Having considered closing down its 3G UMTS network by 2019, T-Mobile has taken some time to decide that the legacy network will be terminated by July 1st, 2022. As 5G continues its proliferation across the US, the use cases for 3G networks decrease although there is still a good number of folks using feature phones that don’t support 5G or even 4G for that matter.
This means that T-Mobile joins AT&T and Verizon by shutting down its 3G network during 2022.
T-Mobile confirmed the July 1st, 2022 date on its website, saying that the decision to retire the 3G network is “part of a progression that will greatly enhance the performance of 4G and 5G” networks. Sprint’s legacy 3G networks are also part of the process.
Key Dates
- As of January 1, 2022 Sprint’s older 3G (CDMA) network will be retired
- As of June 30, 2022 Sprint’s LTE network will be retired
- As of July 1, 2022 T-Mobile’s older 3G UMTS network will be retired
T-Mobile says that broadband speeds will be 100-300 times fast on 4G/5G and that the move will enhance public safety and 911 location accuracy. There are also plans to retire the carrier’s older 2G GSM network but no date has been set as to when this will happen.
