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truthshield · 2 years ago

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IBM to open Innovation Centre in Calgary 250 new jobs to be created

Today IBM Canada announced it will open an IBM Client Innovation Centre (CIC) for Western Canada, planning to create 250 new jobs in Calgary. The new centre aims to enhance the city’s technology sector and diversify the economy. It will have a focus on sustainability, delivering consulting services and technologies such as 5G, artificial intelligence, hybrid cloud, and blockchain, helping to elevate Alberta’s position as a centre for energy transformation. IBM is working with Invest Alberta, Calgary Economic Development and Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund (OCIF) to help establish the CIC. Sustainability challenges have impacted important economic engines in Canada, and according to an IBM study, 83 per cent of chief executive officers believe sustainability-related investments will improve their business results over the next five years. Through the Western Canada CIC, IBM will help businesses transform their environmental and social goals to create a long-lasting impact for their communities, employees, customers, and investors in five key areas: climate risk management, infrastructure and operations, supply chain, electrification, energy and emissions management, and sustainability strategies. “IBM’s choice to locate its new Client Innovation Centre for Western Canada in Calgary is truly something to celebrate. This investment shows once more that Alberta has the economic momentum to continue to move Albertans forward. We have worked closely with IBM over the past year to make this investment possible, and are thrilled to see this happen, adding even more momentum to Alberta’s rapidly growing tech sector,” said Jason Kenney, Premier of Alberta. The creation of the CIC aligns with efforts from Alberta and the City of Calgary to create jobs and grow its already changing tech sector. Reports from Calgary Economic Development and IDC Canada reveal that Alberta’s spending on digital transformation is expected to surpass C$20 billion by 2024, of which Calgary businesses will account for nearly C$7.5 billion. New jobs associated with the centre will include application developers, business and transformation analysts, testers, and project managers. The centre is an opportunity to help retain youth like recent graduates in the city, giving them an opportunity to have a global career in Calgary. In today’s announcement, Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek said that Calgary is focused on growing its tech sector and this new centre is a step to increase job opportunities and focus on sustainability developments while building the city’s economy. “The centre will help organizations accelerate the pathways to net zero, and it will continue to elevate Calgary’s position as a world leader in energy transition and transformation. … People are definitely taking notice of Calgary, and they’re all wondering how we’re meeting with such incredible success in growing our economy. … We have a very skilled and diverse workforce in our city, and that’s a very important reason that IBM chose Calgary for this expansion,” she said. The CIC will assume a portion of the 25,000 square foot office IBM currently occupies in the Beltline area of downtown Calgary as a collaboration hub for IBM, clients, and partners. Tracy Bean, IBM Consulting, partner, Client Innovation Centres, noted that the company decided not to build a completely new centre for real estate footprint reasons. “Through COVID, in the last few years everyone was looking to reduce their real estate footprint … we’re going to retain what we have in Calgary. We’ve actually earmarked a component of the office to the growth for this centre,” Bean said. The Western Canada CIC will be part of IBM’s proven model for tech and skills growth with its network of IBM Client Innovation Centres, including those in Canadian cities like Halifax and Montreal. https://ift.tt/9YSrFev https://ift.tt/VBEWPvn

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vsplusonline · 5 years ago

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Canada needs a plan to prevent hostile post-coronavirus foreign takeovers, experts warn

New Post has been published on https://apzweb.com/canada-needs-a-plan-to-prevent-hostile-post-coronavirus-foreign-takeovers-experts-warn/

Canada needs a plan to prevent hostile post-coronavirus foreign takeovers, experts warn

National security experts are warning that Canadian businesses struggling with the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic — and what comes after — could be easy prey for hostile foreign takeovers.

And there are growing calls for the federal government to come up with a plan to protect companies vital to the Canadian national interest from being acquired by firms tied to authoritarian regimes, including those in the medical supply industry, energy and critical infrastructure.

“We can’t split the economy away from national security,” said Stephanie Carvin, a national security expert and assistant professor of international relations at the Norman Patterson School of Public Affairs at Carleton University.

“This is what we’re seeing with Huawei right now but Huawei isn’t the end — Huawei is the beginning. This is going to be possibly one of the biggest national security challenges that Canada faces for the next decade is trying to figure out how to manage these geo-economic threats.”

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Huawei, the Chinese tech giant, is currently fighting to be allowed to build parts of the Canadian 5G telecom network. While the federal government is reviewing potential security risks from that, it has repeatedly delayed making a decision on whether to allow the firm to bid on contracts.

READ MORE: Incels labelled violent extremists in latest CSIS annual report

In an annual report released on Wednesday, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service highlighted the risk posed by foreign takeovers as a continued danger to Canadian national security.

Specifically, CSIS warned that Canada’s “economic wealth, open business and scientific environments, and advanced workforce and infrastructure” posed an enticing target to foreign investors.

The agency said that while many foreign investors are not hostile, those from state-owned enterprises and firms with close ties to governments or intelligence services need to be weighed very carefully.

“Corporate acquisitions by these entities pose potential risks related to vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure, control over strategic sectors, espionage and foreign influenced activities, and illegal transfer of technology and expertise,” the report stated.

“As difficult as it is to measure, this damage to our collective prosperity is very real.”

0:57 Trudeau says China ‘doesn’t seem to understand’ Canada’s judicial independence

Trudeau says China ‘doesn’t seem to understand’ Canada’s judicial independence

Conservative MP Ed Fast, who was formerly the international trade minister, pressed the government during a virtual meeting on Thursday to commit to reviewing the Investment Canada Act.

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He said the coronavirus pandemic is driving home the need to think more critically about foreign takeovers, particularly when they involve domestic critical infrastructure or supply chains.

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Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, however, would not commit to doing so.

“He raises a very important point that today, at a time when our economy is facing a very difficult situation, Canadian companies are particularly vulnerable and today’s also a time when we have particular reason to pay attention to the sanctity of our supply chains,” Freeland said.

“Let me assure the honourable member that our government, informed by the work of our excellent intelligence analysts, is very focused on ensuring the safety and sanctity of Canadian companies and on ensuring they are not acquired inappropriately.”

Fast asked two more times but Freeland did not answer the specific question

“It is never right for Canadian companies to be acquired by hostile foreign interests.”

Trudeau similarly dodged questions from journalists on Thursday about the CSIS report.

“Our national security agencies do excellent work in highlighting risks to our country,” he said when asked what steps the government is taking or will take to reduce the risk of Canadian companies being taken over by hostile foreign-owned actors.

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“We will always support them and take on their recommendations and make sure that we are doing everything we can to protect Canadians from malicious actors, whether they be foreign or domestic.”

1:00 Public Safety Minister: Government considering banning Huawei

Public Safety Minister: Government considering banning Huawei

Concerns about foreign takeovers of key Canadian companies gained public attention in 2012 and 2013 when China’s state-owned CNOOC Ltd. began its bid to take over the Calgary oil firm Nexen.

In the years since, repeated Chinese efforts to acquire Canadian energy firms have been met with criticism from security experts who warn that allowing state-owned enterprises to take over Canadian businesses endangers both the reliability of critical assets and the very nature of the free market itself.

READ MORE: Ottawa to keep closer eye on foreign takeovers to protect Canadian firms

As Carvin explained, the concern is that unlike private companies, state-owned enterprises cannot fail because they are backed by governments that will pull out all the plugs to prevent them from suffering the consequences of any bad financial decisions.

Many of those, in the case of China, Saudi Arabia and Russia, are diametrically opposed to the rules-based international order that it is in Canada’s strategic interest to preserve and protect.

There is also the ever-present fear that the state-owned firms will be used to spy or steal industrial secrets, as American authorities allege Huawei has been doing for years.

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Foreign takeovers of Canadian businesses are evaluated under the Investment Canada Act, which weighs the “net benefits” of proposed takeovers with an eye to things like potential jobs versus potential risks.

To weigh those risks, national security agencies like CSIS and the RCMP can share their concerns with the government and when the federal cabinet shares those concerns, it can block takeovers.

Effectively, it forces officials to ask the question: jobs might be created, but at what cost?

That’s what happened in 2018 when Chinese-owned CCCC Ltd. tried to take over Aecon, a Canadian construction firm that works on nuclear facilities and telecommunications equipment, among other major public systems.

And it appears to be what led the government to announce last month that it will now keep a closer eye on “all foreign investments by state-owned investors, regardless of their value, or private investors assessed as being closely tied to or subject to direction from foreign governments.”

That announcement also said the government will pay closer scrutiny under the Investment Canada Act to any foreign investment in Canadian businesses “related to public health or involved in the supply of critical goods and services to Canadians or to the Government.”

“Many Canadian businesses have recently seen their valuations decline as a result of the pandemic, consistent with patterns in other major economies. These sudden declines in valuations could lead to opportunistic investment behaviour,” said the announcement.

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“This enhanced scrutiny of certain foreign investments under the (Investment Canada Act) will apply until the economy recovers from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Wesley Wark, a visiting professor at the University of Ottawa and a national security expert, said that’s a sign the government is realizing it needs to pay closer attention to the threats posed by foreign takeovers in a new, rapidly changing global landscape.

“There is an awakening concern about Canadian economic security and even economic sovereignty, which will be accelerated by the impacts of COVID-19 and challenges around maintaining critical supply chains for health-care supplies,” he said.

“There will be increasing focus on preserving Canada’s economic security in the midst of a turbulent global economy … We are already seeing a turn to creating greater economic security around health-care supplies, which will last well beyond COVID-19.”

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mikemortgage · 6 years ago

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Apple makes risky decision to wait until at least 2020 to release a 5G iPhone

Apple Inc. plans to hold off until at least 2020 before offering an iPhone that can connect to the next generation of high-speed phone services coming next year, according to people familiar with its plans.

The delay may make it easier for rivals like Samsung Electronics Co. to win over consumers to phones that connect to 5G networks, which will provide a leap forward in mobile data speeds when they are introduced in 2019.

As with 3G and 4G, the two previous generations of mobile technology, Apple will wait as long as a year after the initial deployment of the new networks before its main product gets the capability to access them, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing the company’s plans.

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Apple’s previous calculations — proven correct — were that the new networks and the first versions of rival smartphones would come with problems such as spotty coverage, making consumers less compelled to immediately make the jump. This time, 5G boosters argue the switch is a much bigger speed upgrade, making Apple’s decision to wait riskier. The networks will open the floodgates to new types of mobile computing, 5G advocates say.

The decision to sit on the sidelines may be related to the company’s feud with Qualcomm Inc., the leader in 5G-enabled chips, and its alliance instead with Intel Corp., which won’t have chips available in time to support 2019 phones.

Apple didn’t respond to requests for comment.

In the past, it hasn’t been a problem for the Cupertino, California-based company to wait a year after much of its competition to release phones compatible with the latest wireless networks. The original iPhone in 2007 was so far ahead of rivals that its slower connection, known as 2G EDGE, wasn’t a deal breaker for early adopters. Even the iPhone 4S with its flashy features like a stainless steel frame and the promise of Siri were enough for some to ignore its lack of true 4G LTE speeds.

But going into 2019, the stakes have changed: the leap from 4G to 5G is significant enough that it may become a major selling point for new devices. Samsung plans to have 5G phones in its Galaxy range next year. And in China — the largest market for smartphones — major producers Oppo and Huawei Technologies Co. also have indicated they plan to offer 5G phones.

“Apple has always been a laggard in cellular technology,” said Mark Hung, an analyst at Gartner Inc. “They weren’t impacted in the past, but 5G is going to be much easier to market. But if they wait beyond 2020, then I think they’ll be impacted.”

Apple also is under more pressure to keep its iPhone customer base. The company has lost a fifth of its value the past two months amid a tech stock rout and reports of suppliers cutting forecasts, signaling the new models introduced in September aren’t selling as well as anticipated. While the global smartphone market has declined for four consecutive quarters, according to industry analyst IDC, the iPhone accounts for almost 60 per cent of Apple’s revenue and is the foundation of the company’s push for sales in consumer services such as music, video and cloud storage.

Wireless carriers like Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc. are likely to prioritize the marketing of 5G phones in order to get customers to migrate over as soon as possible. The new networks will take advantage of a greater range of radio frequencies and be capable of carrying much higher-speed data. That provides an incentive to move traffic to the speedier networks because it will lower the costs for the wireless carriers. Think of the difference in the number of cars a multi-lane freeway can accommodate versus a single-lane regular road.

To be sure, for some existing Apple customers, the lack of 5G connectivity next year won’t be a deterrent. A portion of consumers upgrade their current iPhones to the new models regardless of the changes to the device. Given that hardware upgrade cycles are slowing overall, a 2020 launch for 5G could create a super cycle of upgrades from iPhone users who would still be using an iPhone X or XS two years from now.

Since 2011, Apple has debuted all major new iPhone models in either September or October. The company, however, has released mid-cycle updates like the Verizon iPhone 4 in February 2011, geared toward specific networks. It also launched a smaller model, the iPhone SE, in March 2016.

Huawei and Samsung can build 5G modems — not just Intel and Qualcomm. But Apple is unlikely to use chips from competitors, and the companies may also struggle to produce enough supply for the iPhone’s huge volumes — more than 200 million a year.

Bloomberg.com

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pritishkumar · 16 days ago

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Exploring 5G Networks in Calgary: A Revolution in Connectivity by IT Solution Nest

Discover how 5G networks in Calgary are transforming the digital landscape with IT Solution Nest at the forefront of this connectivity evolution. With the advent of 5G technology, Calgary is experiencing unprecedented growth in internet speed, reliability, and connectivity, enhancing both personal and business digital experiences. IT Solution Nest brings you the latest insights, advancements, and solutions to make the most of 5G networks in Calgary.

From businesses relying on fast, reliable connections to support remote work, to individuals enjoying enhanced streaming and gaming experiences, 5G is reshaping daily life in Calgary. IT Solution Nest specializes in helping businesses and individuals leverage 5G capabilities to boost productivity, improve connectivity, and ensure seamless communication. Our experts analyze the impact of 5G on industries like healthcare, finance, and logistics, offering tailored solutions to meet the needs of Calgary's growing tech ecosystem.

Visit IT Solution Nest to stay updated on 5G advancements, explore how to future-proof your technology infrastructure, and find strategies for adopting 5G networks in Calgary. From guidance on 5G-compatible devices to business network optimization, we are your dedicated partner for next-gen connectivity.

#5G Networks in Calgary #5G Calgary #Calgary 5G connectivity #5G technology Calgary #Calgary 5G network solutions #5G business solutions Calgary

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mikemortgage · 6 years ago

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Telecoms win Calgary court fight with big implications for 5G rollout

Canada’s four largest telecommunications companies’ won a court battle with the City of Calgary over using city property for telecom infrastructure, access that’s increasingly critical as they prepare to build 5G networks.

BCE Inc., Rogers Communications Inc., Shaw Communications Inc. and Telus Corp. launched a challenge at the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta against Calgary’s new municipal rights-of-way bylaw that extended the city’s power to regulate telecom infrastructure when it went into effect in January.

The telecoms argued the rules would hurt their ability to efficiently deploy 5G networks, which will blanket cities with tens of thousands of small cells affixed to buildings, street lamps and bus stops.

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In a judgement issued last week, Justice Jolaine Antonio sided with the telecoms and ruled the bylaw does not apply to telecommunications services. She found the city overstepped its authority since the federal government has jurisdiction over telecommunications.

“I find that the bylaw intrudes on the protected core of federal power over telecommunications, and that the intrusion amounts to a serious or significant intrusion on the core power,” Antonio ruled.

By placing “virtually every aspect” of telecom infrastructure deployment under local oversight, Antonio ruled the bylaw “thereby impedes the ability of telecoms to develop national networks in an orderly, reliable and efficient manner.”

The judgment comes as cities and telecoms rework their relationships for the shift to small cells from traditional 50-metre cell towers. It can take at least a year to get approval for a macro tower, a process that isn’t realistic for 5G building blocks that are about the size of pizza boxes.

In the U.S., the telecom regulator moved to speed up the approval process by imposing time limits on how long a city can take to approve infrastructure and limiting the fees municipalities can charge for the right to use city property. Canada’s regulator has not yet introduced similar measures, but is considering the matter as part of its review of the broadcast and telecom acts.

As it stands, federal siting rules require telecoms to consult with municipalities, where civic officials may have legitimate concerns over safely setting up equipment in city rights-of-way. But this decision affirms the federal government has final say.

“We are very pleased with the court’s decision as it reinforces the federal jurisdiction over telecommunications services,” Telus spokesman Richard Gilhooley said in a statement, adding Telus will work with Calgary to determine next steps, he said.

Calgary is reviewing the decision, city solicitor and general counsel Glenda Cole said in a statement.

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mikemortgage · 6 years ago

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Network challenges loom large for telecom’s ‘4G on steroids’

Cellphone towers disguised as pine trees, palm trees or cacti aren’t fooling many as they jut out of the natural landscape. Just google the Rogers Communications Inc. “tree” that towers over Sudbury, Ont., or the BCE Inc. ones in Muskoka, Ont.

Of course, wireless companies have for years dressed up existing steel poles in an attempt to appease cottage, beach or desert dwellers who’d rather not see the infrastructure needed to power their mobile devices.

But telecoms will need new camouflage tactics as they prepare for the 5G network evolution that will enable real-time applications such as self-driving cars and smart cities. On top of the approximately 33,000 towers already dotting the Canadian landscape, 5G networks will require a few hundred thousand small cells equipped with radio equipment and antenna.

Relationship woes: Canadian cities don't want to split costs with telecoms for data

How one company plumbed an ultra-fast internet route across the bottom of Lake Ontario

Variously described as the size of pizza boxes, briefcases or laptops, approximately 273,000 small cells will be embedded into Canadian cityscapes over the next five to seven years, Accenture PLC estimates. You’ll find these cells every few city blocks on lampposts, buildings, newspaper boxes and bus stops, as well as in every office building because 5G operates at higher frequencies that can’t easily penetrate walls or buildings.

Yet there’s tension between the telecoms that want to build their networks as quickly as possible and the municipalities that want to know exactly what goes where and how it might affect their properties. There’s also a debate over how much the telecoms will pay for the right to latch their equipment onto existing infrastructure.

Municipalities have some say where telecom equipment goes under federal tower siting rules that require consultation for any tower taller than 15 metres. But, ultimately, the federal government has jurisdiction over everything to do with telecommunications, and it might change the rules to speed things up given the importance of 5G, which is expected to create a host of yet-to-be-dreamed-up industries, much like 4G enabled app economy players such as Uber Technologies Inc. and Airbnb Inc.

As part of the Government of Canada’s review of the broadcast, telecom and radiocommunication acts, it is consulting with the public on whether its procedures are “5G ready.” It has already acknowledged that shared responsibility over passive infrastructure presents challenges for efficient deployment.

A 5G cell in a U.S. city. Installing such a network is underway in the U.S. where its equivalent of the CRTC — the Federal Communications Commission — has ruled that municipalities have 60 days to approve or deny proposals to attach a small cell to an existing structure. The order also limits the fees municipalities can charge, although it gives them leeway for “reasonable aesthetic reviews.”

“Inefficient access can dramatically increase the cost of deployment or prevent it altogether,” Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) stated in its terms of reference for the legislative reform.

“Given the importance of passive infrastructure for network deployment and the expected growth of 5G wireless, are the right provisions in place for governance of these assets?”

While Canada asks questions, the U.S. has already changed its rules to constrain a city’s control over small cells on their streets.

The Federal Communications Commission last month passed an order that puts a shot clock on small cell deployment, giving municipalities 60 days to approve or deny proposals to attach a small cell to an existing structure. The order also limits the fees municipalities can charge, although it gives them leeway for “reasonable aesthetic reviews.”

Telecoms praised the change, but some municipalities are livid. The U.S. Conference of Mayors called the order a “wrongful intrusion” and a “gift” to private enterprise, and vowed to take its beef to court.

Asked if Canada would consider similar rules, an ISED spokesperson said it’s “closely monitoring the developments in other countries, including the United States, regarding the management of siting next-generation 5G small cells.”

Canada’s consultation phase runs until November, but the expert review panel isn’t expected to deliver its final report until January 2020, though telecoms and cities alike acknowledge the need for upgraded regulations when it comes to 5G infrastructure.

Telecoms have already started deploying small cells that can be upgraded to 5G and are testing the new technology in various labs and environments across the country. For now, the small cells improve 4G LTE network connections. Telecoms don’t divulge how much they each cost.

As it stands, telecoms must come to separate deployment agreements with individual cities, typically broad agreements that include fibre deployment. Those agreements just cover public property. For private property, such as office buildings where 5G networks may require two or three small cells per floor, telecoms have to strike deals with each landlord.

Getting everyone on board involves knocking on a lot of doors. But Rogers has figured out a way to test 5G in a real environment with fewer complications.

It inked a three-year, multi-million-dollar partnership with the University of British Columbia to build a 5G hub at its Vancouver campus on the tip of a peninsula that hosts 56,000 students and 15,000 faculty and staff.

“The idea is that this becomes an actual live production,” Jorge Fernandes, Rogers Communications’ chief technology officer, said. “It’s not just a lab environment.

Critically, UBC isn’t technically part of the City of Vancouver or the University Endowment Lands.

“They have complete planning authority over this ‘city,’” Fernandes said. “If you think about it from our perspective, it’s the ideal location to test real-world applications in an environment where you can get the technology deployed very, very quickly.”

In this case, Rogers and UBC have the ability to put small cells wherever they like for their research (they’ll share the intellectual property).

They plan to study radio propagation — small cells behave differently than macro cells, so they’ll analyze how radio waves behave and how simple things such as foliage affect network quality — 5G applications such as traffic or energy management, as well as artificial intelligence and machine learning to analyze smart city data.

Still, selling 5G can be tough. Most cities want the latest networks as a way to attract residents and businesses, but 5G’s benefits remain a bit of a mystery.

“It’s not something you can buy out of a box right now,” Fernandes said.

It will take 12 to 18 months for the first iteration of 5G, which Fernandes described as “4G on steroids.” But it’s the second release — date to be determined — that will have the real-time capabilities that would really help cities do things such as manage traffic or even check when a garbage can fills up.

The sales pitch comes down to exploring such possibilities and others. Telecoms hope municipalities will see it as an exchange where municipalities give access to infrastructure in return for smart city applications that will ultimately reduce their costs, Fernandes said.

Despite the benefits, there has been pushback, usually related to infrastructure placement, but sometimes related to health concerns.

“People want to have the service, they want to have the coverage, but they don’t want to see where it’s coming from,” Fernandes said.

It inked a three-year, multi-million-dollar partnership with the University of British Columbia to build a 5G hub at its Vancouver campus.

Gord McGuire, the City of Hamilton’s director of engineering services, is one of the people receiving these sales pitches.

“Most cities are pretty open to have advanced telecommunications infrastructure,” he said. “It’s a huge benefit, it’s a big attraction for business and residents.”

But the evolution from copper wires to cells changes the way cities have to look at rights-of-way, the areas below, on or above city streets and sidewalks. Wireless communications all end up in a wire somewhere, McGuire said, and rights-of-way are already loaded with infrastructure. Plus the city has to ensure equipment isn’t placed where there’s upcoming development or roadwork.

As density grows and telecoms build out their networks, Hamilton is getting ever more permit requests, he said. But telecoms are reluctant to share long-term plans for competitive reasons, making it difficult for the city to respond with staffing.

“Without us fully understanding the program more than six months to a year out, it’s difficult for us to react really quickly,” he said. “It would be helpful if telecoms had a game plan.”

Other common questions dwell on the practical. With so many cells, how much of a risk is vandalism? (Not much, given they’ll be adhered to poles and blend in, Rogers said.) Does the network collapse if a car knocks over a street lamp? (No, the traffic would be picked up by adjacent cells.)

Then there’s the question of who pays for determining the best sites and maintaining them.

Earlier this year, Hamilton, the City of Calgary and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities filed a joint application with the telecom regulator in a dispute between Hamilton and Bell. The cities argued that taxpayers shouldn’t have to split the bill with Bell to find location information for underground facilities.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission in August issued a decision siding with Bell.

Calgary is also in the middle of a court battle with Rogers, Bell, Shaw Communications Inc., Telus Corp. and Zayo Canada Inc. over its municipal rights-of-way bylaw.

Bruce Cullen, Calgary’s director of corporate analytics and innovation, won’t comment on a case before the courts, but he echoed the importance of revamping procedures for small cells, which may be placed every 300 metres in dense urban areas.

“It’s a lot of infrastructure if you think about it, if all are connected to power or some sort of fibre backhaul,” he said. “The processes we currently have aren’t going to work.”

As the federal government reviews its rules, Calgary plans to advocate on behalf of its citizens to ensure there are no safety issues or unnecessary tax burdens. The city is redesigning its internal processes so the people who work on streetlights, roads and above-ground facilities have input inTO where the small cells go.

Calgary has time to plan, Cullen said, given the industry still needs to set final standards and the government must auction off more spectrum before 5G becomes a reality. The city is also preparing for a 5G world with its own “living lab,” where it’s working with the University of Calgary on smart city applications.

Cities and telecoms recognize 5G isn’t just about faster speeds. Rather, it’s a whole new network. Right now, Canada is building it piecemeal.

For instance, Telus has successfully reached separate commercial arrangements with cities, building owners and provinces, though it would prefer a more cohesive approach, said Ted Woodhead, Telus’ senior vice-president of regulatory affairs.

Its tech team would “giddy up” on capital investment if there were clearer rules in place to distinguish jurisdiction, he said. Court battles that arise because of disagreements over whether a municipality or the federal government has final say, “it goes without saying, inject a great deal of delay in the process,” he added.

Woodhead lauded the FCC’s order to speed up deployment in the U.S., particularly since it limits how much cities can charge telecoms on an ongoing basis to lease space on city property.

“This isn’t about macro towers, it’s about small cells,” he said “We need 2018, 2019, 2020 rules to deal with this change in reality.”

In a telecom’s current best-case scenario, it takes about a year to get a 30 to 75-metre tall macro tower built and lit up, he said.

“We can’t be doing that times 100,000 or 200,000 or 300,000,” Woodhead said. “Canada will be so far behind the 5G curve. I don’t think that’s in the public interest, I don’t think that’s in the government’s interest. I don’t think, ultimately and most importantly, it’s in Canadians’ interest.”

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