EXPLAINER: WILL BURGLAR ALARMS STILL WORK AFTER 3G SHUTDOWN?

As telecom companies rev up the newest generation of mobile service, called 5G, they’re shutting down old networks — a costly, years-inthe-works process that’s now prompting calls for a delay because many products out there still rely on the old standard, 3G.

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AT&T is scheduled to be the first carrier to shut down its 3G network on Feb. 22. T-Mobile will shut down its 3G network by summer and Verizon in December.

The home-alarm industry has asked the Federal Communications Commission, the U.S. regulator, to delay AT&T’s network sunset until December. The FCC is monitoring the 3G phase-out and working to “implement safeguards” for older phones and other devices, spokesperson Paloma Perez said.

Verizon has already pushed back its shutdown — twice — from an original target date in 2019, saying customers needed more time to update their devices. T-Mobile has also delayed the shutdown of the Sprint 3G network it acquired in 2020, to the end of March; it’ll shut down the T-Mobile 3G network by July 1.

WHY IS 3G SHUTTING DOWN?

First, some history. AT&T’s 3G network launched in the U.S. in 2004; later that decade it was the exclusive carrier for early iPhones, helping usher in the first phase of the smartphone era. The networks we currently rely on for video streaming, social apps, Uber and other must-haves of the modern era mostly use the subsequent 4G standard.

For the carriers, shutting down 3G is an efficiency move. As they upgrade to the latest technology, they shut off outdated networks and use the freed-up bandwidth for newer — and what they hope will be more profitable — services.

WHAT IF I HAVE AN OLDER PHONE?