5G is the main priority of digital charter
When Justin Trudeau’s government took over the country in 2016, it laid out a plan for the development of the digital economy. In 2019 the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Industry published the Digital Charter. The document is a set of principles that Canada will follow as the digital economy advances. The government will try to provide equal access to digital technologies and the internet for all citizens. They want the process of digitization to be transparent and secure. For this purpose, they organized meetings and panels with industry representatives and businesspersons all over the country. A major part of the digital economy is cryptocurrencies. The government actively supports the industry. Other branches were allowed to accept digital currencies from their users. The iGaming sector was one of the first branches to adopt financial technologies and allow their users to play with digital currencies. After this change, the industry started booming. The users were not limited to the traditional money option. Providing the choice to pay with cryptocurrencies made it easier for players not just in Canada but around the world to spend more time playing. Crypto revolution was a true gift for players who received bitcoin slots, roulette and jackpot games. Top-tier casinos created exclusive games for only BTC users and that decision attracted more players. The transactions of traditional money can consume too much time. It might take days before the money reaches the destination. Allowing cryptocurrencies enabled users, especially outside Canada, to not worry about time anymore. The digital currency transactions take under an hour sometimes and are very fast and easy. Canada saw the potential of digital currencies, unlike other big countries like The United States. Digital industries and cryptocurrencies turned out to be a perfect match, and many Canadian companies saw a big growth after implementing digital currencies, as we saw on the example of iGaming platforms. Experts believe that after iGaming industry’s success, 5G would be another ‘winning decision” from Trudeau’s office. 5G would help the further development of the digital economy and could potentially lessen the impact and economic losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The First 5G Network Will Roll-out in Canada Anytime in 2020
Telus is planning on launching the first 5G network in Canada by the end of 2020. The company might use Huawei’s technologies. CFO of Telus Dough French said that the company tries to follow the government regulations and so far everything is going according to the plan. The company is also open to more proposals from tech firms besides Huawei. Other companies want to start a 5G network in 2020. However, the government of Canada is considering imposing restrictions on the companies because of some privacy concerns.
Why Huawei was the first choice
The Chinese company Huawei is one of the top network infrastructure providers in the world. They also sell the equipment for much lower prices than their competitors. Huawei is leading research on the development of technologies and owns 2,700 patents, even though not all of them are trustworthy. Telus and Huawei are long time collaborators and Telus has been getting data for lower rates than they could get from other companies. Imposing restrictions on 5G could mean big delays in time and a big rise in the cost.
The US Presses Canada on Their Decision Over Huawei’s Ban
Huawei is considered untrustworthy by the United States government. The US authorities accuse Huawei of spying on their clients and conducting unlawful surveillance, as well as using the gathered data for their close collaboration with the Chinese government. The US authorities want Canada to ban Huawei’s involvement in the development of 5G in Canada. The Canadian government stated that they are working on the subject of 5G and that Canada will make its own decision about the 5G networks in the country.
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