TELUS and thinkRF Partner to Develop National Spectrum Monitoring Network

April 8, 2022

This Quarter saw portfolio company thinkRF establish a partnership with TELUS, one of the largest Canadian telecommunications companies, to co-develop a radio/wireless spectrum monitoring system. The new system will provide TELUS with continuous insights into competitive wireless infrastructure deployments and enable the company to best deliver its world-leading network connectivity to Canadians.

The system will leverage patent-pending “Spectrum eXperience Management” (SXM) technology from thinkRF. This technology combines a network of powerful cloud-connected Radio Frequency (RF) sensors and advanced analytics that monitor, characterize, optimize and protect RF spectrum assets such as 5G networks. The results are made available in a configurable cloud-based service.

TELUS will use the autonomous SXM system to continuously characterize all 4G and 5G network deployments in a region and track competitive occupancy, coverage, spectrum sharing and technology changes over time. According to Dr. Ibrahim Gedeon, Chief Technology Officer at TELUS, “This will provide TELUS with real-time insights on the state of our wireless technologies. The data will be analyzed and its findings will result in better coverage optimization, which will enable us to further improve the quality of services we deliver to our customers. We are pleased to support this exciting Canadian built and operated technology to produce insights-driven spectrum management”.

For his part, thinkRF CEO Jim Roche added, “We are proud to partner with TELUS in rolling out the next generation of spectrum monitoring. Our leading spectrum analysis technology, married with the resources of TELUS, provide a powerful combination. Realtime insights into wireless environments will improve spectrum efficiency, which in turn will help enhance the customer experience”.

The RF spectrum is a public resource of tremendous value to society. In Canada, leading mobile operators have spent tens of billions of dollars to acquire spectrum license rights. In the U.S., that number is close to half a trillion dollars, and worldwide the amounts invested exceed a trillion dollars! In addition, trillions of dollars of future investments and the safety of millions of people rely on the efficient, reliable use of those spectrum assets. Through measurement, monitoring and protection of spectrum, the thinkRF SXM system enables owners, users and the public to receive maximum benefit from this critical resource. thinkRF.com