The graphs below depict over 1,000,000 channel updates
since October from Rogers, Telus and Bell.
The huge swings in channel, spectrum and site counts represent large, systemic errors that must be corrected — which we do
every month — giving
Canada Cellular Services
subscribers the most accurate account of Canada's wireless landscape.
Signal booster or IoT device installers are advised to ignore about half of the Telus / Bell cellular network, for they are DAS and metrocell sites that provide in-building or neighborhood coverage only.
We have tools to sort this all out.
Contact us
for details.
Channel CountsChannel Counts
Occupied Spectrum (GHz)Occupied Spectrum (GHz)
Site CountsSite Counts
5G in Australia — Telstra 4,439, Optus 1,772 SitesTuesday, 2021-Oct-26
This table shows the growth of the Telstra 5G network across Australia, starting in May 2019:
# Telstra 5G Sites
Location
May-19
Aug-19
Nov-19
Feb-20
Mar-20
Nov-20
Mar-21
May-21
Oct-21
Adelaide
46
47
67
118
118
335
340
340
342
Brisbane
63
115
131
172
181
525
535
538
678
Canberra
38
38
45
48
48
110
122
123
124
Gold Coast
54
62
72
83
83
120
125
127
84
Hobart
16
21
36
36
36
44
47
47
48
Launceston
7
9
11
11
11
47
47
47
47
Melbourne
52
52
370
435
481
999
1,026
1,035
1,049
Perth
43
49
85
106
106
326
348
352
354
Sydney
64
75
238
300
347
1,085
1,078
1,153
1,167
Toowoomba
25
25
26
26
26
31
31
30
33
Other
35
133
140
142
569
624
599
513
TOTAL
408
528
1,214
1,475
1,579
4,191
4,323
4,391
4,439
TPG site counts have also increases significantly, now totalling 1,703 across major urban centers from Perth to Brisbane.
October SMS Update — 639,440 recordsMonday, 2021-Oct-18
September and October saw huge numbers of cellular network updates.
In total, ISED received 639,440 new and updated SMS records, primarily from Telus and Bell, which played catch-up, as they had not previously filed any updates through 2021.
But, you win some and lose some, as the graphs below show.
The green line in the top-left graph tracks Telus channel counts.
September saw an increase of 8,000 to reach 174,000, before plummeting by 68,000 this month.
SMS snapshots should never be used as-is.
We monitor SMS snapshots and supplement with proprietary and 3rd party data giving
Canada Cellular Services
the most accurate representation available of Canada's wireless landscape.
Also, if you need to install a mobile signal booster or IoT device, remember that roughly half of the Telus/Bell cellular network are DAS and metrocell sites, whose service areas are probably too small to meet your needs.
Let us
help you
sort this out.
To start, click the blue Account button at the top of the map.
At the bottom of the Account & Subscription Info window, click the color patches to adjust the colors of the Fresnel tube and Line-of-sight (LoS).
Find Best terrain analysis will now create Fresnel zones with the colors you chose.
Export Site Channels to Excel / CSVTuesday, 2021-Jun-1
The left photo shows channels from a co-lo site.
To its right are these same channels viewed in Excel.
Site Channels
Same Channels (exported to Excel)
Want to analyze site channels in Excel or share their details with an associate?
To start, click a site's icon on the map, then click the Export tab.
At the bottom, click EXPORT site's channels to a CSV file.
A CSV file will download to your computer.
Open this file in Excel to see details for all channels for that site.
Or, drop this file in an email, to share these details with an associate.
(Australia Cellular Services also exports links to ACMA Registration / Assignment Details such as
horizontal radiated power patterns.)
5G in Australia — Telstra 4,391, Optus 1,495 SitesMonday, 2021-May-31
This table shows the growth of the Telstra 5G network across Australia, starting in May 2019:
Australia and Canada have many similarities.
One big difference is 5G, with Telstra & Optus, Australia's largest carriers, operating 4X more 5G sites than Canada, on a more capacious 3,500MHz band.
But, does this put Canada at a disadvantage?
Yes and no — but not how you might think.
As Huwaei's chairman said, there is currently
no material difference between 4G and 5G technology.
Industry and government
excitement
around 5G is not a sign of its utility — there are few business cases for 5G that cannot be served by an optimized 4G network, which Canada already has.
Canada is behind — not in technology — but in plan value.
Australia's plans (see right) offer much higher caps at lower prices.
Canada's wireless networks are like a tuned Ferrari — with a 1 liter fuel tank.
High Capacity Data + Voice Plans
Carrier
CAD
Capacity
$ / GB
Optus
$64
500 GB
$0.13
Telstra
$64
180 GB
$0.36
Rogers
$175
100 GB
$1.75
Telus
$100
50 GB
$2.00
Bell
$125
50 GB
$2.50
Videotron
$75
32 GB
$2.34
Freedom
$90
30 GB
$3.00
SaskTel
$120
35 GB
$3.43
Rogers 5G @ 600MHzThursday, 2021-Feb-4
Rogers operates
1,062 5G sites
in the 600MHz band, and 575 5G sites in the
2500MHz band.
This brings Rogers' total to 1,447 5G sites.
(Some 5G sites use both 600 and 2500MHz bands.)
Rogers invested heavily in
the 600MHz auction
receiving licenses that can serve 35 of Canada's 38 million population.
Freedom, Telus and Videotron invested less, receiving licenses that can serve 22, 20 and 10 million, respectively.
# Rogers 5G Sites
Province
600Mhz
2500Mhz
Alberta
241
-
British Columbia
304
150
New Brunswick
18
-
Ontario
321
270
Quebec
114
155
Saskatchewan
64
-
TOTAL SITES
1,062
575
The 600MHz band has seven paired 5Mhz blocks, labeled A - G.
(See band plan below, which is identical to that used by the FCC).
Rogers uses blocks A through D allocated as follows:
