Supporting operators across Canada without gaps in support
In challenging times like these, connectivity becomes even more important in getting through our situation and achieving a new normal. Adapting to these changing needs and requirements is creating significant demands on operators and their networks. Operators across Canada have risen to the challenge and reacted quickly and efficiently to address their customers’ needs during COVID-19 and Ericsson is working directly with operators to support their efforts.
To address demands brought on by COVID-19, operators are introducing new rate plans as well as offering additional voice and data allowances to accommodate increasing data. Our team is working directly with operators across Canada ensuring fast responses to their specific needs.
Ericsson is addressing data traffic shifts to accommodate temporary traffic hikes, fixing crashed nodes and installing new ones. We are also ensuring smooth upgrades and bringing additional capabilities online for operators that require them without disrupting project timelines.
While we are contending with the current environment and challenges, we haven’t lost focus and are ensuring that operators are getting their networks built per their timelines despite our current situation. As operators adjust their plans to meet customer demands, our team in Canada is adjusting alongside them to ensure networks work smoothly and support changing needs, despite restrictions around crews and the on-site precautions we are taking.
Supply chain challenges also being addressed at a project-level to manage shipments directly in order to prevent timeline slippage and ensure our operators and their customers get what they need when they need it. Operators have taken steps to make sure Canadian networks are hardened and designed to withstand times like these. Together, we have ensured that Canada has robust networks country-wide, enabling Canadians to stay in touch, access essential services, and carry out their jobs.
This has been a challenging time for us all, and the work we are doing at Ericsson is critical to ensure Canadian networks keep running.
Being prepared for remote work without compromise
The Ericsson team in Canada has long been supporting our global customers remotely, both productively and securely anytime, anywhere. Our employees enjoy the same level of network performance and security in their homes that they experience in the office. This provided us with a level of preparedness to function effectively in the situation - using our own tools and capabilities to enable productivity levels ensuring that work continued seamlessly without gaps in support as the pandemic began to unfold.
This level of remote readiness is critical in our current situation but all companies would benefit from planning for it in the future. We will see more employees opting to work from home and now, more than ever, it is imperative to have proper and secure remote capabilities to ensure employees can be as productive at home as they are in the office. As a country, we have the technology and network capabilities to make uncompromising remote work possible for all Canadians.
The call for 5G
Networks need to be running at their highest performance possible but they must also be ready for the future. The pandemic has made it clear that upgrading to 5G is more critical than ever. With the added scale and latency benefits that 5G offers, it can more effectively support the demands of this new normal – more people working from home, robust mission critical services, and improved security. Operator networks in Canada are meeting demands today but evolving for the future is a necessary continuing step. To that end, Ericsson is investing heavily in Canada to ensure our 5G network infrastructure is ready.
As a leader in 5G rollouts, with R&D centers in Montreal, Ottawa, and Toronto, we are working closely with the Canadian government to ensure a secure 5G network for the entire country. We are also a partner and major sponsor of ENCQOR, a group working to develop and test 5G solutions that could reinvent how we work today. The goal is to help Canada better resist the economic impacts of a disaster like the present pandemic and transform our networks to facilitate Canadian leadership in the economies of the future. Additionally, ENCQOR is working to provide funding to expedite COVID-19 related research and development.
Helping our local communities
I couldn’t be prouder of our employees both individually and collectively coming together to help those near and far during this trying time. Ericsson employees are stepping up to help not only customers, but Canadians across the country and in their local communities as well. From delivering groceries to helping to source and send medical supplies to those in need and fixing neighborhood computers to keep families connected.
Keeping networks running and people connected
Our team at Ericsson is making sure people can focus on their health, families and work, and not their network. We are committed to keeping networks at their highest performance possible and helping our operators respond quickly to customer needs so they can be more agile and responsive in times of crisis. We continue to build and strengthen Canada’s 5G network infrastructure so that all Canadians can stay connected today and in the future and operate effectively and productively in any eventuality.
