LIFE In The 5G era
Developers are just gearing up, laying plans for next-level wireless amenities
When the calendar flipped over into January this year, 5G wireless service had already been launched in more than 130 cities and towns across Canada, with coverage in the GTA being especially potent and widespread.
Yet despite being up to 50 times faster than 4G and offering up to 1,000 times more capacity, the service has yet to resonate with condo buyers, says Tom Storey, a sales rep with Royal Lepage Signature Realty. “Most people tell me they’re happy with the 4G service they are getting, and if they want faster Wi-fi they’ll pay to have it hardwired into their units,” he says, adding that many of his clients consider 5G a mobile-only technology that offers few benefits in the home. While it’s true that 5G’s higher-frequency signals lack the range of 4G, and can be interrupted by physical obstructions such as windows, walls and buildings, some real-estate consultants, service providers and even condo developers are betting 5G will become a musthave amenity as its in-home capabilities become more apparent.
One of those is Wiredscore, a New York-based consulting firm that launched a residential arm after seven years spent working with commercial developers to improve and certify wireless connectivity in office buildings around the world. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, where Wiredscore Home debuted last year and where 5G is more widely available than in Canada, 15,000-plus homes have committed to certification.
You’re in a spin Class, and suddenly the virtual instructor is right there in front of You. or You Could be in a mixed-reality Cooking Class with a virtual Celebrity Chef. the Possibilities are endless. — andrew Frietas
The speed and capacity of 5G, along with its independence from wired infrastructure and ability to connect multiple devices, make it an appealing alternative to the home-based Wi-fi networks that are straining under the demands of the COVID-19 pandemic, says Andrew Frietas, Wiredscore’s head of Canadian markets. “If you have two parents on Zoom calls and two children being educated online, 5G could be a real saviour.”
Canadian condo developers PCI and Starlight Investments, along with Kingsett Capital, have already engaged Wiredscore’s residential services; they need help assessing how much space must be allocated in new and existing buildings to accommodate 5G network hardware.
“We see how technology and connectivity impact our customers’ productivity and understand how critical it is to their success,” says Jon Love, chief executive of Kingsett Capital, a private-equity real-estate investment firm. “As we set out to excel in these areas across all of our properties, we view Wiredscore and their technical expertise as a partner whose contributions accelerate our advancements.”
There’s also the cost-benefit analysis. According to Connected, a real estate magazine with a focus on prop-tech, property values will rise by an average of 2.8 per cent when buildings are 5G-enabled.
While several new luxury properties outside Canada have already been wired for 5G — examples include Hudson yards in New york City and boston’s Lovejoy Wharf — most Canadian developers are still at the assessment stage. The exception: The new eve Park condo project on the western outskirts of London, Ont. described by local developer s2e Technologies as “a groundbreaking community concept that pushes the envelope on net-zero-energy living,” the 80-household enclave has been designed around a 5G-reliant automated valet service that will dispatch shared AVS from an on-site rotary parking tower
to residents’ doorsteps when prompted via a smartphone app. (designed for driverless pickups and drop-offs within the condo community, human drivers will take the wheel on the wider road network.) Now on sale after receiving municipal zoning approval in early 2020, eve Park is scheduled to receive its first residents by late 2021.
Frietas believes 5G will give rise to condo features that have yet to be invented, but also that the service is capable of enhancing existing ones. Take workshare spaces. developers carving out serious square footage to co-working amenities may be inspired by Wework, the multinational co-working provider, which recently announced it is partnering with Verizon business and Corning to install 5G base stations at 10 u.s. locations.
As responsive as smart home devices already are, 5G’s tenfold latency improvements — that is, its extremely short lag time — would take them to the next level. This applies not only to voice-controlled features — like the taps, fireplaces and stovetops already in use in projects like Tridel’s bianca, Aquabella and Aqualuna — but in more time-sensitive smart-security features, like the cameras, locks and lights in use at Ten york and edenshaw developments’ TANU project in Port Credit.
From the golf simulator at the Imperial Plaza, at Avenue road and St. Clair, to the virtual yoga classes slated for The Wyatt at 500 dundas St. e., virtual reality experiences are already rolling out in GTA condos. but 5G will make those experiences more immersive, Frietas says. “you’re in a spin class, and suddenly the virtual instructor is right there in front of you. Or you could be in a mixed-reality cooking class with a virtual celebrity chef. The possibilities are endless. And as with 4G-enabled tech, such as music streaming and ride sharing, we’ll soon wonder what we ever did without it.”