T-Mobile US confirmed 3G UMTS network shut down plan

Networks carriers are moving quickly to re-plant their old network technology, and now T-Mobile has confirmed the new date for its 3G UMTS closure. July 1, 2022, is a new confirmed date for the closure of T-Mobile’s first 3G network.

A leaked document last month appeared to indicate that the closure of 3G UMTS was scheduled for October this year, but it appears T-Mobile has decided to keep 3G for a while. As new technologies come along, cell carriers need to replace old ones with new ones. The radio waves of these old-fashioned networks can also be used for things like 5G.

All three major carriers have plans to shut down their 3G networks. Verizon plans to close theirs in December 2022, while AT&T is set to shut down 3G in February. T-Mobile has the added bonus of welcoming and redistributing the old Sprint spectrum, which it has already used with its n41 mid-band 5G.

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The decision to delay the closure of 3G UMTS is likely due to the millions of IoT devices using 3G network technology. The manufacturers of these companies need time to implement new technologies that can use the new LTE and 5G network.

The company had previously confirmed the previous Sprint network closure dates for January 1, 2022, CDMA, and June 30, 2022, with their LTE/5G. Those dates are also confirmed in this new support document.

There is currently no mention of that, if any, T-Mobile bonus promotions or free calls that will only provide users of 3G devices. They have provided free 5G calls on commercial-any another active phone since April, but those require a two-year installment plan to be “free” legally.

AT&T has been sending new phones to many customers with devices that are not compatible with their network, sometimes not in line with their will, and the closure of Verizon may be too far away to offer promotional deals for 3G users.