What will you do if you suddenly can't use your cell phone to make or receive calls? What if your home security system suddenly doesn't work? What if your GPS or some auto wireless features no longer work?
Well this could happen to you within the next few days as wireless companies begin to cut off 3G. It happened to us, without warning, a few years ago when they shut off 2G. We were forced to buy a new cell phone.
We found out about this rapidly coming change in the newspaper last weekend. We received no other warning. I spent the weekend trying to contact AT&T and finally found ours cell phone service would be cut off on February 22. I found that many customers were sent replacements but I guess we didn't qualify probably because we didn't spend enough money with them, despite being customers for nearly 40 years.
Then I searched the internet and found a good deal with Consumer Cellular. In fact, I will save enough switching to make up for the increase in our Comcast bill.
AT&T announced that its 3G network will go dark on Feb. 22. T-Mobile says the 3G network that had been part of Sprint before the two companies merged will go bye-bye on March 31, and its own 3G UMTS network will be shut down July 1. T-Mobile also indicated that the former Sprint's LTE network - which stands for Long-Term Evolution and is a flavor of 4G - will be shuttered July 1. Verizon plans to retire its 3G network Dec. 31 after extending an original 2020 deadline. The company says it will not extend the deadline again.
"As we move closer to the shutoff date, customers still accessing the 3G network may experience a degradation or complete loss of service, and service centers will only be able to offer extremely limited troubleshooting help on these older devices," Verizon vice president Mike Haberman said in a blog.
You're not out of the woods if you get phone service from the likes of Boost, Cricket, Straight Talk and other discount providers. They piggyback off the major carrier networks. Jettisoning 3G doesn't affect just phones. Certain medical devices, tablets, smartwatches, in-car SOS services, Kindle readers, home security products and other devices also are dependent on 3G.
As some have pointed out recently, the 3G shutdown will also affect dozens of vehicle models released anytime between 2010 and 2021. Some cars will lose the ability to update your location and traffic data while navigating. Others will become unable to connect with your smartphone, voice assistants or emergency call services. Fortunately, AAA still offers maps.
Technology is great when it works. Take computers as another example. Apple no longer supports the browser that we must use on two of our computers. The first thing that happened was that I no longer could use my Awana website. Then I could no longer reach my bank. Next, I could not order from many stores. Then I could no longer reach some sites using google – it claimed my clock wasn't set correctly. Then aol changed its mail program and now we can't use it on our two older computers.
The solution? Buy a new computer which I did. Now I can use aol mail again. But I may need to buy another one. However, they'll probably soon change operating systems once again. It never ends.
Change makes life interesting … I guess.
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