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Announcements => News Articles => Topic started by: meritez on December 08, 2021, 11:29:27 AM

Title: 2G and 3G will be phased out by 2033
Post by: meritez on December 08, 2021, 11:29:27 AM
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-measures-to-boost-uk-telecoms-security

Quote
2G and 3G will be phased out by 2033 under plans to help bring in new telecoms suppliers to build the UK’s 5G networks

How many smart meters and pdqs are affected by this?

Source is above, there are many articles across the internet on this, but the source is worth reading.
Title: Re: 2G and 3G will be phased out by 2033
Post by: maxheadroom on December 08, 2021, 04:19:17 PM
At my age i don't think it'll be an issue.  :(
Title: Re: 2G and 3G will be phased out by 2033
Post by: g3uiss on December 08, 2021, 05:01:07 PM
Nor me !
Title: Re: 2G and 3G will be phased out by 2033
Post by: Alex Atkin UK on December 09, 2021, 01:56:03 AM
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-measures-to-boost-uk-telecoms-security

How many smart meters and pdqs are affected by this?

Source is above, there are many articles across the internet on this, but the source is worth reading.

Might it not always apply to those?  In my area there seems to be a mast specifically for smart meters which is strange as we have good coverage on all networks.
Title: Re: 2G and 3G will be phased out by 2033
Post by: meritez on December 09, 2021, 08:59:35 AM
Might it not always apply to those?  In my area there seems to be a mast specifically for smart meters which is strange as we have good coverage on all networks.

I'm aware O2 have deployed LTE-M :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LTE-M
https://www.o2.co.uk/business/solutions/iot/lte-m
https://www.o2.co.uk/business/support/network-support/lte-status-checker

What's the mast you have locally?

Title: Re: 2G and 3G will be phased out by 2033
Post by: j0hn on December 09, 2021, 10:25:22 AM
What's the mast you have locally?

It will be a standard smart meter mast. They are dotted all over the place.

Arqiva who own/operate the UK terrestrial tv (Freeview) transmitters also own much of the smart meter network.

Edit: seems Arqiva sold its telecommunications business to Cellnex in 2019. No idea if this includes the smart meter masts.
Title: Re: 2G and 3G will be phased out by 2033
Post by: Bowdon on December 09, 2021, 01:51:56 PM
It seems in US they will be shutting down the 3g networks in 2022.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/09/30/3g-networks-ending/ (https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/09/30/3g-networks-ending/)

Quote
All of the major cellphone carriers — AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile — are planning to shut their older 3G networks in 2022. Like millions of people in the United States who use 3G phones and other 3G devices, she will have to buy a new device if she wants to text, make calls or even reach 911.

I found out via a CPAP review channel, as I use a device myself daily. A guy had wrote a message to the video maker and it was concerning the modems inside the devices that are 2g/3g. The modem allows the doctor to see the current stats of the machine as well as change settings without the patient having to go to hospital.

The modem isn't vital. But the CPAP makers will have to figure out how to upgrade the modem board to 4g for them to continue to have that functionality.
Title: Re: 2G and 3G will be phased out by 2033
Post by: gt94sss2 on December 09, 2021, 06:59:10 PM
I believe most of the operators in the UK are working to a similar end date for their 3G networks.

Good point about the CPAP machine though, we have one as well and it will be interesting to see how they deal with this.
Title: Re: 2G and 3G will be phased out by 2033
Post by: tickmike on December 09, 2021, 08:01:40 PM
We only get 2G or maybe 3G  :hmm: (if the winds in the right direction and it's a Tuesday :) ) That's if we go up the hill outside of the village, In the house Nill.  :o



Title: Re: 2G and 3G will be phased out by 2033
Post by: Weaver on December 10, 2021, 12:23:05 AM
I have excellent 4G in most parts of the house upstairs and some parts downstairs though in some places my iPad drops down to 3G if I’m reading it correctly. But down the hill, my neighbours have nothing at all. When I lived in the house on the seashore over the summer of 2003, all I could get down there was just barely enough signal for SMS and even then only in the bathroom velux roof window.
Title: Re: 2G and 3G will be phased out by 2033
Post by: Alex Atkin UK on December 10, 2021, 07:58:44 AM
We only get 2G or maybe 3G  :hmm: (if the winds in the right direction and it's a Tuesday :) ) That's if we go up the hill outside of the village, In the house Nill.  :o

That's kinda the point though, if you turn off 2G/3G and re-use those frequency bands for 5G, reception should be better.

Of course that's a big "if" and not much help for people who only need a 2G/3G device, of which there are still loads on the market that will become doorstops..
Title: Re: 2G and 3G will be phased out by 2033
Post by: Weaver on December 10, 2021, 10:33:58 AM
I can get a 4G USB ‘modem’ for use in my Firebrick router as an emergency failover link. Currently I have a 3G USB modem. So when I have to get rid of the 3G device, then I will find as I already have done, that although the 4G device might reasonably seem a plug-in replacement for the working 3G modem, in fact the 4G device isn’t a modem at all but rather an annoying IPv4 NAT router which does not provide the straight-through bridging functionality that I need; it’s incompatible with the correct, usable 3G modem.

So am I going to be truly stuffed in this respect in the far, far distant future, or will someone come out with a truly equivalent 5G/4G replacement for the 3G USB modem? Will presumably be looking for 6G devices by then?
Title: Re: 2G and 3G will be phased out by 2033
Post by: Chrysalis on December 10, 2021, 08:18:15 PM
Well at least they not phasing out 4g, as 5g coverage is very very poor.

My city is pretty much almost 100% indoor and outdoor 4g coverage.

5g is maybe 5% coverage at best for indoor use.
Title: Re: 2G and 3G will be phased out by 2033
Post by: Alex Atkin UK on December 11, 2021, 02:28:32 PM
I just hope they DO use the 2G/3G bands for 5G, rather than cheaping out and selling the spectrum off.
Title: Re: 2G and 3G will be phased out by 2033
Post by: tonygibbs16 on April 01, 2022, 02:43:04 PM
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-measures-to-boost-uk-telecoms-security

How many smart meters and pdqs are affected by this?

Source is above, there are many articles across the internet on this, but the source is worth reading.

Quite a lot I think in the Central and South regions of the UK, because Telefonica from 2013 use the O2 2G network to provide the smart meter connections to the Smart Meter DCC, see https://news.o2.co.uk/press-release/telefonica-uk-signs-1-5bn-smart-meter-deal/#:~:text=On%2012%20September%202013%2C%20Telef%C3%B3nica,of%20approximately%20%C2%A31.5%20billion.

The DCC say that they are looking in to it, following the HMG announcement in December 2021, see https://www.smartdcc.co.uk/news-events/2g-sunset-looking-into-the-future-of-connectivity/ and say that they will rely on 3G out towards 2033 because they have to cover 99% of landmass of UK.

Cheers,
    Tony
Title: Re: 2G and 3G will be phased out by 2033
Post by: Reformed on April 01, 2022, 05:07:18 PM
I just hope they DO use the 2G/3G bands for 5G, rather than cheaping out and selling the spectrum off.

It wouldn't be 'cheaping out' to sell the spectrum it'd be moronic. It's either use it for 5G or pay for more masts and higher frequency, lower reach spectrum. Bits of 2G/3G spectrum have already been refarmed to 4G/5G I believe and this is an ongoing thing.
Title: Re: 2G and 3G will be phased out by 2033
Post by: meritez on April 01, 2022, 08:32:04 PM
25 years ago, the UK's 3G auction was the most expensive ever seen:

http://www.gsmhistory.com/3g_auction/

Worth a read
Title: Re: 2G and 3G will be phased out by 2033
Post by: Chrysalis on April 08, 2022, 03:20:06 AM
11 years seems an exceptionally long time but I guess is a lot out there with old phones, and also important entities using these services as well.
Title: Re: 2G and 3G will be phased out by 2033
Post by: Alex Atkin UK on April 08, 2022, 01:20:17 PM
11 years seems an exceptionally long time but I guess is a lot out there with old phones, and also important entities using these services as well.

Not just old phones though, bargain basement phones last I checked were still 2G.  Also if you bought an unbranded phone you often can't enable VoLTE or WiFi calling, this is a huge problem.
Title: Re: 2G and 3G will be phased out by 2033
Post by: parkdale on January 10, 2023, 11:26:28 AM
More newer info on 2g 3g switch off
https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-telecoms-and-internet/advice-for-consumers/advice/3g-switch-off
Title: Re: 2G and 3G will be phased out by 2033
Post by: Chrysalis on January 10, 2023, 12:29:42 PM
First gen smart meters are apparently 2G only, crazy they have no foresight and instead saved every penny they could.
Title: Re: 2G and 3G will be phased out by 2033
Post by: meritez on January 10, 2023, 01:10:44 PM
First gen smart meters are apparently 2G only, crazy they have no foresight and instead saved every penny they could.

Yes, new meters are 4G.

Vodafone turning off 3G in Plymouth and Basingstoke from February, as in next month.