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The loss of 3G is going to be an unmitigated disaster it seems. Might even be appropriate for the FCC to step in and force them to keep it up. A lesser loss is

The loss of 3G is going to be an unmitigated disaster it seems. Might even be appropriate for the FCC to step in and force them to keep it up. A lesser loss is that 3G often works in a big crowd where LTE is overloaded. Maybe that'll at least change to 5G vs LTE over time.

kiwijamo 5y ago
That's not the case everywhere. Depending on your network's configuration, it's entirely possible to have areas of high traffic where 3G service is so poor even 4G is miles ahead. This is because networks may decide to provides lots of spectrum to 4G whereas the spectrum available to 3G has be reduced to the bare minimum they need to operate. This is the case for all three networks operating here in New Zealand. One carrier has gone from providing 30 MHz of 3G spectrum down to only 15 MHz (basically halving the capacity), meanwhile the same network provides up to 80 MHz of 4G spectrum with plans to reduce 3G usage further so it can be reallocated to 4G or even 5G. Also 4G is so much better at handling poor signal conditions—I know of several places where the rollout of 4G saw marginal singal locations improve from sporadic data (coming in bursts randomly every now and then) to actually being able to slowly browse the web anytime with data coming in at a steady stream. The difference was like night and day. I'd be glad to see 3G go but am disappointed about all the issues with VoLTE as its making the migration to 4G more difficult.
topranks 5y ago
It’s insane to keep a massive portion of spectrum on this old technology to support a very small amount of people with outdated hardware.
- lxgr 5y ago
  Not just that – it complicates cell planning a lot. As far as I know, UMTS and LTE behave very differently under load, and at least in the early versions of UMTS there was the phenomenon of "cell breathing", where the serviceable cell radius varies with network load (due to the CDMA modulation/multiple access scheme used). Having to provide denser cells in sparsely populated areas just to avoid dropped calls during the odd traffic spike sounds like a real pain.
  - op00to 5y ago
    In my old house, on UMTS, I would have perfect signal except for 6am-4pm when the local school was there. It was fine in the summer. The local school soaked up the entire “cell” and my house was a dead spot.
- jimmaswell 5y ago
  It's more about these devices that aren't so easy to replace like car modems. If 3G won't be it then we need to settle on something else that can be promised to be there in the foreseeable future for the longevity of IoT/cars/whatever else.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]

kiwijamo 5y ago

That's not the case everywhere. Depending on your network's configuration, it's entirely possible to have areas of high traffic where 3G service is so poor even 4G is miles ahead. This is because networks may decide to provides lots of spectrum to 4G whereas the spectrum available to 3G has be reduced to the bare minimum they need to operate. This is the case for all three networks operating here in New Zealand. One carrier has gone from providing 30 MHz of 3G spectrum down to only 15 MHz (basically halving the capacity), meanwhile the same network provides up to 80 MHz of 4G spectrum with plans to reduce 3G usage further so it can be reallocated to 4G or even 5G. Also 4G is so much better at handling poor signal conditions—I know of several places where the rollout of 4G saw marginal singal locations improve from sporadic data (coming in bursts randomly every now and then) to actually being able to slowly browse the web anytime with data coming in at a steady stream. The difference was like night and day. I'd be glad to see 3G go but am disappointed about all the issues with VoLTE as its making the migration to 4G more difficult.

topranks 5y ago

It’s insane to keep a massive portion of spectrum on this old technology to support a very small amount of people with outdated hardware.

lxgr 5y ago
Not just that – it complicates cell planning a lot. As far as I know, UMTS and LTE behave very differently under load, and at least in the early versions of UMTS there was the phenomenon of "cell breathing", where the serviceable cell radius varies with network load (due to the CDMA modulation/multiple access scheme used). Having to provide denser cells in sparsely populated areas just to avoid dropped calls during the odd traffic spike sounds like a real pain.
- op00to 5y ago
  In my old house, on UMTS, I would have perfect signal except for 6am-4pm when the local school was there. It was fine in the summer. The local school soaked up the entire “cell” and my house was a dead spot.
jimmaswell 5y ago
It's more about these devices that aren't so easy to replace like car modems. If 3G won't be it then we need to settle on something else that can be promised to be there in the foreseeable future for the longevity of IoT/cars/whatever else.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]