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Keeping 2G+4/5G alive looks like a good option to me - 2G is supported by any GSM phone and has long range, 4/5G - high bandwidth for modern phones. I would not

Keeping 2G+4/5G alive looks like a good option to me - 2G is supported by any GSM phone and has long range, 4/5G - high bandwidth for modern phones. I would not miss 3G at all if 2G and 4G will be available, but 2G decommission will turn a lot of working dump/feature phones into e-waste (I myself use multiple SIM-cards and some of them are in 2G-only phones).

giantrobot 4y ago
2G isn't as spectrally efficient as 5G. It can't service nearly as many users in a cell so it ends up just being wasteful. Carriers do not want to waste their spectrum licenses on 2G service for some small minority of customers. Those old feature phones are generating e-waste already as they're on their nth battery and have chargers with connectors not used by any other device.
- deleted 4y ago
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- randomhodler84 4y ago
  Also downgrade attacks. 2G is insecure and needs to be deprecated. Newer protocols are the way forward.
  - giantrobot 4y ago
    Excellent point. Spectrum for 2G is just the start. There's also several layers of backend services needed to keep 2G working and interoperable with modern voice networks. AIUI GSM's encryption is also relatively easy to break today. So 2G service is not only wasteful but a gigantic security hole.
  - usrn 4y ago
    Meh. For low bandwidth internet applications nothing in 2G is really a problem. Everything on the internet uses strong crypto for authentication these days. It would be nice to not have to replace cellular equipment every few years and have some compatibility.
    - giantrobot 4y ago
      The air interface for 2G is less secure than 5G. This means everything from signaling to actual payload is less secure. In terms of bandwidth, 5G is far more spectrally efficient than 2G. A low bandwidth 5G device can have far better battery life because it's communication duty cycle is much shorter. A 2G service can't overlap with other services. So if you've got 2G service that's spectrum you can't use for anything else. It's also expensive to run since it essentially doubles the infrastructure needed to provide the service.

giantrobot 4y ago

2G isn't as spectrally efficient as 5G. It can't service nearly as many users in a cell so it ends up just being wasteful. Carriers do not want to waste their spectrum licenses on 2G service for some small minority of customers. Those old feature phones are generating e-waste already as they're on their nth battery and have chargers with connectors not used by any other device.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
randomhodler84 4y ago
Also downgrade attacks. 2G is insecure and needs to be deprecated. Newer protocols are the way forward.
- giantrobot 4y ago
  Excellent point. Spectrum for 2G is just the start. There's also several layers of backend services needed to keep 2G working and interoperable with modern voice networks. AIUI GSM's encryption is also relatively easy to break today. So 2G service is not only wasteful but a gigantic security hole.
- usrn 4y ago
  Meh. For low bandwidth internet applications nothing in 2G is really a problem. Everything on the internet uses strong crypto for authentication these days. It would be nice to not have to replace cellular equipment every few years and have some compatibility.
  - giantrobot 4y ago
    The air interface for 2G is less secure than 5G. This means everything from signaling to actual payload is less secure. In terms of bandwidth, 5G is far more spectrally efficient than 2G. A low bandwidth 5G device can have far better battery life because it's communication duty cycle is much shorter. A 2G service can't overlap with other services. So if you've got 2G service that's spectrum you can't use for anything else. It's also expensive to run since it essentially doubles the infrastructure needed to provide the service.