While many Tumbler Ridge residents still struggle with getting decent wired internet at home (ahem), cell phone speeds in town are taking another jump as Telus is now offering 5G in town.
The new service offers speeds up to 1.7 gigabytes per second (gbps), fast enough to allow you to download an episode of Ted Lasso in less than five seconds.
The previous fourth generation service, also called lte, topped out at 75 gbps.
It’s part of Telus’ $13 billion investment in infrastructure between now and 2024. “It will contribute to improved health and educational outcomes for British Columbians, in addition to enabling an entrepreneurial spirit and unleashing human productivity,” says Darren Entwistle, President and CEO of Telus. “Now more than ever, Telus is committed to keeping Canadians connected, productive and healthy. Indeed, the ongoing expansion of our next-generation 5G technology is bridging time and distance, allowing residents to live and work in any community without compromising productivity or economic opportunity. Importantly, as we look optimistically toward a period of economic and social recovery, our global leading network will continue to drive the innovation that empowers the diversity and competitiveness of our country’s private sector and improves economic equality in our digital world, helping us answer the most pressing social challenges in health, education and the environment for the benefit of all Canadians.”
Telus is expanding its 5G network to 615 communities across Canada, including 187 new communities in British Columbia by the end of the year.
In addition to the speed boost, 5G offers increased capacity, ultra-low latency, network slicing and edge computing. These advancements, says Telus, are the foundation to power new applications serving enhanced health and educational outcomes for Canadians by improving access for all, regardless of where you live and work.
“The evolution of 5G will also allow us to connect more than 30 billion life-changing devices, supercharge drones with sensors for improved crop management and make autonomous vehicles smarter and safer—and that is just the beginning. It is estimated that 5G will create 250,000 jobs and contribute $150 billion to Canada’s economy over the next 20 years, which will be key to Canada’s fiscal recovery. The significant investments we are making in our world-leading network to rapidly expand our 5G footprint is enabling us to connect the citizens of Tumbler Ridge to the people, resources and critical information they need as we continue to navigate the global pandemic,” says Entwistle.
There are three frequency bands which 5G operates in. The low band is slower, but has a greater range, and people with 5G phones may see improved connectivity when driving in the back country or between here and Dawson or Chetwynd, though there are still many areas on the Telus coverage map that still do not have coverage.
The mid-band provides higher speeds (up to 1.7 gbps), and should be available within a few km of town. These are running on the same band as 4G, and comprise the majority of the 5G service.
The high band of 5G is not available in Canada yet. Also known as millimetre wavelength, it provides ridiculously high speeds (up to 5Gbps; to put that in perspective, fibre internet is typically 1 Gbps, though it can get to 10 gbps) but only within a few hundred metres of the tower, with no obstructions. In the states, cell phone companies are planning to roll out microtowers, but this service is not coming to Canada for at least a couple years, as the bandwidth hasn’t even been allocated by the CRTC.
Trent is the publisher of Tumbler RidgeLines.
