T-Mobile finally sets a firm shutdown date for its own 3G network
The day some of you might have been dreading for a while is coming relatively soon, although not quite as soon as previously reported. Instead of shutting down its legacy 3G network on October 1 of this year or April 1, 2022, T-Mobile now plans to pull the plug at the beginning of July next year, giving impacted customers just a little more time to prepare for the future "adjustment."
Of course, given that we're talking about a cellular technology commercially released around two decades ago, we don't expect a lot of people to rely on the UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) standard for much these days. Especially not on T-Mobile, the wireless service provider that has offered by far the best 5G deals of the last few months.
If for some reason you've been hesitant of upgrading from a 3G-only to a 4G LTE or 5G-enabled device until now, the good thing about Magenta finally setting a firm (and presumably definitive) network termination date is that more deals are likely in the pipeline.
The "Un-carrier" could well take a page from AT&T's playbook (for once) and possibly one-up said rival (as always) with free "modern" phones for 4G and 5G holdouts in the relatively near future. By embracing that inevitable transition, T-Mo points out you're in for "real broadband speeds" between 100 and 300 times higher than what you may currently be getting, as well as "enhanced public safety and 911 location accuracy capabilities" making you safer in addition to faster.
The larger reason for the impending 3G network shutdown, mind you, is the improvement of Magenta's 4G LTE and 5G signals. Those technologies are already expected to greatly benefit from the January 1, 2022 retirement of Sprint's 3G (CDMA) network, which T-Mobile also controls after sealing the biggest merger in the history of the US wireless industry last year.
For their part, AT&T and Verizon are planning to make 3G a distant memory on February 1, 2022 and January 1, 2023, although all of these dates are still subject to change. But you can't resist progress forever!
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