TELUS and Edmonton Police Service innovate a Canada-first in 5G IoT with Network Slicing to keep crowds safe during NHL playoffs: A revolutionary leap in public safety technology
Autre · 2 oct. 2025
TELUS Business achieved a groundbreaking milestone by successfully deploying Canada's first 5G IoT priority slice technology in collaboration with the Edmonton Police Service during the Edmonton Oilers' Stanley Cup playoff run in May 2025. This pioneering and innovative implementation represents a significant advancement in how 5G telecommunications infrastructure can enhance public safety during major events, setting a new standard for emergency response capabilities in Canada.
The technology behind the innovation
For public safety applications, network slicing offers unprecedented advantages. Traditional cellular networks become congested during major events when thousands of people simultaneously use their mobile devices, severely impacting first responders' ability to communicate effectively. With 5G network slicing, emergency services access a dedicated "lane" of network traffic that remains unaffected by civilian usage, ensuring consistent, high-quality communications when they matter most.
5G network slicing is a revolutionary technology that allows telecommunications providers to create multiple virtual networks within a single physical 5G infrastructure. Each "slice" operates as an independent network with dedicated resources, performance characteristics, and security protocols. This enables service providers to allocate specific network capacity and priority to different users or applications, ensuring critical communications receive the bandwidth and reliability they require. While this is a public safety application of slicing, this technology is also useful to other sectors including oil and gas, hydro and city infrastructure.
The Edmonton implementation
The Challenges:
TELUS Business' deployment during the Oilers' playoff run was strategically timed to test the technology under real-world conditions with high network demand. The Stanley Cup playoffs generated massive crowds of around 30,000 people downtown, and intense media attention, creating ideal conditions to evaluate how 5G priority slicing performs during peak usage scenarios.
The trial focused on supporting critical surveillance systems throughout Edmonton during the playoff period. These systems are essential for maintaining public safety during large gatherings, helping law enforcement monitor crowd dynamics, identify potential security threats, and coordinate emergency response efforts.
The Solution:
By providing dedicated network resources to these surveillance systems, TELUS Business maintained stable video feeds, data transmission, and communications during the playoff games, even as network traffic from thousands of hockey fans increased.
TELUS Business 5G priority-enabled cameras downtown, along with 5G priority-enabled aerial views from drones, operated smoothly during the playoff games, including periods of higher traffic on TELUS’ regular phone and data networks.
TELUS Business also took the co-innovation with Edmonton Police beyond making the network available with 5G priority slicing, and co-created a video aggregation and analytics solution to help the police optimize the functionality of camera surveillance while also adhering to privacy goals. This solution helps police resolve issues more quickly and accurately.
Benefits and real-world impact
The 5G IoT priority slice technology offers several key advantages over traditional network approaches.
First, it provides guaranteed bandwidth allocation, ensuring public safety applications receive necessary network resources regardless of civilian network usage. This prevents the network congestion that has historically plagued emergency communications during major events.
Second, the technology offers enhanced security through network segmentation. Each slice operates independently, creating isolated communication channels more resistant to cyber threats and unauthorized access. This security enhancement is crucial for law enforcement operations where sensitive information and tactical communications must remain protected.
Third, 5G slicing enables customized network performance characteristics. Different public safety applications have varying requirements for latency, bandwidth, and reliability. Surveillance systems may require high bandwidth for video transmission, while emergency communications might prioritize low latency for real-time coordination. Network slicing allows these different requirements to be met simultaneously within the same physical infrastructure.
The following images illustrate the real-world benefits of 5G network slicing for public safety use cases. The first image reflects video quality under typical shared network conditions, while the second image demonstrates the enhanced clarity enabled by a dedicated 5G IoT slice. By delivering consistent throughput and low latency, slicing ensures high-quality video feeds that support faster situational awareness and more informed public safety responses.
The Edmonton trial delivered consistently strong performance throughout the playoff period, validating the technology's readiness for operational deployment. For the Edmonton Police Service (EPS), this represented a significant enhancement to their operational capabilities. Officers could rely on consistent, high-quality communications for coordination and situational awareness, while surveillance systems maintained stable video feeds for effective crowd monitoring and security management.
EPS said the tech gave them an edge in managing large crowds. “This 5G Priority Slice technology represents a major leap forward in our public safety capabilities,” said David Lust, Executive Director of Information Technology at Edmonton Police Service. “The ability to maintain clear, uninterrupted video feeds during high-traffic events is invaluable for our operations. We’re eager to explore how this solution can be expanded to enhance our services and increase community safety citywide.”
Both TELUS Business and EPS say they’re looking into how the technology can be rolled out more widely across the city.
Broader possibilities and future applications
The success of TELUS Business' deployment extends far beyond a single sporting event, establishing a foundation for transforming public safety communications across Canada. The technology's proven effectiveness during high-stress, high-demand scenarios demonstrates its potential for various emergency response applications.
Emergency services could benefit from 5G slicing during natural disasters, where traditional communications infrastructure may be compromised or overwhelmed. The technology could support disaster response efforts by providing reliable communications for coordination between multiple agencies, real-time data sharing, and remote monitoring of affected areas.
Large-scale events beyond sports, such as concerts, festivals, and political gatherings, could also benefit from this technology. Event organizers and law enforcement agencies could ensure that safety and security systems remain operational regardless of crowd size or civilian network usage.
Future implementations could expand to support additional capabilities such as real-time video analytics, drone operations, and augmented reality applications for first responders. The technology could also enable new forms of emergency response, including remote medical consultations, real-time language translation for diverse communities, and enhanced coordination between different emergency services.
This innovation is the first of many more to come
“This groundbreaking priority slice trial showcases our commitment to bring Canadians the best technology for when it matters most,” said Heather Tulk, President, Commercial and Public Sector at TELUS Business. “By guaranteeing network performance and crystal-clear video for first responders during critical moments, we’re not just implementing new technology, we’re actively supporting public safety and those who protect our communities.”
TELUS Business' successful deployment of 5G priority slice technology with the Edmonton Police Service during the NHL playoffs marks a watershed moment in Canadian telecommunications and public safety. This pioneering implementation demonstrates the transformative potential of 5G network slicing for emergency response operations and establishes Canada as a leader in innovative public safety communications.
The collaboration between TELUS Business and the Edmonton Police Service serves as a model for future partnerships between telecommunications providers and public safety agencies and other industries. By working together to test and implement cutting-edge technologies, these partnerships ensure that Canada remains at the forefront of emergency response capabilities, better protecting citizens and communities in an increasingly connected world.
Ready to explore revolutionary public safety and crowd management with cutting-edge 5G IoT network slicing technology? Discover how TELUS Business can help your organization by implementing advanced connectivity solutions. Connect with our product expert Gurpreet Singh at [email protected].
Ready to explore revolutionary public safety and crowd management with cutting-edge 5G IoT network slicing technology? Discover how TELUS Business can help your organization by implementing advanced connectivity solutions. Connect with our product expert Gurpreet Singh at [email protected].
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Auteur:
Amy Karam
Senior Strategy Manager
Amy Karam is a senior strategy mgr, AI & IoT marketing at TELUS Business Solutions. She began as head of 5G thought leadership sales enablement. With 20+ years in tech, she connects technology benefits to monetizable business outcomes.
