Media giant launches 5G network in valley

400 times faster than the blink of an eye

Internet connectivity said to be 400 times quicker than the blink of an eye has come to Kelowna and other parts of the Southern Interior.

Rogers Communications has launched its 5G network in 26 more cities and towns across Canada. The service is now available in Kelowna, West Kelowna, Penticton, Oliver and Osoyoos.

“5G represents a massive technological transformation that will change the way British Columbians live and work,” Rick Sellers, president of Rogers’ BC Region, said in a Tuesday news release.

The lag between a wireless user sending a request and a network response will “theoretically” drop to one millisecond, or 400 times faster than the blink of an eye, Rogers says.

Such fast speeds will allow for a massive increase in the number of connected devices, and a range of capabilities and applications that require quick responsiveness. Rogers 5G is currently accessible to the two million customers on Rogers Infinite plans and unlimited business wireless plans with select 5G-ready devices.

The 5G network was launched earlier this year in some of Canada’s largest cities, including Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal.

In May of this year, Rogers partnered with the City of Kelowna and UBC Okanagan for a so-called “smart city” test project.

As part of the pilot, sensors powered by Rogers 5G network have been installed at two intersections in downtown Kelowna to gather anonymous vehicle and foot traffic patterns.

Collection of the data, it is said, will help UBC researchers find ways to improve vehicle, pedestrian, and cyclist safety, and to develop new technology that will instantly deploy emergency vehicles when a collision is detected by the sensors.