When will Sprint turn off 3G?

[surma884]

So Verizon plans to turn off 3G by 2021.  When is Sprint going to turn off their 3G?  Personally I think 2021 is too late.  Verizon can turn it off in 2016 or a little later.  They have good LTE coverage and their LTE will cover all of the 3G areas pretty soon.  The only reason to do it that late is to give people enough time to switch their devices to new LTE capable devices.  There are also the cellular units for security systems.  Those can also be switched out in a couple years.  What else is 3G used for?

 

Once 3G is shutdown, that spectrum can be used for LTE, so that would allow for more bandwidth.

[digiblur]

 What else is 3G used for?

 

 

Voice. 

 

Sprint has a LONG way to go before they can get rid of EVDO and 1x which is why they are replacing it with brand new equipment today.

[MacPCS]

Voice.

 

Sprint has a LONG way to go before they can get rid of EVDO and 1x which is why they are replacing it with brand new equipment today.

yeah, VoLTE devices aren't even on the horizon yet. Not to mention the lack of network support for it. That's the first thing that has to happen is for Sprint to stop selling devices with 1xAdvanced and EV-DO. They cannot even think of doing that until their LTE network is built out and VoLTE is launched across the whole thing. That itself is at least a couple years away. Then you have to get all devices to use VoLTE and only then can you start the clock on killing 3G. Which would itself be four or five years.

 

That's why Verizon landed around 2021.

[koiulpoi]

Well, considering both Sprint and VZW are selling the iPhone 4S (a 3G-only device), and will be through at least 2014 or 2015... that means those customers won't even be upgrade eligible until 2016 or 2017 - and many people who go with the "free" device like this will hold on to it as long as they can. Support for the iPhone 4S could need to continue for at least 3-5 years, perhaps longer. And that's just an example of one device.

 

Unless the carriers are shoving people off and/or providing early upgrades/subsidies, I don't see an early shutdown of 3G from anyone.

 

Now, that doesn't mean they can't slim down their 1X/EV-DO carriers to make room for more LTE carriers, but I imagine it will keep on trucking for a while.

 

I honestly don't see what all the fuss about VoLTE is for, anyways, besides trying to get us completely off "circuit switched" tech.

[jp1992]

 What else is 3G used for?

 

OnStar uses Verizon's 3G network.  I wonder how many other non-phone device are using 3G.

[jefbal99]

There were a few articles this summer about sprint picking up M2M from at&t who was shutting down some of their legacy stuff.  I think it will be 10-15 years before Sprint has the site density and coverage to match their 1xA footprint with VoLTE

[anthony.spina97]

OnStar uses Verizon's 3G network. I wonder how many other non-phone device are using 3G.

Pretty sure OnStar uses satellites...

[WiWavelength]

Pretty sure OnStar uses satellites...

Not for voice and two way data services.

 

AJ

[digiblur]

Pretty sure OnStar uses satellites...

The same Onstar that required upgrades when the analog cellular network shutdown right?

 

The same Onstar that doesn't work out in the boonies when trying to call in since there is no signal?

[anthony.spina97]

The same Onstar that required upgrades when the analog cellular network shutdown right?

 

The same Onstar that doesn't work out in the boonies when trying to call in since there is no signal?

The same OnStar that doesn't work in my 2002 Trailblazer because it has an analog system in it

[digiblur]

The same OnStar that doesn't work in my 2002 Trailblazer because it has an analog system in it

Next thing I know is someone is going to tell me my Sirius satellite radio doesn't use a tower for signal when I am in New Orleans.

[jp1992]

Next thing I know is someone is going to tell me my Sirius satellite radio doesn't use a tower for signal when I am in New Orleans.

Sirius actually uses a lot of towers on the ground. If you are in a big city you are probably using a tower on the ground and not a satellite.

[WiWavelength]

Pretty sure OnStar uses satellites...

 

This is like the anecdotal story of the guy who walked into a Cingular store about a decade ago and asked, "Hey, when are you guys gonna put up more satellites?"

 

Moral of the story -- many wireless customers are morons about wireless service.

 

AJ

[digiblur]

Sirius actually uses a lot of towers on the ground. If you are in a big city you are probably using a tower on the ground and not a satellite.

Yep.. Try a wifi signal on the same site as a ground XM or Sirius site. Doh!

[jamesinclair]

OnStar uses Verizon's 3G network.  I wonder how many other non-phone device are using 3G.

 

Excellent point. Many things you find in cities, like those parking meter machines and the new bike share systems piggy back off cell networks.

[z250kid]

on star I use Google maps.  

[AMejia1976]

Hell... how long have stick shift been around for? Lets worry about full network buildout/penetration before worrying about shut down.

 

One other example of devices that rely on 3g is police vehicles. Most LEA's cant just replace stuff when they want. Even the so called first responders network is barely up; 12yrs after 9/11 or 5 years after Katrina.

[nomoresoupforyou]

This is like the anecdotal story of the guy who walked into a Cingular store about a decade ago and asked, "Hey, when are you guys gonna put up more satellites?"

 

Moral of the story -- many wireless customers are morons about wireless service.

 

AJ

 

I had a friend once try to tell me that Verizon uses satellites for their network and that's why their coverage is so good... I could never get them to think otherwise. I think they were convinced because their flip phone showed an animation of sweeping satellite dishes when it was searching for signal.

 

I hope Verizon's CDMA network stays up for a while because I actually use OnStar quite frequently for managing my car's charging schedule. Hopefully GM will provide free upgrades in the future like what they did for the analog transition.

[Galaxyguy]

I read recently where Onstar is transitioning new vehicles over to AT&T. Old subscribers would continue to use Verizon due to not being compatible with GSM. I did have it in my wife's car but canceled it after she got a job much closer to home and her commute went from 3 hours a day to 5 minutes.