AT&T plans to shut down entire 2G network by 2017

[CA]

Yea, well i am sure it is all about the money and I don't blame them as if I were in the seat of numbers I probably wouldn't spend it on that unless it was really needed. I am sure the same situation will arise with VZW and CDMA, it will take a long time for them to be able to turn it down.

What's really cool though is how AT&T has already thought ahead about 850/1900 refarming and is prepping future handsets for it, strangely VZW hasn't even thought of that yet (that i have seen). Obviously if VoLTE pans out as a great voice setup then ultimately you'll want to be 100% LTE eventually. AT&T has basically acknowledged this with the 850/1900 LTE phone specs and is preparing for the future.

Thats been the goal since day one, going back years. Lte is less expensive to run, and they know that eventually the ROI will be right. At that time it was thought that there would be one protocol, the carriers killed that one straight up!

[ggore]

What's really cool though is how AT&T has already thought ahead about 850/1900 refarming and is prepping future handsets for it, strangely VZW hasn't even thought of that yet (that i have seen). Obviously if VoLTE pans out as a great voice setup then ultimately you'll want to be 100% LTE eventually. AT&T has basically acknowledged this with the 850/1900 LTE phone specs and is preparing for the future.

The Wall St. Journal reported in April that all phones Verizon will sell beginning sometime in 2012 must be LTE-capable, whether smartphones, feature phones, whatever. The plan is probably to get all users onto these phones at some point and then they can begin doing away with 1X and/or 3G. This will probably take a while, as VoLTE would have to be enabled over their entire system and we have no idea when that will happen that I know of. So Verizon is thinking about the future

[zephxiii]

The Wall St. Journal reported in April that all phones Verizon will sell beginning sometime in 2012 must be LTE-capable, whether smartphones, feature phones, whatever. The plan is probably to get all users onto these phones at some point and then they can begin doing away with 1X and/or 3G. This will probably take a while, as VoLTE would have to be enabled over their entire system and we have no idea when that will happen that I know of. So Verizon is thinking about the future

Yea, problem is they are trying to cram everyone into 10x10mhz LTE which isn't going to work in the long run as indicated by their desire to acquire AWS. They should probably start thinking about getting their phones 850/1900 LTE capable too.

[johnhere]

Rumor I've been hearing is that vz has no plans of offering any basic phones for lte. Not sure if that's the case but I'm sure their first choice is everyone on a smartphone

[zephxiii]

Yea, the chipsets are probably not in place yet for VoLTE basic phones.

[ggore]

Rumor I've been hearing is that vz has no plans of offering any basic phones for lte. Not sure if that's the case but I'm sure their first choice is everyone on a smartphone

You're right, I did some more checking and the rule only applies to smartphones. No more non-LTE-capable smartphones will be sold by Verizon beginning this year. That's a pretty good indication that the next iPhone will LTE-capable, otherwise if Apple comes out with a new model that isn't capable of LTE, Verizon would refuse to sell it. Cool.

[johnhere]

Yeah the new iPhone should most definitely be lte. I figured it will be where if you want to be on vz lte, you have to get a smartphone so doesnt surprise me. Prob when CDMA does get shut down so do the basic phones. Maybe manufacturers will come out with good basic phones with the right hardware. Wishful thinking

[sprke81]

The Wall St. Journal reported in April that all phones Verizon will sell beginning sometime in 2012 must be LTE-capable, whether smartphones, feature phones, whatever. The plan is probably to get all users onto these phones at some point and then they can begin doing away with 1X and/or 3G. This will probably take a while, as VoLTE would have to be enabled over their entire system and we have no idea when that will happen that I know of. So Verizon is thinking about the future

After Verizon said that they released a 3G blackberry curve. I doubt they would pass on the next iPhone if it didn't have LTE. I'm sure it will have LTE tho.

[zephxiii]

I'm really wondering if the iPhone 5 will support LTE on 850/1900....that would be fantastic for VZW and ATT. Also i wonder if it would support VoLTE. Sadly i think both of those things are too new/advanced for apple.

There was a recent report that the 5's batter is only around 1400mah ....I'm very curious about its battery life now, especially when considering the larger screen it has to light up and drive.

[newyork4me]

I'm really wondering if the iPhone 5 will support LTE on 850/1900....that would be fantastic for VZW and ATT. Also i wonder if it would support VoLTE. Sadly i think both of those things are too new/advanced for apple.

There was a recent report that the 5's batter is only around 1400mah ....I'm very curious about its battery life now, especially when considering the larger screen it has to light up and drive.

I think there is a ~0% chance it will support LTE on 850. There is some chance it will support PCS, because Sprint is using Extended PCS band for their LTE deployment.

It technically can support LTE if it has the MDM9615 baseband (which it will). It might not come right at first, but could be added later. Samsung is adding VoLTE to their S IIIs with a software update.

[BuffaloTF]

I think there is a ~0% chance it will support LTE on 850. There is some chance it will support PCS, because Sprint is using Extended PCS band for their LTE deployment.

It technically can support LTE if it has the MDM9615 baseband (which it will). It might not come right at first, but could be added later. Samsung is adding VoLTE to their S IIIs with a software update.

It very well may... if they hold true to their desire to use a one radio solution, they'd need to cover quite a number of bands... 700, 800, 1900, AWS, 2.5/6 and I whatever they use in Australia currently to avoid another iPad fiasco.

I don't know how feasible that would be at this stage of the LTE game... but it'd be interesting to see them try. Though if they customize radios for carriers, they'd almost have to include the 850.

[A42887]

AT&T began shutting down TDMA May 30, 2007 and the last system to use it, Dobson Communications in Oklahoma, shut down March 1, 2008.

Fun Fact: There are still multiple TDMA sites running in Wyoming run by Union Wireless in their Cellular-block areas.

[GSMinCT]

There are no regulatory hurdles preventing AT&T from doing it now. They don't want to inconvenience or POing the remaining 12% of GSM customers by doing it now, if they were to do it now or soon then they would have to start a mass mailing campaign to really push people to switch to a WCDMA/LTE phone.

Maybe the extra 5 or so years will help them expand their WCDMA/LTE coverage, hence the long wait.

They have no need for LTE on the 850 band right now, so they are doing the smart thing and planning ahead, but keeping GSM on that last 5mhz for now.

After Verizon said that they released a 3G blackberry curve. I doubt they would pass on the next iPhone if it didn't have LTE. I'm sure it will have LTE tho.

Clearly all five remaining BB users on Verizon are going to crash the network when they use 50MB/mo with their corporate BES pmail.

[GSMRocks]

This is extremely BAD in my opinion. Until we have phones that support both Tmobile's umts and AT&T's UMTS bands that is, that way prepaid customers and switch from one to the other and keep their phone. Not to mention what happens when I want to break out that old Nokia N-Gage, or iphone 2g, or Treo 680 and use it for nostalgia purposes for a few days or what about my GSM based home security system? What about people who want to unlock a G1 or Mytouch 3g slide and use it on at&t. OOPS cant now becuase GSM is shut down! and T-Mobile doesnt use standard frequencies for their UMTS. I mean come on whats the point of having a sim card if you cant switch carriers and keep your phone?

[susanmary428]

This is extremely BAD in my opinion. Until we have phones that support both Tmobile's umts and AT&T's UMTS bands that is, that way prepaid customers and switch from one to the other and keep their phone. Not to mention what happens when I want to break out that old Nokia N-Gage, or iphone 2g, or Treo 680 and use it for nostalgia purposes for a few days or what about my GSM based home security system? What about people who want to unlock a G1 or Mytouch 3g slide and use it on at&t. OOPS cant now becuase GSM is shut down! and T-Mobile doesnt use standard frequencies for their UMTS. I mean come on whats the point of having a sim card if you cant switch carriers and keep your phone?

I totally understand this feeling, but AT&T has to do what they have to do to keep up and stay profitable. It doesn't make sense to keep using money and man-power to maintain an obsolete network so a few people can continue to use obsolete phones.

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