JUNE 2018 BCBusiness 15
S
elf-driving cars. Aug-
mented reality glasses.
Surgeries performed
remotely.
Fifth-generation wireless
connection is coming, and with
it technologies that are the stu
of science ction. With broad-
band speeds estimated to be
100 times faster than the cur-
rent 4G service, 5G is poised
to connect billions of devices
around the world—phones,
watches, computers, fridges,
even clothing—in real time,
opening endless possibilities
for the Internet of Things.
In March, the Government
of Canada announced that it,
along with the governments of
Ontario and Quebec and ve
global technolo…y companies,
will invest $400 million to
create a corridor of linked 5G
research hubs. The
ENCQOR
project—Evolution of Net-
worked Services through a Cor-
ridor in Quebec and Ontario for
Research and Innovation—will
give businesses in Canada's two
largest provinces the oppor-
tunity to experiment with 5G
technolo…y to unlock innova-
tion and economic growth.
Meanwhile, out west, B.C.
is working to bring its outlying
communities up to speed with
better, more reliable Internet
service. Days before the
ENCQOR news hit the media,
the Ministry of Citizens' Ser-
vices, responsible for informa-
tion technolo…y, announced
additional public and private
funding to improve connectiv-
ity in rural and remote areas
of the province, never mind
that new infrastructure will
be required once 5G becomes
available.
The woes of slow, low-
bandwidth Internet are well
known to Patrick Shannon, a
Haida Gwaii–based photogra-
pher and the founder of
InnoNative, a graphic design
and videography rm special-
izing in branding for Indig-
enous organizations.
"It was a big challenge,
stuz-phOtOgRaphy.COm
manufacturing
sOuRCE:tOuRism
WhistlER
Megabit:
unit for measuring
the speed of data
transfer between
two telecommunica-
tions points. One
megabit equals about
1 milllion bits
50 Megabits
Per seconD:
national target for
download speed
10 Megabits
Per seconD:
national target for
upload speed
the need for speed
Lightning-fast 5G Internet is on its way. The question is how long it takes
to reach the communities o B.C.'s beaten path
by Jessica Natale Woollard
TECHNOLOGY
(
the informer
)
O N
T H E
R ADA R
Fast Channels
December 2016:
crTc declared
broadband
Internet access
an essential tele-
com service in
canada. b.c. has
reset its targets
to match
web worries
Patrick shannon, a
photographer based
in Haida Gwaii,
wants better con-
nection for the coast
