Canadian operator Rogers Communications debuted a new network roadmap which will see it test 5G technology in key cities alongside Ericsson over the next year.

Under a new multi-year agreement with Ericsson, the operator said it will trial 5G service in Toronto, Ottawa and a number of other “select cities”.

A Rogers representative told Mobile World Live the 5G tests will span both mobile and fixed applications. The representative added Rogers will use 3.5GHz for the tests, but can also apply for experimental licences in the 28GHz and 38GHz bands.

The operator said it also plans to press ahead with deployments of gigabit LTE technology, including 4×4 MIMO, four-carrier aggregation and 256QAM, while laying the foundation for next generation services through the addition of “thousands” of new small cells and macro sites across Canada.

In addition to its work with Rogers, Ericsson is also part of a $400 million 5G collaboration announced by the Canadian government in March. As part of the effort, technology vendors are working with government entities, businesses and researchers over the next five years to develop key use cases enabled by 5G including smart cities, IoT and connected cars.