3 ms·

So it’s no longer in use?

meepmorp 5y ago
No, GPRS is still around; the 2 and 3G networks aren't supposed to go away until late 2022 in the US, and then there's the rest of the world to consider.
- giantrobot 5y ago
  In the US AT&T shut down their 2G service at the end of 2019. Only T-Mobile has GSM/GPRS service active and that is shutting down at the end of this year. It's 3G services that will be shutting down through the end of 2022/3.
  - meepmorp 5y ago
    Yeah, like I said, currently operating 2 & 3G networks are scheduled to go away by late 2022, and GPRS is still in service.
- cestith 5y ago
  We need to consider illegitimate carrier devices, too. Will the Stingray type devices stop supporting it? If the phones still fall back to it, it's still a threat.
- rtpg 5y ago
  kinda interesting, but looking at this table 2G phaseouts will basically take more time in developped nations than elsewhere. Probably a big case of how there's a lot of technological leapfrogging in developping nations cuz they tend to only have access to really cheap commodity stuff (so they end up getting stuff replaced more quickly). Very much the "fancy hotel wifi" problem IMO https://www.emnify.com/en/resources/global-2g-phase-out https://www.emnify.com/en/resources/global-2g-phase-out
  - meepmorp 5y ago
    I think it's a timeframe thing, too. 2G data network rollouts were 20-ish years ago, and infrastructure and handsets were expensive, so less extensive deployment in the developing world. Shifting those deployments forward by 5 years puts you into 3G timeframe.
andyjohnson0 5y ago
I'd be surprised if there are many phones that still use it, but I'd be equally unsurprised if there weren't a lot of embedded devices (utility substations, gas/electricity meters, security systems, traffic light controllers, etc.) that still use GPRS modems to phone home to monitoring systems. Its simple, lightweight, and supports PPP (for devices that use serial comms) and X.25 as well as IP.
- tinus_hn 5y ago
  I presume phones just use what the network tells them to use.
  - simias 5y ago
    Even then, I'd expect (perhaps naively) that the vast majority of smartphone data transmissions these days are done on top of HTTPS, so breaking the first layer would only get you so far.
    - tinus_hn 5y ago
      That’s true, except for conversations and SMS
      - simias 5y ago
        Aah, I assumed that this used a different protocol. Then yeah, it's pretty bad.
Fordec 5y ago
Actually, because of legacy support issues and quality of service requirements, a lot of Emergency services are still using it instead of newer tech. Also, a lot of low data consumption IoT devices use older, but also cheaper, chipsets that use this for their telemetry backbone.
fogihujy 5y ago
My phone switches to 2G in some parts of the house, and some places in the garden. And, when the weather gets really bad, or if there's a long power outage, 2G is the only option. I live quite far out though, so I guess it won't apply to that many.

No, GPRS is still around; the 2 and 3G networks aren't supposed to go away until late 2022 in the US, and then there's the rest of the world to consider.

giantrobot 5y ago
In the US AT&T shut down their 2G service at the end of 2019. Only T-Mobile has GSM/GPRS service active and that is shutting down at the end of this year. It's 3G services that will be shutting down through the end of 2022/3.
- meepmorp 5y ago
  Yeah, like I said, currently operating 2 & 3G networks are scheduled to go away by late 2022, and GPRS is still in service.
cestith 5y ago
We need to consider illegitimate carrier devices, too. Will the Stingray type devices stop supporting it? If the phones still fall back to it, it's still a threat.
rtpg 5y ago
kinda interesting, but looking at this table 2G phaseouts will basically take more time in developped nations than elsewhere. Probably a big case of how there's a lot of technological leapfrogging in developping nations cuz they tend to only have access to really cheap commodity stuff (so they end up getting stuff replaced more quickly). Very much the "fancy hotel wifi" problem IMO https://www.emnify.com/en/resources/global-2g-phase-out https://www.emnify.com/en/resources/global-2g-phase-out
- meepmorp 5y ago
  I think it's a timeframe thing, too. 2G data network rollouts were 20-ish years ago, and infrastructure and handsets were expensive, so less extensive deployment in the developing world. Shifting those deployments forward by 5 years puts you into 3G timeframe.

andyjohnson0 5y ago

I'd be surprised if there are many phones that still use it, but I'd be equally unsurprised if there weren't a lot of embedded devices (utility substations, gas/electricity meters, security systems, traffic light controllers, etc.) that still use GPRS modems to phone home to monitoring systems. Its simple, lightweight, and supports PPP (for devices that use serial comms) and X.25 as well as IP.

tinus_hn 5y ago
I presume phones just use what the network tells them to use.
- simias 5y ago
  Even then, I'd expect (perhaps naively) that the vast majority of smartphone data transmissions these days are done on top of HTTPS, so breaking the first layer would only get you so far.
  - tinus_hn 5y ago
    That’s true, except for conversations and SMS
    - simias 5y ago
      Aah, I assumed that this used a different protocol. Then yeah, it's pretty bad.

Fordec 5y ago

Actually, because of legacy support issues and quality of service requirements, a lot of Emergency services are still using it instead of newer tech. Also, a lot of low data consumption IoT devices use older, but also cheaper, chipsets that use this for their telemetry backbone.

fogihujy 5y ago

My phone switches to 2G in some parts of the house, and some places in the garden. And, when the weather gets really bad, or if there's a long power outage, 2G is the only option. I live quite far out though, so I guess it won't apply to that many.