New Networks and New Phones

AT&T has announced plans to turn off its entire 2G cellular network by 2017 and move the spectrum for 2G services over to its 3G and 4G networks permanently.

It is a fact of life in the world of modern technology that you can't expect to keep using old devices and running old services forever. This rule has just been reinforced by AT&T when it recently announced plans to turn off its entire 2G cellular network by January 1, 2017, and move the spectrum for 2G services over to its 3G and 4G networks permanently. The move by the telecommunications giant will also require many customers to upgrade their old cell phones as a result.

According to AT&T, only about 12% of its customers are now using 2G phones, while more than one-third of its smart phone subscribers now use 4G devices and the rest are on 3G. Even though some of the newer phones are still using the old 2G networks in very congested or remote areas, AT&T has plans to upgrade the network in those areas well in advance of the cut-off date. AT&T discussed its plans for the termination of the 2G network in a recent Securities and Exchange Commission filing that said "Throughout this multilayer upgrade process, we will work proactively with our customers to manage the process of moving to 3G and 4G devices, which will help minimize customer churn."

Although some skeptical observers have suggested that AT&T may be looking forward to forcing its customers to buy new cell phones, the proposed network upgrades should be a good thing for all mobile device users. The company also said the changes were necessary because it is facing "significant spectrum and capacity constraints" that could affect quality of wireless voice and data services unless the Federal Communications Commission can "make new or existing spectrum available to the wireless industry to meet the needs of our subscribers." As part of its plan to expand the bandwidth spectrum for the 3G and 4G networks AT&T is also getting more spectrum licenses as part of the purchase of NextWave Wireless, but it is certain that the old 2G spectrum is running out of time and will be completely shut down by the target date.