“They all have a different cutoff date,” she said. Davidson said some providers are saying it will be early that year others are saying it will be later. The FCC said individual carriers can chose when to decommission services.Ĭell phone carriers have committed to eliminating 3G service by the end of the 2022. “The 3G network just isn’t as robust,” she said.ĭavidson said she can’t give a firm date as it varies across service providers. Davidson said newer devices can automatically give GPS data and communicate better with 911 systems. Moving away from 3G frees up network frequencies for faster service, according to the FCC.įor 911 providers, radio upgrades and better network connections give emergency responders more information. The older cell frequencies are being discontinued as carriers move to 5G. “With the decommissioning of the 3G network, that may no longer hold true,” Davidson said. People have kept older model phones solely for emergencies and not regular use, she said. Phasing out 3G will impact older home security systems, tablets, smart watches and some medical devices, according to the Federal Communications Commission.ĭavidson said she used to tell people that if a cellphone had power, it could call 911. Many people, especially senior citizens, have kept older model phones they are comfortable using, she said. Tracfones, flip phones, Jitterbugs and even older-style smartphones will no longer be able to make calls once the networks are taken down, Davidson said.
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