Rogers in Canada

The figures below come from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED), which licenses the country’s spectrum, and from Rogers’ own results, releases and pages, each with its date.

4G and 5G on Rogers

Rogers’ timeline puts the first cellular call in Canada in 1985, made by Rogers from Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto. Its commercial LTE opened on 7 July 2011 in the Ottawa region. The 5G rollout started on 15 January 2020, on 2.5 GHz spectrum in downtown Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal, and customers could use it from 6 March 2020 with the Galaxy S20 5G on Rogers Infinite and unlimited business plans. Rogers’ 5G FAQ now speaks of 5G in over 2,000 communities, and of 5G+, its name for 5G on 3500 MHz spectrum, in urban areas of select cities. A phone joins 5G or 5G+ by itself in a covered area when it has a Rogers 5G plan, a compatible device and a compatible SIM card.

Spectrum from ISED’s auctions

ISED published the 3500 MHz results on 29 July 2021: Rogers Communications Canada Inc. won 325 licences for $3.33 billion, with a total population covered of 34,955,719. In the 3800 MHz auction, with results of 30 November 2023, it won 860 licences for $474.8 million. Rogers’ results for the fourth quarter of 2025 say the 3500 MHz deployment goes on and the 3800 MHz deployment has begun, adding capacity to the 5G it first built on 600 MHz.

Lines and owners

At 31 December 2025 Rogers had 10,995,000 postpaid and 1,200,000 prepaid mobile phone subscribers, about 12.2 million in all. Postpaid churn was 1.11% a month over 2025. The wireless and cable businesses are run by Rogers Communications Canada Inc., which Rogers Communications Inc. wholly owns. Rogers bought Shaw Communications on 3 April 2023. In 2025 it closed a $6.7 billion equity investment by institutional investors in Backhaul Network Services Inc., a subsidiary that owns a minor part of its wireless network.

Signal in the Toronto subway

Rogers’ timeline records that it bought BAI Canada and launched 5G in the subway of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). ISED’s decision of 11 September 2023 names Rogers as the Operating Licensee there. Its conditions require every licensee serving Toronto to offer full voice, text and data in all stations within 280 days, in 80% of the tunnels within two years and 100 days, and in all of them within three years and 100 days.

Beyond the towers

Rogers Satellite launched in 2025. It carries text messages and satellite-ready apps such as WhatsApp, Google Maps and AllTrails where there is no cell signal, and Rogers opens it to people on other networks too. Its terms limit it to compatible phones in Canada south of the 58th parallel, outdoors with a view of the sky, and warn that service, text-to-911 included, may be delayed, limited or unavailable. On the ground, Rogers says its 5G does not reach its Extended Coverage areas.

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