- ENCQOR 5G (Evolution of Networked Services through a Corridor in Quebec and Ontario for Research and Innovation) is a transformational Canada-Quebec-Ontario partnership focused on innovation in the field of 5G technologies.
- The project brings together industry, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the public sector, centres for innovation and academia. It aims to unlock the technological promise of 5G in the short-term and stimulate economic growth in the long-term.
- ENCQOR 5G has 5 centres for innovation located in Ontario and Quebec that offer a 5G test platform where SMEs can develop and test new solutions for free.
Montreal (Quebec), April 9, 2020 – ENCQOR 5G is pleased to announce the launch of a technological challenge for Quebec and Ontario SMEs to develop innovative 5G solutions to help Canada become more resilient when facing situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Without restricting the challenge to specific areas, the solutions sought could notably be applied to the health and educational sectors, or various economic sectors, such as transportation, manufacturing, agriculture and smart cities.
“We want to provide our support to SMEs, which will be able to envision and develop creative solutions to meet the challenges raised by situations such as the present pandemic, through leveraging new and numerous possibilities offered by 5G technology. The COVID-19 pandemic presents an opportunity for Quebec and Ontario SMEs to contribute their expertise in reinventing the way things are done in various key sectors of human activity and to make us collectively stronger in times of crisis” said, Mr. Pierre Boucher, General Manager of ENCQOR 5G.
5G technology offers three main advantages over 3rd and 4th generation technologies:
- A much faster data transmission speed which enables, for example, a better remote work experience;
- Mass connectivity (several objects can be simultaneously connected in a given territory – for example, up to a million sensors per km2);
- A very low latency of the network, meaning almost instant response times, which opens the door to various applications in telemedicine and the remote control of machinery and equipment in the manufacturing sector.
ENCQOR 5G support programs
In Quebec, the two programs offered to SMEs by ENCQOR 5G to meet the new technological challenge related to a situation similar to COVID-19 are:
- The pre-commercial technological projects program aimed at developing and testing new generation products and services using ENCQOR 5G’s digital and 5G technological
- And the adoption project program which targets innovative digital infrastructure and 5G technology use cases in diverse sectors, with the aim of illustrating their practical application.
In Ontario, SMEs can submit their project as part of the ENCQOR 5G Demonstration Program which supports standalone projects, as well as collaborations between SMEs and industrial partners and/or public sector organizations.
Through these three programs, ENCQOR 5G will finance 50% of the cost of project development work for the SMEs accepted, in accordance with the terms set out in the program used.
“Quebec and Ontario SMEs are now invited to submit their projects to ENCQOR 5G. This is an opportunity for us and our partners to develop and test solutions which will have the potentialto make a real difference in the lives of citizens and communities, socially and economically, during these difficult times. 5G technology offers Canada the opportunity to equip itself with new tools to deal with the risks posed by a pandemic, such as COVID-19 and adapt to this new environment,” concluded Mr. Boucher.
About ENCQOR 5G
The ENCQOR 5G initiative is funded by the governments of Canada, Quebec and Ontario as well as leading industry players Ericsson, Ciena, Thales, CGI and IBM. ENCQOR 5G is coordinated by Innovation ENCQOR, and delivered in Ontario by OCE and in Quebec by Innovation ENCQOR, Prompt and ADRIQ. The program has a mandate to bring together SMEs and academia to contribute to the advancement of research, innovation and demonstration of applications through a pre-commercial 5G test bed.
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Source: ENCQOR 5G
For information:
Frédéric Tremblay
Ryan Affaires publiques
Tel.: (514) 874-1909