‘Real’ 5G coming in 2020: Telus CFO

Parts of Canada will see “real 5G,” as opposed to just trials, by late 2020, Telus Corp.’s chief financial officer Doug French told an investors’ conference Wednesday. That will only be possible after the conclusion of the 3.5 GHz spectrum auction, slated for 2020, he said. “You can do some pilots in certain areas with the current spectrum you have, but it's not going to be broadly spread,’ French said at the conference, hosted by Desjardins. French noted, according to a transcript, that the exact timing and rules for that auction have yet to be announced. Telus has been emphasizing the importance of that spectrum for 5G and calling for it to be released quickly. The spectrum has been previously touted by Telus for its ability to cover large urban areas and indoor spaces. French reiterated Wednesday that the auction “will be crucial for 5G,” and that he expects it will be held sometime in the middle of next year. After the auction wraps up, “you could roll out and put that spectrum into service quite quickly,” he said. Once that happens, wireless network speeds will increase and latency will reduce, which will allow applications like autonomous cars and healthcare apps, where response time is essential, “to monetize further,” he predicted. “You're then going to also just get pure speed. So gaming and other opportunities over wireless will be more practical than they are today," where today it's limited to the upper-tier of wireline home internet, French said. Rogers Communications Inc. CFO Tony Staffieri also emphasized the importance of the 3.5 GHz spectrum when he spoke to analyst Maher Yaghi at the conference. He noted he was limited in what he could say about the 600 MHz auction, which is ongoing, but added that later auctions of higher-band spectrum, especially the 3.5 GHz, are more important for telecoms. Staffieri said some of the consumer marketing for 5G, focused on devices, could come as soon as later this year. “But I think the ability to actually use 5G will be … limited and much more isolated,” he said. “In terms of usage, it will start with consumer over the next few years, but the real business case for 5G continues to centre around enterprise. And I would say those business models are still in their infancy. And we see that happening in the sort of three-to-five year horizon, maybe two-to-five year horizon,” he said. Glen LeBlanc, CFO at BCE Inc., said he agreed that 5G data plans will be on offer nationally by late 2020 or early 2021, the same time frame that the 3.5 GHz spectrum will be deployed. LeBlanc said that Bell is in an “enviable position” heading into the 3.5 GHz auction because it already holds some 3.5 GHz spectrum due to its joint venture with Rogers in the Inukshuk Wireless Partnership, currently the largest holder of 3.5 GHz spectrum. The government is in the process of deciding how much of the 3.5 GHz spectrum that’s deployed will be clawed back for wireless use. Rogers and Bell have both told the government that at most, it should only claw back one-third of the airwaves. “The hope is that we will have ourselves in a position to hold some 3.5 at the start of that auction,” he said. LeBlanc noted that one of the ways to monetize 5G will be smart cities, which Bell is trialling in partnership with several municipalities. That includes initiatives like sensors that monitor how full garbage cans are and when street lamps need to turn on and off. “We have the infrastructure, and I think now it’s all about understanding the ability to monetize,” he said. — With reporting by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca and editing by Ahmad Hathout at ahathout@thewirereport.ca

‘Real’ 5G coming in 2020: Telus CFO

News | March 20, 2019

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‘Real’ 5G coming in 2020: Telus CFO

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