Taking 5G into the sunshine
How Rogers carried 5G to the mountain at Sunshine Village in Banff
Sunshine Village in Banff is a world-class resort on par with the very best lodges in Europe and the United States. It offers not only exemplary skiing and snowboarding on the continental divide at an elevation of 2,200 metres, but also a wide range of luxury amenities.
Maintaining the reputation of a premier destination for winter sport enthusiasts isn't easy. Every aspect of the guest experience needs to be regularly analyzed and improved upon to ensure expectations are met, and that includes time spent online with wireless devices during their stay. Relying on previous generation cellular network technologies for customers to stay connected with the world below – whether to remain available for business, stay in touch with friends and family, or simply surf the web and enjoy streamed videos during down time – wasn't going to cut it.
That's why the winter retreat was delighted when Rogers recently moved to upgrade the area to 5G. As Canada’s largest and most reliable 5G network, Rogers offers 5G access to over 45% of Canadians and is now available in more than 170 cities and towns across the country.
When the network improvements came into effect, the benefits of 5G became immediately apparent for Sunshine Village and its customers. Patrons have experienced a dramatic improvement in the quality and speed of connectivity across all sorts of devices, whether that means quickly checking messages before a run or taking a Microsoft Teams call in the parking lot.
The work also enables new marketing opportunities for the resort, enabling value-added services such as mobile ticketing and the ability for guests to order food and beverages on the mountain. Confident in the reliability of the new network, staff can now send resort specials directly to customers and provide important information about where skiers can go to warm up when cold weather moves in.
However, getting infrastructure to a mountain range wasn't an easy task. "It's one thing to deliver 5G technology to a major centre," said Larry Goerzen, President of Alberta and Prairies, Rogers Communications. "It's quite another to get it up a mountain. The Network team did a remarkable job."
Kendra Scurfield, the resort’s Brand and Communications Director, can attest to the challenges faced by the engineers. "Rogers had to install antennas during record snowfall and cold weather," she said. "They were professional throughout."
But it was worth the effort. With reliable 5G available throughout the resort property, guests are enjoying the kind of robust connectivity to which they've become accustomed in urban areas.
Goerzen is proud, but not surprised, by what the Rogers Network team has been able to accomplish at Sunshine Village.
"When a customer comes to you with a business requirement and we have the confidence and capability to deliver on that –– and we sprinkle in a little bit of energy, effort, and enthusiasm, I really, truly believe we are unstoppable.”
As for Scurfield and the rest of the staff at Sunshine Village, they're enjoying their new Rogers 5G network connectivity as much as the guests.
"We joke that we've entered the 21st century now that we're 5G," she said. "It feels incredible."