2g phone rant - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Rick Law
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 13, 2016, 04:43:01 am
content: Oh, I suppose it is going to happens sooner or later...Here in the USA, AT&T is phasing out their 2G service. It looks like they are doing it by reallocating more of the 2G resources to 3G/4G - and eventually shut it down around 2017. Now, it is hitting an area/tower where I need my 2G phone coverage...It wouldn't be so bad if I can get a 3g/4g phone that has a real physical key pad and just do voice and text. It seems no one makes phones anymore - all of these new Galaxy/iPhone just isn't a user-friendly phone...

author: Rerouter
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 13, 2016, 05:13:56 am
content: its happening at the same time here, for those kind of features just look for a phone dedicated towards the elderly, i know this sound insultive, however they are more likely to be purely text and call, with buttonsFrom what i can see there are about 20 different models offered over hear in the phone stores,

author: slaterk93
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 13, 2016, 05:19:04 am
content: Yeah I feel it too. I think I'm gonna suck it up and just get a touch screen phone soon. Always avoided them but its getting harder to get a decent phone without it.

author: coppice
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 13, 2016, 05:23:18 am
content: In many places the 2G GSM service is targeted for a long life, but a lot of 3G channels are being switched to 4G.

author: Kilrah
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 13, 2016, 07:11:14 am
content: There are a few basic phones around with 3G support, some examples herehttp://www.phonearena.com/phones#/phones/Class/Basic/Technology/3GDirt cheap too.

author: matseng
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 13, 2016, 07:52:17 am
content: At my previous company in Bangkok we had to toss several thousands of payment terminals that was gprs-only and change them into 3G when the operators shut down most to the 2G base stations.It is a real problem for companies using older M2M equipment - they don't get replaced as often as peoples cellphones....

author: Rerouter
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 13, 2016, 09:54:02 am
content: I was the other side, I custom built a retrofit to support 4G modems, think there are 13000 of the buggers on the roads in Australia that would otherwise be dead in the water when the switch off happened, ,

author: XOIIO
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 13, 2016, 10:16:32 am
content: Isn't there still a market for more industrial cell phones with the older design, but 3g/4g?

author: rdl
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 13, 2016, 11:01:52 am
content: My Samsung Sync stopped working last year. I went to Walmart and found a cheap GoPhone to replace it for less than $20 including tax. Popped my sim card in and was good to go. It's a flip style phone, so the screen is protected when not in use and it has regular buttons. I don't know what brand it is, all it has is an AT&T logo.

author: GreyWoolfe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 13, 2016, 01:46:13 pm
content: Rick, you will get used to touch screens. Years back, I had Palm Treo. My first company phone with this company was a Blackberry. Now I have an inexpensive Samsung Galaxy Ace for me and an iPhone 6 for a company phone. I do miss real buttons but I do like the larger screens you get without the hard keypad.

author: Rick Law
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 13, 2016, 06:59:32 pm
content: Quote from: Rerouter on March 13, 2016, 05:13:56 am"just look for a phone dedicated towards the elderly, i know this sound insultive..."Nah, it is not insulting/insultive. Anyone who take that as an insult is probably too sensitive. He/she should withdraw to his/her safe-space and stay there. That said, the new "phones" are indeed only for those with better eyes and dexterity.After years of carrying GPRS modem+laptop, Palm 7 wireless... Now that I am retired, I want to be free from it. So, the thought of having to carry a device like that again just turns me off.Quote from: GreyWoolfe on March 13, 2016, 01:46:13 pmI do still like my Treo 650. When I used it as phone, I stayed with the hard-keys instead of the soft-keys. I still use it - for my poker games on occasions when I have to wait and with nothing else to do.Quote from: rdl on March 13, 2016, 11:01:52 amThat thought crossed my mind. I think I will look at either one of those "go Phone" or get a used 3G device.Actually, I know I am being rather silly here. Since I don't have that much need for communication on the go, I found it hard to have to adapt to something that I don't particularly need. So I am more likely to just stop using cell (or voice) when my G2 devices no longer work than trying to return back to feeling like the electronic-leash is back on me.

author: zapta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 13, 2016, 07:46:31 pm
content: Quote from: Rick Law on March 13, 2016, 04:43:01 amYou just discovered a great business opportunity, 3G/4G phones with keypad than can do just voice and text.Go for it! ;-)Anyway, try searching for 'emergency cell phone' and see if you find anything that fits your requirements.

author: _Andrew_
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 13, 2016, 08:47:01 pm
content: Here in the UK the mobile networks are busy pulling out towers. When there was the first rush to throw up towers the networks entered in to contracts that were quite lucrative for land owners, lots of theses contracts are now coming to an end and the networks are now not renewing them and pulling down the old towers / masts. Net result is that coverage is getting worse. I used to get solid 2g coverage and patchy 3 and 4g coverage. Now it is all just patchy coverage.This is being made worse by networks merging and ripping out even more sites where they assume they have overlap and try and run with less towers in a cost saving exercise when merging the networks.Because of the amount of time I spend on the road I am having to go to extremes to enable decent connectivity. So I am still rocking the Motorola and Nokia brick installed carphones. Just ordered some more of my favourite carphone antennas from RFI in Australia for a motorola I fitted in a truck last week, it is very rare to loose coverage with these beastieshttp://www.rfiwireless.com.au/mobile-products/cellular-mobile/4g-lte-cellular-mobile-antenna-cd7195-b.html#tab_descAlso very reliant on using boost boxes supplied by the network provider to get coverage at the offices. Basically it is a pico cell station that connects to your own high-speed Internet connection and you subscribe your business phones to. So when you are in range of the boost boxes the call getts routed via them back to to the network via the Internet.Which is all getting quite ridiculous having to go to these lengths.

author: SL4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 14, 2016, 02:00:02 am
content: Just to add - anyone that is 'playing' with the low-cost SMS shields for Arduino and Pi - these are generally 2G chipsets (SIMCOM 900 etc), and will become paperweights when the 2G network goes to sleep.Using 'shields' is a cheap way to add plug-in M2M hardware in a pre-packaged board form-factor to any project. Just add headers, and away you go. USB dongles are a pain in the a## to implement - due to a few unnecessary factors built into the dongle firmware.The bump to 3G hardware is unnecessarily expensive, as I understand, the 3G patents are held solely by Qualcomm - and they're holding on to their revenue stream.However 4G (very few chipsets in the wild for hackers / hobbyists) - are back in the hands of an open consortium, and the hardware prices are expected to fall back below the 3G parts - lose rto 2G when they are widely available.If anyone has links to 4G modules / shields / chipsets that are available in modest quantities today - please post here !

author: matseng
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 14, 2016, 02:48:18 am
content: Quote from: SL4P on March 14, 2016, 02:00:02 amThe painful factor here is the USBAt least if you want to use them with a standard microcontroller, and of course the fact that many dongles have a lot of their functionality implemented in the PC drivers and not as firmware inside the dongle.Before the cheap ESP8266 came along you could get a USB wifi dongle for like 1/10th of the cost of a microcontroller-usable module. Bluetooth was for a long time the same...Let's hope that there will be cheap standalone 4G modules as well and not just "computer assisted" USB dongles for cheap.

author: dannyf
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 14, 2016, 03:25:17 am
content: I still have my trust ericcson t39. It still works to this day and surfs the web just fine.

author: Rick Law
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 14, 2016, 06:04:20 am
content: Speaking of M2M, I wonder how many of those car-monitoring like On-Star will continue to function once all these networks shut down 2G.I am rather old-fashion. I personally strongly reject car-monitoring. The idea that someone I don't know has full knowledge of my location and control of my ignition and doors is not appealing to me. I am sorry to say, I don't have a lot of trust for my fellow human beings.

author: Armxnian
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 14, 2016, 07:16:15 am
content: At first I was going to gouge my eyes out after reading that eevblog members use 2G and flip phones from 15 years ago; but then I remembered that AT&T issobad my phone falls back to edge in many places. That is, if I'm lucky enough to get a signal at all.

author: SL4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 14, 2016, 07:20:15 am
content: Quote from: Armxnian on March 14, 2016, 07:16:15 amKeep in mind, many of the posters here may not be using 2G 'phones' but rather, 2G modems for SMS, GPRS or other packet/IP based communications.All these devices will fall off the map in the next couple of years... your alarm system, vending machines and so on.

author: steve30
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 14, 2016, 09:52:50 am
content: So, are M2M type users not profitable enough for them to carry on offering a GSM service?

author: SL4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 14, 2016, 09:55:25 am
content: Quote from: steve30 on March 14, 2016, 09:52:50 amSpectrum is too valuable.Being reallocated to 4G/LTE and 5G technology rollout.

author: Rerouter
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 14, 2016, 09:55:59 am
content: not generally, M2M sims can be purchased for as low as $2 per month, imagine a company has 1000 units, while thats $2000 in the bank per month, or $24000 per year, it doesnt pay for all the gear needed to support 50 towers they might operate in range of, when they could just as easily speed up the 3 and 4G bands and rake in the money on all the high cost plan users,

author: matseng
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 14, 2016, 09:58:46 am
content: Quote from: steve30 on March 14, 2016, 09:52:50 amIn Thailand probably not. We paid about $2.8 per month per sim for M2M GPRS service with no real limits on the traffic.And there aren't that many M2M subscriptions compared to "real" subscriptions even if it probably are many 10's of thousands of M2M's out there in a city, but compared to 10 million phones that is just like nothing to care about.

author: steve30
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 14, 2016, 10:02:52 am
content: Given the number of consumers you see paying a fortune for mobile internet/calls, I'd guess they are the main market rather than M2M.

author: Rick Law
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 14, 2016, 05:11:59 pm
content: Quote from: Armxnian on March 14, 2016, 07:16:15 am[RL:bold added to quote]Nothing wrong with using 2G flip phone. There is something to be said about using thesimplist solution that solves the problem. From a voice perspective, what can a "smart" phone do for you? Nothing! Just excess weight and more money.The jitterbug phone (large button, large display, designed for seniors) might have been perfect for my in-laws (80+). Verizon doesn't sell smart phone without dataplan. So their last phone contract renewal, they are now "smart" phone users who doesn't use the internet, doesn't use email, doesn't text, and doesn't even listen to music. Apparently, some "smart" sales clerk managed to squeeze another $50 out of fixed income old folks with limited resources.That is why I am not particularly happy about 2G going away.

author: GEuser
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 14, 2016, 06:03:45 pm
content: Rick , that must be happening all around the world regarding the old folks , I have met a few out here in the same boat , got the lot they have and all they do is check to see if the kids have sent a email once in a while .I actually called the provider after one of the oldie pair had renewed the contract and told me what had happened and on their own personnel phone and got told "what's it got to do with you" as I was not family , it was something like $100 a month compared to the original $40 or so , in the end (months) they managed to cancel but that also included a cancellation fee .Imagine all those out there {the oldies} that are getting completely taken and assume its just a normal thing , its sickening imo . but i'll be fair and type it must be worse over there I gather with all the spying/surveillance going on free of charge?.

author: edy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 14, 2016, 06:16:37 pm
content: Quote from: Rick Law on March 13, 2016, 04:43:01 amIt's called a BlackBerry. You can pick up used BB's for nothing. I have at least half dozen of them, I keep them as they are wonderful devices even just for WiFi browsing, typing, music streaming, taking photos, etc (no need for cellular service).Get an old unlocked BlackBerry OS7 physical keyboard device (the Torch 9810 is my favourite as it combines large screen and slide-out keyboard - see photo below) or a Curve or Bold. Register it to a local carrier. The apps on there are fairly basic, you will get basic Voice and Text service on it. They may come in a few flavours... I know for sure there is a 3G version out there, I was using it on Rogers network in Canada. Not sure about USA but Newegg lists one here, I'm sure a cheaper version is available on eBay:http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA8X036X2032Removable battery, ability to add SD memory, durable, easy to charge (micro USB). I have always been BlackBerry and even develop apps for BB10.... I have 1 Pearl, 1 Curve, 2 Torches, 1 Storm, 1 Dev Alpha C (Q10 Prototype) and 2 Red Developer Z10's and I still find them all useful and carry 2 BB's on me all the time. The way BlackBerry is heading with the Priv has left me shaking my head, but that is the topic for another post.

author: GreyWoolfe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 14, 2016, 11:54:44 pm
content: Quote from: Armxnian on March 14, 2016, 07:16:15 amThat's why we bailed on AT&T after over 10 years of being with them. Customer service was always good but mostly the service itself was terrible in the house (wood frame). I had a bad habit of leaving my phone in my pants pocket only to find the phone in the dryer after going through the washer|O Another $20 Go-Phone later and I was back in business. We ended up switching to Walmart's StraightTalk plan on the Verizon network and haven't looked back. Much more for our money and cheaper to boot. So far, my $150 phone has lasted me 2 years and still works fine for my purposes even though the OS is Android 4.1.

author: matseng
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 16, 2016, 02:05:45 am
content: In related news... Apparently there are 400 000 "remaining" 2G customers.BANGKOK: -- Thailand’s Central Administrative Court has given Advanced Info Service (AIS) one month to migrate its remaining 2G subscribers to other operators or services.AIS released a statement late on Tuesday night confirming the court had extended an injunction which gives the company until midnight April 14 to end its 2G service. The statement said the injunction should be sufficient time to allow AIS subscribers to upgrade to either its 3G or 4G services.AIS has been trying to migrate nearly 13 million 2G customers to 3G or 4G services ever since it lost the 900MHz spectrum auction to True Move in December.