Airport, telecom provider discuss future of 5G in Saskatchewan

Some airline officials in the United States are worried about the impact 5G could have on aircraft technology as it starts getting rolled out throughout America.

The fifth-generation technology for broadband cellular networks is supposed to be up to 100 times faster than the current 4G technology, allowing people to download and view things online at a faster speed than ever before.

It’s also expected to accelerate the adoption of smart technologies while improving latency, the reaction time of an internet connection, to be faster than ever before.

According to Reuters, AT&T and Verizon Communications agreed on delaying the use of 5G near some airports amid the increasing fears that it could disrupt the technology on some planes.

Justin Reves, manager of customer experience for the Regina Airport Authority, joined the Greg Morgan Morning Show on Wednesday to say Canadian airports’ fears surrounding 5G are not on the same level as those in the U.S.

“In some of the research, it does seem like the frequencies that 5G operate on may have some interference with the radio altimeters in aircraft,” Reves said.

“The good news is that there’s two departments of the government looking into this: Innovation Science and Economic Development Canada, they’re the ones who manage all the spectrums of the frequencies, and Transport Canada, they are responsible for aircrafts and airports.

“They’re working together, and what they’ve done pre-emptively is just set a zone around the airport that you cannot have 5G towers. It’s nothing to worry about today necessarily, but it’s something that we are all looking into going into the future.”

Providers excited about 5G

Telecom providers in Canada are excited for the future of 5G despite the nervous optimism by airports in Canada.

SaskTel communications manager Greg Jacobs told Morgan about the 5G network and what it will mean for people in Saskatchewan as it gets rolled out.

“Much like every evolution in the past, the introduction of 5G will dramatically improve the way that our customers can connect to the world and connect to what matters to them,” Jacobs said. “We’re focusing our efforts to get 5G into Regina and Saskatoon first. By this spring, we should have the majority of both of those cities covered from there.

“We’re going to look at expanding the network into the other major centres before getting into the corridors and the other rural areas of the province, so we’ll take a few years before the majority of the landmass of the province is covered. But we are working towards that.”

Jacobs says the technology will drive innovation across every industry in the province.

“It’s incredible the potential that this network has to completely revolutionize the modern economy,” he said. “If you think of what 4G ushered in — you know, the app-based economy, mass adoption of social media and widespread use of video — 5G is just another layer on that.

“It will just completely change everything.”