North American Cellular Network Landscape: Transition and ModernizationUpdated 3 months ago
Network Technology Sunset: A Necessary Evolution
Mobile network providers continuously strive to improve network performance and capacity. To achieve this, they periodically phase out older network technologies to free up resources and infrastructure for newer, more advanced services. This process allows them to support the ever-growing demand for data and connectivity on mobile devices.
Here's a breakdown of the current network sunset status in Canada and the U.S.:
|
Network |
Canada |
United States |
|---|---|---|
|
2G |
2G complete Shutdown: December 31, 2021. Network no longer maintained as of this date until fully deprecated. |
AT&T stopped servicing its 2G network back in 2017. |
|
3G |
March 31, 2021 (Continued 3G support until 2025) |
AT&T has stated they will sunset their 3G network in February of 2022. |
|
4G, 4G LTE, LTE-Advanced |
Launched in 2011, likely will not sunset for another decade and no date is set at this time. |
Launched in 2010, likely will not sunset for another decade and no date is set at this time. |
|
5G |
In June 2020, they began rolling out the network in Vancouver, Montreal, Calgary, Edmonton, and Toronto and added additional cities thereafter. A small collection of 5G-capable devices are available in Canada. |
AT&T began an early launch of mobile 5G services in select cities on December 21, 2018. All Networks will continue to implement the network, 5G devices will fallback to 4G LTE |
|
LTE-M, CAT-M1, LPWAN |
Rogers did a national rollout of LTE-M will start with an initial launch in Ontario by the end of 2018, followed by additional provinces throughout 2019. Telus and Bell followed suit in 2019. |
Various networks began launching between 2016-2018. |
Staying Informed:
For the latest information on specific network availability and sunset dates, it's recommended to consult your mobile network provider directly.