In March 2021, Verizon announced they were going to officially shut down their 3G CDMA network on December 31, 2022, which is now less than three months away. In fact, Verizon will be the last of the big 4 mobile providers to sunset 3G, with AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile having already shelved their 3G networks earlier this year to free up infrastructure to support 5G. This change makes sense; 5G offers capabilities that 3G simply cannot offer.
Verizon had planned to close their 3G network back in 2019. They delayed to give their customers enough time to transition to more advanced technologies. While the carrier says “more than 99% of Verizon customers have already made the switch to 4G LTE or 5G devices, ” there are still a substantial number of devices utilizing 3G. With the day swiftly approaching, if you are part of the 1% that has not yet moved your technology from 3G, this is what the sunsetting of 3G means for you.
If your phones are still on 3G under Verizon, your phones “will be unable to make or receive calls and text, including calls to 911, or use data services” after December 31, 2022. The change on that day is immediate, so you must act soon in order to avoid any loss of service.
This isn’t just limited to phones. Devices such as medical devices, tablets, smart watches, and other connected products use 3G network services. Additionally, when a wired internet connection goes down, many devices use cellular connectivity as a back-up. The last thing your company wants is for the wired internet connection to go down AND the back-up to fail because its on 3G.
If you’re feeling pressure from the time crunch, and don’t know where to begin, work with the mobile experts at vCom to make your transition from 3G a smooth and painless experience. We will ensure that when the end of the year rolls around, your company’s cellular network will continue without a hitch.
