Verizon has delayed the planned shuttering of its 3G network. At least according to a report on Light Reading claiming that the shutdown has been postponed indefinitely at this stage.
The company originally planned to discontinue the outdated service at the end of 2020, which was already a delay. Apparently, Verizon isn’t ready to make the move just yet, although the company hasn’t been activating 3G devices since 2018 nor has it offered a prepaid 3G service since 2019.
The Legacy 3G Network Lives On
For what it’s worth, a company spokesperson told The Verge that Verizon does not intend to shut down the 3G service right now, but stopped short of clarifying whether Verizon might change its plans in the near future.
The company statement reads:
Our 3G network is operational and we don’t have a plan to shut it down at this time,” the statement reads. “We’ll work with customers to move them to newer technology.
At any rate, the world has moved on from 3G a few years back and has never looked back. And with the current transition from 4G LTE to 5G, there may soon be no need for 3G networks whatsoever.
A Forced Upgrade to 4G LTE?
Some people may view the delay as a sign that Verizon isn’t ready to abandon 3G networks just yet.
Verizon isn’t alone in this—other major carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile have also kept their respective 3G services up and running. However, unlike Verizon, both AT&T and T-Mobile have set cut-off dates for 3G shutdowns: AT&T will discontinue its 3G service and network in early 2022 to bring people “faster speeds and new features” while T-Mobile’s 3G network will go offline over “the next several years”.
Verizon may be attempting to entice existing 3G customers to upgrade to at least 4G LTE, if not 5G—and purchase new handsets from them. But as The Verge notes, the repeated delays in discontinuing the legacy 3G network indicate the transition may not be going as fast as Verizon would like.
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