Please, do NOT shutdown 2G

You think that people that still use 2G phones and that are probably doing so to save money are going to be willing to pay more for outdated 2G service than what people pay for LTE and 5G service? 
 

You need to factor in what profits T-Mobile will be losing. They are going to gain more profits from repurposing the spectrum than what 2G users would be willing or able to pay. Think about it.

They are not worried about the environment or what’s ethical. They are a corporation.

Except I can still do that and dialing-up to the internet on a Windows 95 system works just fine. There are lots of applications where dial-up and legacy systems are still in use.

(Plus you can’t exactly swap out a network expansion card for a different one in a phone)

I don’t think it’s necessary to have dedicated 2G hardware anymore as software can do the job now. Also it can run in the “guard bands” so those can’t be used anyway for 4G.

I think most new phones will use 5G 600MHZ so why bother expanding 4G LTE into 2G when it’s usage will start to drop? All the ads are about 5G nowadays anyway?

Lots of people still use older mobiles because they like them much better. The NOKIA phones are still famous for their durability.

I dislike the large size, glaring brows on the screen, lack of repairability, no buttons, thin and flimsiness, etc. on modern phones.

Yes, the software and processor speeds, memory, etc are behind but they do what they were meant to do just fine. I love calling, texting, e-mailing, some basic web browsing, and watching videos I downloaded on my SD card on my BlackBerry Curve. I also have a whole collection of 2G phones I could write a whole book about. Phones made before the mid-2010s weren’t fashion accessories or contests about being more anorexically thin than the other guy’s phone, but tools for work, family, and fun.

Interesting read: (it’s from the UK but most still applies here)

https://www.forbes.com/sites/simonrockman1/2019/08/01/millions-will-lose-out-when-government-kills-2g/?sh=321e40777cd8

They could make more money than whatever fees they would get for keeping it active.
Analog TV went away
Iceboxes went away
Typewriters went away.  
8 Track players went way
Technology keeps evolving

I can just use the original computers Windows 95 was meant to run on or I can use a virtual machine.There are variants of DOS still in use today.

2G runs on the guard bands of 4G so it likely already runs on the same equipment anyway.

Practically every flip phone. The only 4G flip phones I can find are targeted at old people, but normal flip phones (even brand new ones) are usually 2G only (cause that’s all it needs and it works FINE!)

The BYOD SIMs don’t work anymore?? That’s a scum move if it’s true.

This is infuriating since it costs nothing to put the application in the SIM card and is obviously a measure to sell unwanted new phones.

Perhaps we can dump an old SIM, get the application, and the re-flash a programmable SIM with the data from the new SIM + the 2G application from the old SIM.

This wouldn’t be much use if T-Mobile shuts down 2G but we don’t have anything official yet.

Well it still is active along the centi coast. 

 

I still have it too! T-Mobile, just let us keep our one little treasure and sell us the legacy SIMs.

Necroing an old post here but whatever. Phasing out 2G is a necessity to keep up with an exponential increase in mobile data consumption. You expecting them to keep 2G active it's like a coal miner expecting us to not switch to cleaner energy.  The world changes. You must be able to adapt to these changes to survive. Learn a new skill, or find a new job, but you have had ample time and notice of the inevitable shutdown of legacy networks. Inaction on your part does not constitute an emergency on T-Mobiles part.  T-Mobile needs to repurpose this bandwidth to deliver next generation connectivity.  

I'm late to the party, but I understand T-mobile shutting down 2G. People can say it is greed, but they are ignoring the other factors. A lot of people want smartphones. And they typically want faster internet speeds. As fewer people use 2G, eventually the cost to maintain 2G will become more than what subscribers pay. Sure they can charge more to these individuals but even then, as these holdouts move to new tech, the only way to maintain profit is to keep raising costs. It is like a car. At some point the costs to keep an old car going will outweigh the cost of getting something newer. Just like the ebay business, businesses are out to make money (or break even for non profits) No business can last of they lose money. 

I’d recommend following T-Mobile’s actual shutdown dates vs. TMoNews

https://www.t-mobile.com/support/coverage/t-mobile-network-evolution

Key Dates

• As of March 31, 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

We’ve also shared that we plan to retire T-Mobile’s older GSM 2G network as well, but no date has been set. We will update this page with any additional information in the future. 

The reason why Telekom isn’t shutting down 2G is because in Europe people either can’t or don’t want to upgrade their mobile phones as they aren’t picky. There are small groups of people in the US remaining that are diehard Nokia bar phone users, or 2G phone (in general) users as well, and Telekom is doing something right and actually cares for what it’s customers want. T-Mobile transferred a lot of it’s IoT customers in 2016 from AT&T when it was shutting down it’s wonderful 2G GSM network, so there is no reason Telekom will permanently shut down 2G EVER. It isn’t mobile phones only, it is also a lot of IoT M2M devices/machines that need to remain operational otherwise it will cause a waste in electrical/electronic resources. And yes, on T-Mobile’s actual site, and the message above states that Telekom isn’t shutting down 2G network, 3G shutdown is also another reason to T-Mobile freeing up room to make 4GLTE network and making 5G a “better” network and speaking of 3G, the 3G shutdown is not a big deal because on a German Telekom site they state that 3G shutdown means that all 3G devices will work on only 2G just fine for calls and on 2G internet.

In conclusion, for all that worry about 2G shutdown, or want 2G shutdown, Telekom made it clear that 2G shutdown won’t happen!!!!!!! Telekom knows what they are doing, and they care for their customers, period.

Well again, you don’t get it. T-Mobile is owned by German Telekom. No country that has Telekom or T-Mobile has shut down 2G yet. And it’s not a humble opinion to want to have 2G shutdown or “understand” the reason to it being shut down.  T-Mobile doesn’t shut it down because a lot of devices that aren’t only mobile phones like vending machines or parking meters etc.

Don’t like 2G staying alive, well, that’s your opinion but PLEASE don’t shove us 2G fans to change our minds anymore because WE WILL NOT!!!! T-Mobile and German Telekom aren’t 2 different carriers, they are 1 same provider! And they aren’t changing their mind either on 2G and they will keep it for the sake of IoT devices and limited but some mobile coverage for those that are diehard bar/flip phone users.

Another thing is that there is still on eBay and Amazon for sale 2G GSM unbranded mobile phones, so that means if Telekom shuts 2G down, then these “Brand New In Box” mobile handsets will also need to be thrown out. I am the happiest man on earth that I still get the option in my country to use a Nokia bar phone without having a limited time left to use it because the carrier Telekom cares for it's customers and doesn’t forcefully shut down 2G.