Think of a busy downtown block, vehicles crammed onto the road, cyclists and pedestrians scurrying about, businesses and condos lining the street. It’s a densely packed hub of activity both physical and digital.
It’s also a living lab.
With the deployment of 5G networks — an enormous leap in the speed and capability of wireless connection — how all of those densely packed people, places, and machines interact becomes increasingly important.
The technology will act as a backbone for countless innovations.
Imagine that same busy block, but laden with sensors and devices communicating in real-time, providing vast quantities of data and monitoring the surrounding environment. Perhaps that integration helps marshal more public transit to deal with a backlog, or reroutes autonomous vehicles trying to deliver parts or parcels. It could alter city infrastructure to deal with a sudden deluge, or allow throngs of people to connect to a network at the same time without lag.
The potential of technologies using 5G networks is enormous, but innovations built on that promise need to encounter real-world promise and peril to prove their worth. To that end, the City of Calgary is launching the first 5G test zone in Canada, which will allow researchers, academics, start-ups, and small and medium-sized enterprises to experiment with their ideas in the urban wild.
The collaboration with Rogers, Platform Calgary, and Calgary Economic Development in establishing Calgary’s 5G Discovery Zone is just one global example of the cooperation that’s needed to move those technologies forward.
“The impetus behind it was to figure out what we can do to help support that aspect of our local economy and those types of businesses,” says Erin Chrusch, leader of business and local economy with the City of Calgary, in reference to tech companies.
“This is one way we can help, to be able to use the assets at our disposal to work with the private sector, in collaboration with them, and provide these kinds of opportunities for small businesses and startups.”
The promise of 5G
It’s easy to get lost in the hype and jargon of 5G and lose sight of what it could actually mean for society. That’s particularly true when everything from your toothbrush to your fridge advertises itself as a connected device that’s sure to have an impact (on your plaque buildup or ice cube supply, anyway).
But there are significant implications.
International consulting firm PwC estimates the introduction of 5G connectivity in Canada could increase GDP by approximately $94 billion annually “with all major Canadian industries benefiting.”
For individual businesses, there’s the ability to track more things more precisely, from a single package within one metre of its location, to the various machines that hum and churn and move in a warehouse or manufacturing space.
Nimble and precise supply chain management, which sounds boring but is critical to all businesses, can adapt quickly and efficiently.
That sort of precision and monitoring can also allow companies to create digital twins of their operations in order to test new ways of doing things without interfering in their daily operations.
Smaller businesses can better monitor inventory and serve customers, or collaborate with employees without any of the lag and stumbles that are common in today’s digital space. Not to mention, benefitting from better delivery services and those boring supply chains.
And, of course, there’s the promise (or threat) of driverless vehicles which require the speed and precision of 5G.
In the specific case of Calgary’s experiment, applicants will have to fit into one of three categories: transportation and mobility, public safety or climate and environment.
The City says this will facilitate things like smart intersections to keep traffic moving, get first responders to emergencies sooner, or react quickly to environmental changes. But it’s not dictating the specific technologies that will be explored and isn’t sure what will be selected.
Its role is to offer public space and remove barriers, including things like individual permits that would normally be required for this sort of public testing. And it hopes that will benefit local companies and researchers.
Rogers will help provide participants with equipment and supports.
Chrusch says companies are always eager to talk about ways they can work with the City and integrate their technology, but that’s a whole separate process.
“We really hope that this will create opportunities for the companies that are participating — whether that’s with the city or with other companies or other municipalities — we just want to see the companies here succeed, and if we can play a role in that, that’s fantastic,” she says.
Collaboration and changing attitudes
When any big organization meets tech, there’s tension — a slow-moving mass meeting an agile innovation. Merging those two things can be a challenge.
“That’s why we have an innovation ecosystem to support the innovators, to get them through the various stages of testing so that it’s ready for full application,” says Terry Rock, the CEO of Platform Calgary, a tech incubator in the city. “And then those companies on the other side have the receptive capacity to bring it on and integrate it into their operation.”
He says that, although Calgary is playing a bit of catch-up with some global competitors, the momentum is building.
That sort of help is critical in the new era of connected devices and ultra-fast networks.
EY, another global consultancy, says all levels of government need to work together to foster the development and expansion of 5G networks. It will also require the companies that build networks to shift their attitudes.
“It may not feel intuitive for telcos to change the way they collaborate,” according to a post by Rohit Puri, who oversees the Canadian telecoms sector for EY. “It will take some serious changes. Chief among them is letting go of the way it’s always been and getting comfortable in a reimagined network where telcos work more closely with governments and other businesses.”
Chrusch says the City is eager to continue working with tech companies, through initiatives like its living lab project or the 5G Discovery Zone, to seek solutions and confront the challenges of technological adaptation.
“It’s not always going to be smooth sailing, but that’s not unusual whenever you’re trying something new,” she says.
