AT&T Says 3G Network Will Close Next Week as Planned

AT&T has done what it can and won’t delay shuttering its 3G network starting next week, Joan Marsh, AT&T executive vice president-federal regulatory relations, blogged Tuesday. “No network transition is easy,” she said: “We’ve undertaken extensive efforts to minimize the inconvenience for our customers and allow as seamless a transition as is possible. We will continue to remain focused on assisting customers through and past the 3G sunset date.” AT&T offered subscribers free and discounted phones to switch off 3G, created a dedicated transition webpage, certified more than 100 devices for use on AT&T’s 4G/5G network, provided more than $100 million in incentives for businesses to replace devices, and took other actions to ease the transition, she said. Less than 1% of AT&T traffic now runs on the 3G network, she said. “Three years ago, when we announced the 3G sunset, we gave notice to our business customers that then relied on 3G devices,” Marsh said: “We even gave notice in contracts years before that. And most of those companies have used this time effectively to migrate their devices. For example, ADT, one of the largest alarm companies, has publicly said it expects to have all its 3G devices upgraded before the February 22 sunset date.”