A Bit behind Schedule
Back in the early 1980’s the International Telecommunications Union began R&D on developing specifications for 3G standards that allowed for a maximum data rate of 42Mb/sec, compared to 144kb/sec provided by 2G.. After 15 years of work, the first 3G network was launched in Japan in 1998, but reliability issues and limited coverage kept 3G from becoming a reality until the early 2000’s, with networks in Europe, Korea, and the US, and by 2007 there were 200m 3G subscribers, or 15.8% of all global wireless subscribers. By 2011 3G penetration rates were peaking as 4G networks took hold, and while 2G networks, a slower and older technology remained mostly intact, 3G networks began to be shut down.
Verizon (VZ), one of the earliest 3G providers, announced in 2016 that it planned to shutter its 3G network on the last day of 2019 after halting new 3G activations in July of 2018. That timetable was confirmed again at the beginning of 2019 but in July 2019 the company indicated that it would push the 3G shutdown from the end of 2019 to the end of 2020. Earlier this year a Verizon representative indicated that the 3G network was still in operation and there was no plan as to when it would be shut down stating that they are ‘working with customers to migrate them to 4G networks and to make sure we continue to care for them.” That said, the company has now indicated that it will shut down the 3G network by January 1, 2023.
Verizon (VZ), one of the earliest 3G providers, announced in 2016 that it planned to shutter its 3G network on the last day of 2019 after halting new 3G activations in July of 2018. That timetable was confirmed again at the beginning of 2019 but in July 2019 the company indicated that it would push the 3G shutdown from the end of 2019 to the end of 2020. Earlier this year a Verizon representative indicated that the 3G network was still in operation and there was no plan as to when it would be shut down stating that they are ‘working with customers to migrate them to 4G networks and to make sure we continue to care for them.” That said, the company has now indicated that it will shut down the 3G network by January 1, 2023.
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