On January 1, 2023, Verizon announced that the 3G network will be officially shut down. At present, US operators will shut down their 3G networks. AT&T users have already gone through this process. Bell has also announced the shutdown date of its traditional network and issued a reminder letter to business customers.
Mike Haberman, vice president of network engineering at Verizon, explained: “Since 2016, we have indicated several times that we are accelerating the retirement of our 3G CDMA network. We initially announced that we would be shutting down our 3G network in 2019. The date was extended to the end of 2020 and now to the end of 2022 to take care of our customers and make every effort to minimize disruption to their services as they move to newer and more advanced technologies.
The executive noted that 99% of Cellco’s 120.88 million subscriber base are now using 4G or 5G networks, with less than 1% still accessing connections via 3G networks.
That is, if you are a Verizon subscriber and are using a 3G (CDMA) or 4G (non-VoLTE) device that does not support HD voice services, you will no longer be able to make/receive calls, send/receive text messages, or use data services on that device.
In response to user demand, US carriers said: When we turn off 3G networks, devices that are not at least 4G-capable will not be able to use data or voice services. This means that while some device functionality may still work, you will not be able to access our network unless you upgrade to a newer device.
It’s worth mentioning that not all carriers will be shutting down traditional network service, and T-Mobile is still mum on when their “legacy” 2G GSM network will be decommissioned. Currently, T-Mobile’s support page only provides a statement that “the date has not been set”, and the Un-carrier’s 2G (GSM, GPRS, EDGE) network is still struggling.
