Upgrade to LTE Before 2G and 3G are Gone Forever

October 1, 2020

Sierra Wireless

When AT&T turned down its 2G network in 2017, around 70 percent of San Francisco’s buses and trains disappeared from the NextMuni system map, which tracks vehicle locations in real-time and predicts arrival times. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFTMA) then faced weeks of mounting public pressure while it scrambled to upgrade its legacy monitoring devices.

Companies that have deployed Internet of Things (IoT) solutions that rely on 2G and 3G cellular-based devices may soon face a similar disruption.

Why Upgrade Now?

Major networks in the U.S. are beginning to sunset their 2G and 3G networks in favor of 4G long-term evolution (LTE) technologies.

In Europe, the situation varries by country and operator, but many European operators are already working on their 3G sunset plan. The general trend is that 3G networks will be switched off in the next two to three years, while 2G networks are going to stay awhile longer.

The Retirement of 2G and 3G Networks is Rapidly Approaching - Are you Prepared?

This transition will be especially challenging for end-to-end IoT solutions because the carrier technology is typically interlinked with several other components of the platform, including devices, device applications, SIMs, gateways, business applications and cloud platforms. This means failing to start to plan and implement a transition now could result in major business disruption and great pain for customers when critical IoT platforms suddenly go dark.

4-Step Solution for the Impending 2G/3G Sunset

To avoid the disruption that the impending 2G/3G sunset will cause, Sierra Wireless recommends the following four steps to avoid being left behind:

Step 1: Perform a Comprehensive Audit

Assess the current situation and determine which module, network and solution architecture will be impacted and what it will take to update or replace them—or whether an altogether new technical architecture needs to be built. It’s then critical to build out a realistic implementation timeline.

A key decision will be whether to move to low-cost LTE-M—a Low Power Wide Area (LPWA) technology specifically designed for IoT devices to provide far greater coverage, capacity and battery life—or to wait in the hope that 4G LTE technology costs will come down sufficiently, which also means taking the risk that your IoT transition won’t be completed in time.

Step 2: Evaluate Your IoT Needs

Companies need to develop a clear understanding of their operational requirements. For example, a company that uses mainly battery-powered devices will benefit most from low power consumption. A company that must track mobile assets through remote regions must be able to maintain connectivity even in these areas. These companies will likely want to select LPWA or satellite connectivity, which is designed to solve the challenges of poor cellular network coverage. Companies that require high data bandwidth or do not need to use battery-powered devices may prefer a 4G LTE solution. In addition to the requirements of the specific application, choosing the right solution will also depend on the business sector, the cellular coverage in those areas and the geographies involved.

There’s no doubt that performing a comprehensive evaluation of the platform and operational requirements is a highly complex task, requiring a deep understanding of the existing systems and the available solutions. If this expertise is not available in-house, it is essential to find a partner to work with.

Step 3: Future-Proofing: Design for the Long-Term

As disruptive as the current redesign may seem, failing to design long-term for the future can result in an even more complex and costly project down the road as networks capabilities continue to change and technology evolution naturally occurs. For example, a company opting to cope with the Verizon CDMA sunset by transitioning to other 3G networks may see a short-term benefit if it has a relatively small number of devices that are easily accessible or if the IoT devices will be obsolete in a few years anyway. Even so, the company will still need to go through another major project when 3G eventually sunsets – once again incurring high costs for new modules, devices and system architecture, as well as for truck rolls.

Most companies will benefit today from taking advantage of LPWA technology. LPWA provides an estimated 5 to 10 times better coverage for IoT devices deployed in remote locations, compared to normal LTE, and offers significantly lower power consumption, so these devices can last up to 10 years in service without a battery replacement.

For companies concerned about moving to 4G LTE technology because of the arrival of 5G, it’s important to recognize that 5G is essentially an evolution of 4G, so it is likely companies won’t have to re-architect their solutions. The software interfaces between the two technologies will be largely the same, while the modules will be pin-out compatible. For LPWA cellular modules, a firmware upgrade will likely be sufficient to move to 5G LTE.

Extending the Life of Your Deployments Doesn't Have to Come with a Bigger Bill

Step 4: Work with a Trusted Partner and True IoT Expert

Choosing the right partner is essential for minimizing the complexity of the transition to new cellular technologies and ensuring a scalable long-term IoT solution. By working with a single partner instead of trying to coordinate multiple vendors and piece together disparate solutions, companies can also ensure that their IoT projects will be managed efficiently and strategically.

Only Sierra Wireless has the 25+ years of expertise, a securely integrated router and management platform, as well as antenna and connectivity options to simplify your journey to LTE, with proven experience in transitioning organizations between 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G.

If you are based in EMEA, please contact your reseller or let us connect you. You will benefit from new prices on RV55 LTE, LX40 LTE or LX60 LTE (all providing 2G fallback), as well as:

Get 1-year of support included with AirLink Complete (includes support and device management) included in every new device purchase
Single point of accountability for all your devices and SIMs to simplify operations and reduce your total cost of ownership
Add 10-20+ more years to the life of your deployments with LTE

Prepare for the 2G 3G Shutdown

Want to learn more on the 2G 3G shutdown? Read our whitepaper for more on the four essential steps you should take to navigate the impending 2G/3G shutdown and Start with Sierra to learn more on how you can transition away from 2G and 3G technologies and build a robust IoT infrastructure you can use to thrive in our increasingly connected economy.

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in September 2018 and has been updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

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