EDGE going away?

**coreytime** · 09-13-2011, 08:49 AM

Hello All,

I have a simple question. I went into the AT&T store yesterday and was going to switch from an iPhone 4 to a Blackberry 8700c (Edge). (I'm selling my iphone 4 early to a friend before new one comes out). The manager proceeded to tell me not to switch because Edge was going away and that my phone would not work. Is this true? Has edge been phased out? I use to keep up with the times, but this is definitely new to me.

**Goelz83** · 09-13-2011, 08:54 AM

Not completely.

They might be adjusting cell sites and making it so that a phone without 3G capabilities will not work as well as a 3G phone, but they are not shutting EDGE off all together.

**whitetigergrowl** · 09-13-2011, 12:04 PM

Originally Posted by Goelz83

Not completely.

They might be adjusting cell sites and making it so that a phone without 3G capabilities will not work as well as a 3G phone, but they are not shutting EDGE off all together.

From everything people on here are saying that live in Edge converted to 3G areas recently, and various online reports and city online newspapers are saying, yes Edge is disappearing. And very quickly it seems too.

Will it all go away? Like Verizon's 1x likely not. But it does seem ATT is pushing hard to get rid of as much Edge as quickly as possible. Look at Kansas now versus just a few months back. Not long ago is was mostly Edge and now half of it at least is 3G.

So I would say yes, the rep was mostly correct. It just depends where you are and how soon it will be converted to 3G. (Gonna go on a limb and say very soon.) If possible avoid getting an Edge only phone would be my advice at this point.

**Goelz83** · 09-13-2011, 12:13 PM

Originally Posted by whitetigergrowl

Will it all go away? Like Verizon's 1x likely not. But it does seem ATT is pushing hard to get rid of as much Edge as quickly as possible. Look at Kansas now versus just a few months back. Not long ago is was mostly Edge and now half of it at least is 3G.

Just because they add 3G to an area doesn't mean that they take down the EDGE network. They will adjust how much spectrum is devoted to the 2G network vs. the 3G network, but it will be a LONG time before they completely shut down EDGE.

**johnhere** · 09-13-2011, 12:16 PM

If I were to get another phone it would be a 3g phone. 2g is still pretty good in my area but I've noticed the signal starting to get weaker when compared to my 3g phones.

2g is weak at home now but 3G gives me a full signal so I think att made some changes recently and 2g doesn't act like it's 850.

Will be quite a while before it goes away though.

**i0wnj00** · 09-13-2011, 12:22 PM

Originally Posted by coreytime

Hello All,

I have a simple question. I went into the AT&T store yesterday and was going to switch from an iPhone 4 to a Blackberry 8700c (Edge). (I'm selling my iphone 4 early to a friend before new one comes out). The manager proceeded to tell me not to switch because Edge was going away and that my phone would not work. Is this true? Has edge been phased out? I use to keep up with the times, but this is definitely new to me.

Nope.
I have no problems utilizing whatever GSM/EDGE remains when I force my devices to use "2G/GSM only". 2G/GSM/EDGE can never go away unless AT&T decides they no longer have a use or converts to LTE for the remaining 5 MHz left. If there are 4-5 3G carriers in a given area then there will be some left for 2G/GSM/EDGE, the question is when the reminder will be re proposed for something else or left idle.

**GSMinCT** · 09-13-2011, 09:53 PM

Wait. You're switching so you can get an iPhone 5 in a month? They are not shutting down legacy network in a month. Maybe a decade.

**johnhere** · 09-14-2011, 05:59 AM

Yeah it won't go away overnight. In most places I go it's still very much useable. Main place I've seen a change is at home.

**awj223** · 09-14-2011, 09:57 AM

Originally Posted by i0wnj00

Nope.
I have no problems utilizing whatever GSM/EDGE remains when I force my devices to use "2G/GSM only". 2G/GSM/EDGE can never go away unless AT&T decides they no longer have a use or converts to LTE for the remaining 5 MHz left. If there are 4-5 3G carriers in a given area then there will be some left for 2G/GSM/EDGE, the question is when the reminder will be re proposed for something else or left idle.

But in markets where there was never EDGE in the first place (like ex Alltel areas), there will never be EDGE. So if you have a phone that cannot do 3G, you will get NO SERVICE in those areas. So I would not go with a non 3G phone, even if they are keeping (existing) EDGE coverage for a number of years. In addition, any network ENHANCEMENTS I would expect to be done on the 3G side ONLY. The EDGE network may stay up and running, but quality of service will probably slowly rot away.

Doesn't anyone remember the last days of D-AMPS (aka TDMA)? GSM problems were fixed within a day usually, while problems on the D-AMPS network would get fixed whenever the network crews got to them, sometimes 1, 2, maybe even 3 weeks after they were reported.

**hwertz** · 09-14-2011, 10:36 AM

Originally Posted by Goelz83

Just because they add 3G to an area doesn't mean that they take down the EDGE network. They will adjust how much spectrum is devoted to the 2G network vs. the 3G network, but it will be a LONG time before they completely shut down EDGE.

Except this isn't the case. 1) Alltel markets, they put up HSPA or HSPA+ and removed the existing GSM coverage. Alltel had quite a bit of spectrum generally, so this wasn't due to spectrum limits or something.

2) Some people in Mississippi and Alabama have been getting letters that 2G is being shut down in those markets, and 2G gophone shipments to those areas have been halted. In these cases I think it *is* due to spectrum (5mhz pair, i.e. 10mhz, if
AT&T has 10mhz than GSM blocks 3G entirely, and if they have 20mhz then even 1 channel of GSM blocks that second 3G channel from being installed.) i0wnj00 is right, though, if AT&T had say 15mhz or 25mhz, then that 5mhz can't be used for 3G and shutting down EDGE would be pointless.

This isn't like Verizon's 1x really... HSPA can (and should) replace GSM entirelym AT&Ts big mistake is to continue selling GSM-only phones IMHO. VZWs current phones are entirely reliant on 1x for voice service. No voice over EVDO. And VoLTE (voice over LTE) exists, but it's not installed in phones or VZW LTE network as yet! At least in my market, texting also relies on 1x (texts *can* go over the EVDO control channel technically AFAIK, but my phone briefly drops to 1x when I fire off a text so I guess they don't do that.)

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**ggore** · 09-16-2011, 08:31 PM

AT&T is still very actively constructing EDGE-based cell sites. EDGE is not dead by a long shot, as evidenced by the fact that well over 70% of AT&T's total coverage area is EDGE and they are still actively building towers to fill in huge blank spots in that coverage.

**awj223** · 09-17-2011, 05:19 PM

Originally Posted by ggore

AT&T is still very actively constructing EDGE-based cell sites. EDGE is not dead by a long shot, as evidenced by the fact that well over 70% of AT&T's total coverage area is EDGE and they are still actively building towers to fill in huge blank spots in that coverage.

Do you have a source for this? All evidence I've seen points to the contrary (except in markets where they already have EDGE, if they add a site, they'll likely put EDGE on it, but I don't think EDGE is expanding to any NEW markets).

**Guest 214** · 09-17-2011, 05:39 PM

Originally Posted by awj223

Do you have a source for this? All evidence I've seen points to the contrary (except in markets where they already have EDGE, if they add a site, they'll likely put EDGE on it, but I don't think EDGE is expanding to any NEW markets).

All the sites here they have recently added have had GSM as well as UMTS. I haven't seen a new GSM only site since early this year.

**awj223** · 09-17-2011, 05:47 PM

Originally Posted by LTE Fever

All the sites here they have recently added have had GSM as well as UMTS. I haven't seen a new GSM only site since early this year.

Of course. If they're running a GSM network, they pretty much HAVE to add it on the new site, or else they won't get the capacity gains associated with having that new site. But in markets that never had GSM, or only had crappy GSM (like former Alltel markets), they're not even bothering with GSM/EDGE and have put up UMTS only sites. Those areas aren't going to see a GSM/EDGE network -- ever.

**zephxiii** · 09-19-2011, 08:47 AM

I've seen edge only sites light up. Saw it happen this year along US 30 by Bucyrus OH when I traveled through there and saw that I actually had strong signal compared the to last time i went through the area...at the time the new coverage wasn't on the map. Before that area was reaching to towers very far away.

So yes in rural areas that aren't 3G and they are adding coverage to fill holes they will launch as GSM/EDGE.