Thursday, November 6, 2025

5G Rollout in Clearwater County: Current Status



Clearwater County is not currently deploying dedicated 5G infrastructure as part of its broadband expansion. Instead, the county is focused exclusively on building a fiber-optic and fixed wireless broadband network to provide high-speed internet connectivity to residents and businesses.945rewindradio+2​

What Clearwater County Is Building

The county's Core Backbone Broadband Internet Plan 2020-2025 is a multi-year initiative utilizing:

In June 2024, Clearwater County secured $62.7 million in federal and provincial grants covering up to 75% of project costs for five additional phases. The county approved over $43.6 million in its 2025 budget for the project, with construction rolling out in multiple stages throughout 2025.cbc+3​

5G Cellular Coverage in the Region

For 5G cellular service, Clearwater County residents depend on commercial carriers:

TELUS announced 5G coverage in Rocky Mountain House (Clearwater County's largest community) in September 2021. TELUS claims this provides speeds up to 1.7 Gbps and is part of their $16 billion investment in Alberta infrastructure through 2028.telus+2​

Rogers and Bell also offer 5G services in major Alberta centers, though rural 5G deployment remains limited. Bell and TELUS share tower infrastructure and provide the most extensive rural coverage in Alberta at approximately 69% geographic coverage, though Rogers tends to focus on urban areas.ericsson+3​

Key Distinctions

It's important to distinguish between:

  • 5G cellular networks (mobile phone service from carriers like TELUS, Bell, Rogers)

  • Fixed wireless broadband (Clearwater County's wireless towers providing home internet)open.alberta+2​

Clearwater County's wireless infrastructure uses fixed wireless access (FWA) technology that broadcasts internet signals from fiber-connected towers to nearby households. This is fundamentally different from 5G cellular service, though both are wireless technologies.clearwatercounty+1​

Timeline and Availability

Public engagement for the broadband project was rescheduled from May 28 to June 18, 2025. The county maintains a project status tracker showing construction progress across five funded areas. Telecommunications providers including Mage Networks, Bearspaw Networks, Stoney Nakoda Telecom, and Missing Link Internet have joined the county's Open Access Network to deliver services to end users.market.cwcbb+2​

The county aims to achieve universal connectivity by 2027 through its combination of fiber, fixed wireless, and LEO satellite technologies where other methods aren't economically viable.open.alberta​

  1. https://945rewindradio.ca/2025/01/30/clearwater-county-to-move-forward-with-broadband-project-in-2025-launches-new-website/
  2. https://www.clearwatercounty.ca/Home/DownloadDocument?docId=e0ac359b-94d6-4ef7-8f85-695eaf1b3cee
  3. https://www.clearwatercounty.ca/Home/DownloadDocument?docId=32844e74-9fab-48ea-b771-2eabdbef6ec5
  4. https://www.clearwatercounty.ca/broadband
  5. https://www.clearwatercounty.ca/p/broadband-background
  6. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/federal-provincial-rural-broadband-expansion-rolling-out-slowly-in-alberta-1.7317901
  7. https://www.clearwatercounty.ca/p/fibre-to-the-home-1
  8. https://clearwatercounty.ca/Home/DownloadDocument?docId=ab4a5173-85a3-4658-8d3a-b8a8c6d7cc61
  9. https://www.telus.com/about/news-and-events/media-releases/telus-investing-16-billion-in-alberta-through-2028-to-support-growth-innovation-and-sustainability
  10. https://www.telus.com/about/news-and-events/media-releases/telus-investing-13-5-billion-in-alberta-through-2029-to-support-enhanced-connectivity-emergency-support-and-economic-prosperity
  11. https://www.telus.com/en/about/news-and-events/media-releases/rocky-mountain-house-residents-and-businesses-can-now-access-the-fastest-5g-network-in-canada-from-telus
  12. https://www.ericsson.com/en/news/6/20252/rogers-turns-on-first-in-canada-5g-advanced-network-technology
  13. https://www.rcrwireless.com/20250604/5g/rogers-5g-a-canada
  14. https://www.reddit.com/r/alberta/comments/s7b7vy/which_of_the_three_telecoms_has_the_best_service/
  15. https://www.comparecellular.ca/bell-coverage-maps/
  16. https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/7c985469-fb6c-4a46-8bfb-5531ccb8f5aa/resource/ff3382ee-29fc-484b-9378-245baa521e08/download/sa-alberta-broadband-strategy-2022.pdf
  17. https://market.cwcbb.ca/cwcbb/Show/ProjectStatus
  18. https://www.facebook.com/clearwatercnty/photos/previously-advertised-for-may-28-2025-the-%F0%9D%90%81%F0%9D%90%AB%F0%9D%90%A8%F0%9D%90%9A%F0%9D%90%9D%F0%9D%90%9B%F0%9D%90%9A%F0%9D%90%A7%F0%9D%90%9D-%F0%9D%90%95%F0%9D%90%A2%F0%9D%90%AB%F0%9D%90%AD%F0%9D%90%AE%F0%9D%90%9A%F0%9D%90%A5-%F0%9D%90%8E%F0%9D%90%A9%F0%9D%90%9E%F0%9D%90%A7-%F0%9D%90%87%F0%9D%90%A8%F0%9D%90%AE%F0%9D%90%AC%F0%9D%90%9E-will-now-/1123074523193991/
  19. https://www.clearwatercounty.ca/p/telecom-providers
  20. https://rmalberta.com/uniquely-rural/broadband/
  21. https://dcnnmagazine.com/news/product/clearwater-county-perle/
  22. https://www.clearwatercounty.ca/p/broadband-faq
  23. https://www.clearwatercounty.ca/p/broadband-business-plan
  24. https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/spectrum-management-telecommunications/en/spectrum-allocation/decision-new-access-licensing-framework-changes-subordinate-licensing-and-white-space-support-rural
  25. https://ruralconnect.ca
  26. https://www.clearwatercounty.ca/Home/DownloadDocument?docId=68a34519-e305-4f26-b9f8-bdfd29463db0
  27. https://sera4.com/2025/09/04/
  28. https://policyoptions.irpp.org/2024/11/alberta-rural-high-speed-internet/
  29. https://cdhowe.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Commentary_615.pdf
  30. https://www.ourcommons.ca/Content/Committee/432/INDU/Brief/BR11049481/br-external/TELUS-e.pdf
  31. https://www.opensignal.com/2024/12/03/from-spectrum-auctions-to-user-experience-canadas-5g-progress
  32. https://www.xplore.ca/blog/alberta/
  33. https://www.opensignal.com/reports/2025/02/canada/mobile-network-experience
  34. https://www.ericsson.com/en/press-releases/6/2025/ericsson-deploys-canada-made-indoor-5g-solution
  35. https://www.calgaryeconomicdevelopment.com/assets/Uploads/calgary+technology+5G-Connectivity-Report.pdf
  36. https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/high-speed-internet-canada/en/high-speed-internet-all-canadians
  37. https://investingnews.com/ericcson-rogers-underground-5g-network/
  38. https://www.calgary.ca/development/wireless-infrastructure-faq.html
  39. https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/spectrum-management-telecommunications/en/spectrum-allocation/decision-non-competitive-local-licensing-framework-including-spectrum-3900-3980-mhz-band-and
  40. https://www.calgary.ca/development/wireless-infrastructure-access.html
  41. https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/publications/reports/policymonitoring/2025/ctmr.htm
  42. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/09/15/3149727/28124/en/Private-5G-Network-Deployment-Forecasts-Tracker-2025-Coverage-of-Over-5-000-Operators-Across-130-Countries-Infrastructure-Submarkets-Cell-Sizes-Frequency-Ranges-End-User-Markets-Re.html
  43. https://www.opensignal.com/reports/2024/02/canada/mobile-network-experience-5g
  44. https://www.reddit.com/r/RedDeer/comments/1fnr4b7/west_park_5g_cell_service/
  45. https://www.nperf.com/en/map/CA/5913490.Calgary/331.Telus-Mobility/signal
  46. https://www.bell.ca/Mobility/Our_network_coverage
  47. https://rdnewsnow.com/2020/01/29/clearwater-county-gives-go-ahead-on-new-tower-policy/
  48. https://www.cellmapper.net/map?MCC=302&MNC=720
  49. https://www.rogers.com/mobility/network-coverage-map
  50. https://www.telus.com/en/mobility/network/coverage-map
  51. https://www.scadacore.com/tools/rf-path/cell-tower-map-canada/
  52. https://www.rogers.com/wireless/network-coverage
  53. https://www.cellmapper.net/map?MCC=302&MNC=680&type=LTE&latitude=0&longitude=0&zoom=11&showTowers=true&showIcons=true&showTowerLabels=true&clusterEnabled=true&tilesEnabled=true&showOrphans=false&showNoFrequencyOnly=false&showFrequencyOnly=false&showBandwidthOnly=false&DateFilterType=Last&showHex=false&showVerifiedOnly=false&showUnverifiedOnly=false&showLTECAOnly=false&showENDCOnly=false&showBand=0&showSectorColours=true&mapType=roadmap&darkMode=false&imperialUnits=false
  54. https://www.facebook.com/groups/AskCalgarians/posts/1784291082345232/
  55. https://www.planhub.ca/blog/en/telus-vs-rogers/
Posted by Helge at 10:10 PM

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