AT&T is shutting down its 3G network: Talking Tech podcast

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Hey there listeners, it's Brett Molina. Welcome back to Talking Tech. AT&T starting today is taking the first step toward the end of 3G service. On Tuesday, the wireless carrier is shutting down its 3G network, which means if you have an older phone that runs on 3G or you have other devices that run on 3G, it's very likely they're not going to work. I write about this in a story that you can read on tech.usatoday.com. You have probably heard me talk about this before. We wrote about this a while back, but in light of the fact that AT&T is going to be shutting down today, I think now is a good time just as a reminder of what to expect.

Obviously the big reason 5G is going away is... Excuse me, 3G is going away. I'm getting my G's confused. The big reason 3G is going away is because obviously our phones do so much more than just send text messages or we use them for checking email or making phone calls. They do so much more and as a result, a lot of the wires carriers are trying to update their networks so that they can offer even more. So we know about AT&T, they're shutting down on February 22nd. So does that mean your 3G phone is going to work on 5g? No. If you have a 3G phone or you have a phone that doesn't support HD voice calls, then it is not going to work. So basically it won't receive calls, it won't get text messages. Any of those services, even 911, because with older phones, if you didn't have a plan, they could still dial 911 in case of an emergency.

Any old 3G smartphone will not do that. But it goes way beyond phones. There are a lot of devices out there that run on 3G, ebook readers, vehicle services, home alarms, some medical alert devices, there's a lot of different stuff out there. And so the rest of the carriers, T-Mobile said it's going to retire the 3G network it got through the Sprint deal on March 31st and then it's going to shut down its own on July 1st. Verizon said it's going to shut down its 3G network by December 31st of this year. So of course, what is it you can do to get ready for this? Because obviously there's of parts. You might have some devices at home beyond your phone and you're worried about what to do. According to the Federal Communications Commission, they are telling people go check out your wireless carrier, just make sure any phone you have is affected.

All the carriers have details on their websites about devices. If you have other devices that aren't phones, that aren't related to any of these carriers, go to the manufacturer. Check out their website, call, figure out whether your device needs a software update or you need something else, you need to upgrade to something new. So it's going to be interesting to see how this all rolls out. I think for phones, again, a lot of those older 3G phones, maybe you kept one aside in case of emergency just to call 911, nothing else beyond on that, those are going to be unavailable. And then of course there's a ton of devices out there and this is going to be where we're going to want to pay close attention is how much of an impact does this have on a lot of those devices. Obviously AT&T is one network, but they're obviously are a huge network.

So we will learn more about what kind of impact this is going to have. And of course you can keep up with our coverage on this by going to tech.usatoday.com. Listeners, let's hear from you. Do you have any comments, questions, or show ideas? Any tech problems you want us to try to address? You can find me on Twitter @brettmolina21. Please don't forget to subscribe and rate us or leave a review on Apple podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, anywhere you get your podcasts. You've been listening to Talking Tech, we'll be back tomorrow with another quick hit from the world of tech.