The Canadian province of Ontario received its second 5G coverage boost in the space of a week after Rogers Communications completed upgrade work covering large portions of the region’s eastern area.

Rogers Communications stated it installed 34 fresh towers in eastern Ontario since late April to boost 5G access, details released within days of Bell Canada revealing it deployed mid-band spectrum to improve access and data rates in southern areas of the region.

Various counties in eastern Ontario are covered by Rogers Communications’ expansion, which forms part of a CAD300 million ($217 million) public-private partnership to improve access in rural areas.

Rogers Communications explained it was selected to fulfil the EORN Cell Gap Project’s plan in a competitive bidding process. National and local governments, wardens and mayoral groups are to contribute CAD152 million of the total investment, with the remainder coming from the operator.

The contract involves Rogers Communications adding a total of 332 fresh cell towers in the region, comprising new builds and collocated sites. It said 222 of these are now operational.

It also upgraded 311 existing sites to be 5G-capable.

Politicians highlighted potential economic benefits from improved 5G access along with the importance of the 34 additional towers to the goal of closing coverage gaps.

Rogers Communications explained EORN’s broader mission involves fuelling economic development in eastern Ontario, with a key focus of its mobile coverage initiative on connecting Indigenous communities.

Previous EORN programmes enhanced broadband access for close to 90 per cent of the region, Rogers Communications stated.