Navigating the 3G to 4G Transition

Here at OptConnect, one of our focuses has been educating clients on the sunset of 3G and guiding them through the process of upgrading to 4G. As adoption grows and the carriers invest more and more resources into new technology, IoT will continue to expand and be an even larger part of all of our lives. Understanding the need and having a strategic plan in place to upgrade older devices is important to you and your business so that you don’t face service interruptions or downtime.

Why Do I Need to Upgrade?

With 4G’s increasing growth and 5G already being rolled out in larger metropolitan areas, network operators’ focus has been shifting away from legacy technologies like 3G. The move away from 3G will undoubtedly be a significant transition for many IoT and M2M companies, because 2G and 3G connectivity is still widely used for deployed devices. (EMnify).

As we learned in the 2G shutdown, although the sunset dates might be adjusted from what carriers originally planned, especially considering the recent COVID-19 pandemic, the carriers will still move forward to make room for new 5G technology. This means that the time for planning and figuring out what strategically makes the most sense for your business is now.

How Do I Upgrade?

OptConnect makes it easy for operators on our OpEx model since our lifetime warranty gives operators a path to 4G devices for free. If you have devices on these plans, you get the peace of mind of knowing that OptConnect will make this upgrade process easy to navigate through.

We will also work with each operator to ensure your equipment will not be affected by the carriers moving away from older 2G and 3G networks. If you have purchased hardware (CapEx customers) and need to invest in new 4G equipment, OptConnect has plans in place to help with the upgrade of existing devices or options to purchase new routers. Since each customer’s situation and account is different, we recommend talking to an account manager to discuss your specific needs and we can work with you to make sure a strategic plan is in place for your business.

Helping you brace for the advancements and the impact of 5G, it is our goal and mission to provide information that is valuable in keeping your business running and navigating smoothly.

To learn more about options available for 3G to 4G upgrades, please call us at 1.877.678.3343.