Mobile phone providers will soon phase out their 3G networks to make room for new 5G technology. That could be a problem for those of us who have phones and other devices that rely on older 3G networks. WYSO’s Morning Edition host, Mike Frazier, spoke with Brittany Fain the director of Emergency Management, Risk and Safety for Montgomery County, for advice on how to manage this change.
What is 3G?
3G is the third generation of wireless mobile telecommunications technology. We started with having the basic phone line that was the first form of technology when we could pick up the phone, dial a number and call one another. Then we progressed to this concept of text messaging that was 2G. So then once we got texting, we moved to the next great technology advancement, which was having internet right there on our cell phones. That was when we hit 3G. If you think about each level of technology as a generation, 3G was the combination of phone texting and [the] internet. Now that most of our devices are 5G, that's because we also have video conferencing technology where we can talk to one another with video and some other high-speed communication capabilities. So that's where we get that fifth generation.
Why is 3G being phased out if it’s still being used by some devices?
In order for us to continue advancing our technology, and have those 5G connections, we need to make room on our existing cell towers for the antennas to support that. What they’re doing is removing the 3G antennas on the cell towers and replacing them with 5G to make room for the advanced technology.
Who will be affected by the phasing out of 3G and how will they know if they are being affected other than waking up one morning and trying to use their device and it doesn’t work?
A lot of communication companies, AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, they've been working with their customers directly to notify them that they may be impacted by this. I encourage everyone to reach out to their cellular device provider if they have medical equipment, work with their vendors if they have any questions or concerns, reach out to the manufacturers of their products or those that support the operation of their products and find out if this is something that could potentially affect them.
Now, when I think of 3G I just think of cell phones, but you mentioned other devices that use 3G, medical devices and such? Can you list some of those devices and how they use 3G? And do you know if those devices can be upgraded or they just have to be replaced or can someone just download a software update?
There's medical technology that works on Wi-Fi, so that way there's communication between monitoring systems and home occupant users. Life alert would be a common example. Life Alert works with a Wi-Fi system and a telephone line system as well. Different breathing machines report electronically back to providers so they can monitor from afar. Even vehicles, cars and trucks that have the 9-1-1 location device service, those work through a wireless network system, and some of those communication systems and vehicles require software updates to change the technology to communicate in a different form that's compatible with this 3G sunset.
Are those who are affected by this phaseout and who have to upgrade their equipment either physically or by software? Will they have to pay for this upgrade?
A lot of vendors are working with consumers to find low-cost or no-cost solutions to continue providing their services. But there are some vendors who will require purchasing new devices that are supportive of the 5G. It really depends upon the device and the construct within the device if it has the capability or not to support this new technology.
If you haven't heard from your provider that services that piece of technology, reach out and just find out if you need to be aware of this 3G Sunset. And this needs to be something that either is upgraded or there's a download or some other home remedy that you can do to make sure that that device is still operational here in the future.
