A new strategic partnership between the University of Toronto and Ericsson will advance the technological capabilities that underlie cell phone networks - leading to faster, more efficient and more cost-effective service in Canada and beyond.
The initiative will accelerate research and development around advanced computing, wireless communications and applied artificial intelligence (AI). It will also help attract and nurture talent, ensuring students gain the industry-specific skills required to thrive in today's technology sector.
Announced on U of T's St. George campus on Feb. 18, the partnership comes on the heels of over a decade of collaboration between Ericsson and U of T researchers.
"We're very proud that U of T has been successful in this process," said Leah Cowen, U of T's vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives, during a meeting of Ericsson and U of T leaders at Simcoe Hall. "We have a long and positive track record of catalyzing next-generation technology with Ericsson, and with these types of industrial collaborations in general.
"It's a win-win proposition, enabling us to apply the expertise of our researchers, enhance the skills of our students and elevate the global competitiveness of a major global technology innovator with major R&D operations right here in our own backyard."
While strengthening the R&D ecosystem in the Toronto region, the impact of the collaboration will be felt at a national level, contributing to better connectivity and stronger infrastructure to support future technologies.
"This partnership will foster cutting-edge research, develop world-class talent and support the creation of secure and reliable technologies for the future of wireless communications," said Marcos Cavaletti, head of Ericsson's Ottawa site. "As 5G continues to drive profound changes across industries and societies, Ericsson and the University of Toronto are committed to tackling these challenges together."
Ben Liang, a professor in the Edward S. Rogers Sr. department of electrical and computer engineering in U of T's Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, said his team has been working with Ericsson since 2013.
"One of my PhD students started an internship with Ericsson, and that's how we got started," said Liang. "After that, they had a national call for proposals, and our team was successful with that. Every year since then, I've had some collaboration with them."
Liang has worked on both the software and hardware sides of wireless communications infrastructure.
"A lot of it relates to questions about how to optimize the allocation of resources, and that includes both spectrum resources and power resources," he said. "Power is expensive, so if you use less, you lower the cost of the service. And improving the use of spectrum means you can move more data through the network, which leads to faster download and upload speeds."
Liang said his team are also investigating longer-term issues including how to allow multiple network service providers to operate shared hardware infrastructure in densely populated venues, and how to more closely combine AI and wireless networking in next-generation systems.
Ravi Adve, also a professor in the Edward S. Rogers Sr. department of electrical and computer engineering, has been collaborating with Ericsson since 2017.
"We've been looking at a lot of the same things as Ben and his team, but we've also been looking at things like system architecture," said Adve. "Right now, the model is to have a big base station that covers a large region. An alternative approach would be to deploy more, but smaller stations. They would use less power and be more efficient because users are closer to a station on average.
"However, this approach brings up new challenges that need to be addressed, so that's what we're working on."
Both Liang and Adve hope to continue collaborating with Ericsson under the new partnership agreement, with additional faculty members from across U of T expected to join them.
Another key aspect of the partnership is a talent development stream. This initiative will include contributions from a number of centres and programs across the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, including the Centre for Analytics and Artificial Intelligence Engineering (Carte) , the Institute for Studies in Transdisciplinary Engineering Education and Practice (ISTEP) and the new MEng Extended Full-Time Co-op program, which launched last fall.
The talent development stream is designed to train highly qualified personnel who are both well-versed in the development of new wireless communications technologies and possess the sector-wide perspective and leadership training to oversee their future implementation.
"Ontario is proudly home to a robust sector of researchers whose groundbreaking discoveries cement the province as a global innovator in technology," said Nolan Quinn, provincial minister of colleges, universities, research excellence and security, in a statement.
"Our government proudly supports this partnership between Ericsson and the University of Toronto, which will equip our researchers with the cutting-edge tools they need to design, drive and lead the future of mobile communications technology."
