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Ericsson Canada partners with Montreal-based universities to improve 5G using AI

MONTREAL — On Oct. 14, Ericsson Canada announced a strategic research program led by École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS), in partnership with Concordia University, Polytechnique Montréal and Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), to explore how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can help the telecommunications sector minimize the energy consumption of 5G networks. The project aims to help communication service providers shrink their carbon footprint and reduce operational costs by saving on energy, which will, in turn, help lower costs for consumers and decrease harmful emissions.

Erik Ekudden, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at Ericsson, says: “5G networks are the technological backbone of our society and they represent an opportunity to digitalize industries and significantly reduce global CO2 emissions. Under the focused guidance of our partners and with the help of Ericsson experts in Montreal, a leading AI hub, our researchers will test and refine solutions to make 5G & Beyond technologies smarter, more energy-efficient for service providers and cost-efficient for end users.”

Data scientists from Ericsson’s Global Artificial Intelligence Accelerator (GAIA) in Montreal will support the three-year research project in close collaboration with 7 professors and 27 researchers from ÉTS, Concordia and Polytechnique and expertise from Environment and Climate Change Canada. Ericsson will bring its experience in this area from Ericsson Research to steer the group in standardizing their research findings and drive towards industrialized solutions that can be integrated into its 5G products and services. The outcomes of this research is also hoping to strengthen ECCC’s Greenhouse Gas (GHG) modeling solutions for the information and communication technologies sector and contribute to global standardization. This partnership is supported by contributions from the Quebec government (through InnovÉÉ – Innovation en Énergie Électrique) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).

Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, says: “The Government of Canada is in a constant search for innovative ways to cut pollution and fight climate change, in industries both young and old. Teaming up Ericsson Canada with Montreal’s world-class universities and globe-leading AI research and development community is another smart step forward in the pursuit of net-zero jobs and growth.”

Thierry St-Cyr, CEO of InnovÉÉ – Innovation en Énergie Électrique, says: “We are convinced that the collaborative research model is a must to develop new technologies to reduce the GHG emissions of the energy sector faster, smarter, and more competitively.”