(OTTAWA) The federal government announced Monday its support for a $470 million research and development project for 5G and 6G networks to be led by Ericsson Canada. The initiative will notably create jobs in Montreal, it was promised.

“We are investing to develop our wireless networks for a more connected future, and at the same time, we are creating good jobs for the middle class,” declared Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at a press briefing in Ottawa.

The latter was accompanied, among others, by his Minister of Innovation, François-Philippe Champagne, the mayor of the federal capital, Mark SutCliffe, and the president and general manager of Ericsson Canada, Börje Ekholm.

The level of federal financial support as well as the “timing” of the project will not be indicated until later, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a press release.

The number of new jobs to be created in Montreal is also not specified. The project, anticipated to be spread over five years, according to the company, should also generate new positions in Ottawa, for a total of “hundreds of jobs and requalified jobs”.

“The investment will further strengthen these centers (in Montreal and Ottawa) as world leaders in advanced 5G, 6G, AI, Cloud RAN and Core Network technologies,” the company promised in a statement. his own press release.