Mobile 2G/3G networks are going away. Some carriers' shutoff dates are already public and others are yet to be announced, but the end for this technology is inevitable. While many companies and public sector agencies stopped using 2G/3G a long time ago, the shutoff will cause significant turmoil for the hundreds of enterprises that are still using this technology for early IoT use cases or are in the midst of digital transformation journeys.
The turmoil will result in a positive outcome as much of the 2G and 3G spectrum will be repurposed for 5G, but it is nevertheless something organisations need to anticipate. For those that are using it for IoT, this is the ideal opportunity to deploy future-proof IoT solutions that both mitigate the potential network security risks posed by IoT devices and enable the connectivity necessary to future-proof rapidly expanding enterprise networks for innovations. The natural step forward is an upgrade to 4G LTE, but many enterprises are already looking ahead to 5G, which raises questions around timing, deployment strategies, and the best way to future-proof investments.
Source: https://techerati.com/features-hub/opinions/are-you-prepared-for-the-enterprise-2g-3g-shutdown/
(Score: 3, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 13 2019, @06:01PM
I probably won't notice since I have little use for mobile data.
I have Internet access at both home and work, netcasts/audio books/lectures while driving, open street maps for navigation, and the entire English Wikipedia on a microSD.
My phone plan is $11/month and used to have only 10MB/month, but was freely upgraded to 100MB that I still don't use about a year ago. Don't pay for something you don't use - check the wiki list of MVNOs and switch to a plan that is more restricted to your use if you're still with a major carrier.
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/net.osmand.plus/ [f-droid.org]
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.kiwix.kiwixmobile/ [f-droid.org]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_mobile_virtual_network_operators [wikipedia.org]