Telecommunications has been one of Canada’s greatest success stories for more than a century. Next generation networks, a $5 trillion market, present major opportunities for countries and companies that can move quickly. The industry is undergoing a fundamental change driven by the convergence of all content—voice, video, data and mobility—and the exponential growth of cloud-based applications. By 2020, there will be 50 billion smart connected devices. In order to meet the fluctuating demand for network bandwidth, future networks will need to be dynamic, using technology such as software defined networks (SDN) and network functions virtualization (NFV). This transition is already underway, creating a unique opportunity for entrepreneurs and researchers to develop new products, applications and services.

How CENGN is seizing the opportunity

CENGN is the Centre of Excellence in Next Generation Networks. The organization’s mission is to accelerate the growth of the Canadian Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector, enabling economic strength and prosperity, as well as innovation and competitiveness in this high-growth global multi-trillion-dollar industry.

Through CENGN’s leading-edge technology infrastructure and expertise, and the creation of a globally recognized ecosystem of partners, the organization helps Canadian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) overcome commercialization barriers to grow. CENGN collaborates with top ICT multinationals, the public sector, financial institutions and academic partners to solidify Canada’s leadership in next-generation networks for the benefit of all Canadians.

Among the results

The organization provides Canadian startups and scaleups validation of their products and solutions through CENGN’s wide range of project areas including SDN/NFV/Software-defined wide area networks (SD-WAN), Internet of Things (IoT), Security, Mobile Networks, Network Transport, Network Applications, Data Centre and Cloud Infrastructure, and artificial intelligence. CENGN provides services to Canadian companies to overcome commercialization barriers and facilitate success in global market. Examples include NOCLAND, located in Newfoundland, who carried out a project to validate their solution’s new compatibility with OpenStack-based cloud environments, as well as VirTool Networks, located in British Columbia, who carried out a project on testing the scaling capabilities of their virtual network analyzer.
CENGN’s internationally recognized multi-vendor, hybrid cloud, infrastructure is built on open source as well as commercially available software and hardware. The organization is at the leading edge in the development and deployment of wired and wireless technologies that are utilized by applications such as cloud, wireless 5G, autonomous vehicles, smart agriculture, smart mining, and cybersecurity. To date, CENGN has used this infrastructure to successfully complete 224 commercialization projects for Canadian tech businesses.
CENGN draws its strength from collaborations within the ICT ecosystem. CENGN has 15 members, who represent a major portion of ICT R&D investment in Canada, growing the sector and strengthening the economy in Canada, as well as creating a dynamic community of network technology professionals. In addition to its members, CENGN also integrates their technology with 25 academic partners, 14 organizational partners and 12 industry associations. It is through the multiple contributions from the ICT sector that CENGN builds a community that enables growth in the Canadian tech sector and beyond.
Over the past seven years, CENGN has provided 297 students with internships. With a 97% employment rate, CENGN’s internship program allows students to leave university with the necessary experience to work with the top of industry multinationals or the most innovative of small businesses. CENGN has also trained 2,240 industry professionals, growing the Canadian ICT talent pool. This ensures that growing businesses and multinationals have the source of professional talent needed to continue to expand within our country.