Are You Doing All You Can to Prepare for the 3G Sunset?

Are you preparing for the 3G Sunset? If not, we at GMS highly recommend that you start now. Why? For the 2G Sunset, many waited until the last possible moment to make necessary changes which ended up being unnecessarily costly and time consuming to their business.

Shutdown is Imminent

While the 3G Sunset is a process and still in its infancy its shutdown is imminent, and there are some activities that can impact you in the very near future. As it was for the 2G Sunset, the sunset of 3G is process mandated by the FCC, and not a choice cellular providers make themselves. All cellular providers are discontinuing the use of the 3G network.

It Will Impact Alarm Dealers Immediately

However, not all 3G sunsets are happening at the same time: support for these systems is ending in batches. That means the support for 3G is being discontinued tower by tower every week and there’s no way to know when your area in particular will be affected. Additionally, during the process of the sunset, cell providers will be consolidating towers. Alarm systems could be communicating today and unable to communicate tomorrow or experience communication slowing or disruption before the official shutdown expected at the end of 2021. This is why we recommend providing the needed upgrades to systems in the field as soon as possible and use 4G LTE or other alarm communications technologies for new installations to avoid any lapses in service.

Critical Points

New activations on the 3G network is being discontinued as soon as June 1, 2019.
Current activations using 3G are likely to experience service slowing or disruptions until the official sunset.
Use LTE communicators or other alarm communications for new activations
Communicators on the 3G network will soon cease to function
4G LTE is expected to have bandwidth through 2027.
GMS has many alternatives to take you into 4G, 5G.

Contact the Manufacturers for More Information

Contact the manufacturer of your 3G devices for more information regarding the 3G Sunset. Many of them will offer deals toward new devices when you turn in the old. Here is a list of some of the popular manufacturers with 3G devices on the market and what their strategy for newer alarm communicators:

Securenet Technologies

Telular/Telguard

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