The End Of The 2G Network?!
January 10, 2009
Do you hear that sound? No, it’s not your Bell Biv Devoe ringtone- it’s a death rattle. (It’s easy to get the two confused) The end may be coming for the owners of older iPhone models (as in, not those fancy 3G ones.) Being an owner of one of those older phones, I was very upset to hear that AT&T is sacrificing the signal strength of the 2G network in order to speed up their fancy new 3G network. (If you were wondering why your reception has started to suck recently, it may not actually be all that lead paint in your apartment.)
In some areas, AT&T technicians have been switching the 2G transmitters from the 850 MHz band it was formerly on, (which provided a strong signal, especially indoors) to a weaker 1900 MHz band. So basically, in places where we used to have a strong signal- we now- don’t. (Maybe that’s why my call kept dropping off the other night. Ahh, I’m getting paranoid!) But we iPhone users aren’t the only ones affected by this change. Nearly half of AT&T’s available phones are 2G models that won’t work with the newer 3G technology. (Sorry Blackberry users, you’re getting screwed too)
Open For Business contacted AT&T about the matter and each technician they spoke to offered the same simple solution: buy the new 3G iPhone. Oh! Of course! Forget the fact that I just dropped 300 dollars on this phone a few months ago- and forget that fact that the new 3G monthly plans cost an additional $15 a month. It’s only money! Let me run out and buy one right now…
Coincidentally, one AT&T customer service rep advised OFB to terminate their AT&T service, then jailbreak their phone to use on another competitor’s network. (Of course, there’s still that early termination fee that you’d get hit with, and that’s almost the same price as buying a new goddamn iPhone. I swear- when they got you by the balls, they really got you by the balls-)
Mark Siegel, AT&T’s executive director of analyst relations, (fancy title for PR), denies that AT&T has been advising customers to drop their old 2G phones for newer 3G versions, nor would customers be required to. Of course, if the signal strength continues to drop, customers will have little choice but to do so. Very sneaky, AT&T…
And for all of you 3G users who are indifferent to this whole situation, let me ask you this… how long before your precious network meets the same fate as the 2G? The 4G LTE network is on the horizon- Now how safe do you feel?
[Via Open For Business]
[Photo source via MDS975]