create new products and services.
“5G technology is throwing the doors open to a world of marvels and Videotron is very enthusiastic about embarking on the path to this promising and exciting future, in which technology will truly serve the daily needs and wants of our families and businesses,” Vidéotron CEO Jean François Pruneau said in a news release.
As announced last year, Vidéotron is partnered with Samsung for its 5G network rollout. The company will be providing 4G LTE-Advanced and 5G radio access network solutions to the carrier.
“This first Canadian implementation will be an opportunity for us to apply our global experience in Canada. 5G will revolutionize Quebecers’ mobile experience in many ways and we are pleased to be part of this major advance at Vidéotron,” Samsung Canada CEO Jeff Jo said in the news release.
Vidéotron says it has been testing 5G technology under real-life conditions at the Open-Air Laboratory for Smart Living since 2019.
“Once fully implemented, 5G will make it possible to transmit data up to 20 times faster than existing networks, seamlessly connect approximately 1 million devices per km, and bring latency, i.e. the time it takes for a signal to travel from the device to the network server and back, to almost nil,” Vidéotron notes.
It’s worth noting that Canadians won’t see the blazing-fast speeds that 5G promises until 3.5GHz spectrum is auctioned off by the federal government in June 2021 and then deployed over the next few years.
Vidéotron is the first Canadian regional carrier to launch its 5G network. Canada’s national carriers: Bell, Rogers and Telus all launched their 5G networks earlier this year.
Source: Vidéotron
