When is 3G being shutdown?

@quadriped ATT is shutting down the 3G network to make room for 4G LTE and 5G network. Think ATT will furnish new compatible phones like they did when the shut down their 2G network. 

https://www.mobileworldlive.com/featured-content/top-three/att-upgrades-3g-spectrum-to-5g/

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@quadriped wrote:

That's OK, I rarely follow the trend, and I'm too mature to care what others think of me.   My phone is small enough to fit into my pocket, and I have a landline and 3 desktop computers at home.  I work from home online, and I don't want to be connected 24/7.  I (and most of my friends) will wait till we're forced into it, and then I would use it only for phone calls anyway. I bought  a GPS for my car already.  

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Nothing wrong with that.  ATT does sell 2 flip phones that have 4g LTE in them so you should be future proof if you get one of those.

This one is a perfect example https://www.att.com/buy/phones/xp3-8gb-black.html

or

https://www.att.com/buy/phones/att-cingular-flip-2-4gb-dark-gray.html

There will be LTE flip phones available well before 3g shuts down. You have more than a year before you have to worry about it.   Verizon already had them last year and they are shutting CDMA down at end of this year.   

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@lizdance40 wrote:

There will be LTE flip phones available well before 3g shuts down. You have more than a year before you have to worry about it.   Verizon already had them last year and they are shutting CDMA down at end of this year.   

 

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ATT is only selling LTE flip phones just like verizon.  ATT's do have 3g in them tho.

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@Delcat13Tay wrote:

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@lizdance40 wrote:
@Delcat13Tay  FIRST CHOICE 

 

 Best Buy has about a dozen unlocked phones that are compatible with AT&T, and a few work on Verizon, and are also world phones.  
     AT&T does sell some dirt cheap, and occasionally free with activation, prepaid phones.  In general, I discourage buying phones from AT&T because of the 6 month lock policy.  (Truth be told, I discourage buying from AT&T no matter what)
    If a traveler does come to the USA with an incompatible phone and feels buying a phone they can use back home, Verizon has a much better policy if you buy from them, and most of their prepaid phones aren’t as limited, hardware wise (CHECK SPECS).  60 days after activation a Verizon prepaid phone is unlocked, even if you aren’t paying for a second month if service.  

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Still a bit of a hassle for many of us, though.  For travelers from countries where dual-SIM is a common (or in some cases, standard) feature in phones sold there (especially in Asia), it is more practical for them to buy a local SIM card upon arriving at their destination and insert it in the second SIM slot, while keeping their home network SIM roaming and inside the first SIM slot.

 

That being said, as new dual-SIM phones across all price ranges now feature dual-VoLTE and are capable of receiving LTE signals on both SIMs simultaneously (as opposed to older phones where only one SIM at a time can receive LTE signals, while the other SIM remains at 2G/3G), it is high time that AT&T open up its LTE network to ALL phones that support any of its LTE bands.  As I mentioned earlier, most budget and midrange phones sold outside the US (especially Chinese brands like Xiaomi [including Redmi], Huawei [including Honor], BBK Electronics' brands [Oppo, Vivo and Realme, which are all Oneplus' sister brands] and Meizu, among others) support the 850 MHz band on 3G, and LTE band 5, while flagship and "flagship killer" models support even more (but usually not all) US LTE bands.  Refarming the remaining 850 Mhz spectrum on 3G to LTE band 5 (and opening up AT&T's LTE network to all phones) will significantly help in making sure that international travelers can use their phones in the US, whether by roaming on AT&T's network, using an AT&T prepaid SIM, or both.

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You need to understand how spectrum is used in the USA they are just not going to shut down 850mhz 3g and make it LTE..  Most markets are actually 1900mhz 3g...  The US is a hodge podge of spectrum that each carrier owns some of in different areas.  In a 40 mile drive to work I see bands 2,5,12, and 30 across the drive.

That date should be 2021, not 2012.

Thanks, that's very helpful. So the bottom line is I should start shopping for a new phone before the end of the year?

But if ATT offers me only a smartphone, I'll switch to another carrier. Or I'll buy a 4G flip-phone before they switch. I have no use for those oversized, bloated electronic toys.

@quadriped 

Before long even flip phones are going to be smartphones.  You are in the 3% that don't want a smartphone.

That's OK, I rarely follow the trend, and I'm too mature to care what others think of me.   My phone is small enough to fit into my pocket, and I have a landline and 3 desktop computers at home.  I work from home online, and I don't want to be connected 24/7.  I (and most of my friends) will wait till we're forced into it, and then I would use it only for phone calls anyway. I bought  a GPS for my car already.  

GLIMMERMAN76

The first is actually a smart-phone, and way beyond my budget.  I called and the only one they have now is the Cingular Flip2.  I know the feature phones have already disappeared from some other sites or been replaced with junk.  I'll wait till my current 3-month payment is due to expire and decide then.

What's CDMA and LTE?