if your phone+OS doesnt support VoLTE, you MUST have either 2G or 3G service to make phone calls, period.
(so, once there are no telecomms in germany that support 2G or 3G, you will need VoLTE support)
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According to Vodafone, no panic is appropriate. Calls and SMS are still possible via 2G (GSM), applications that produce smaller amounts of data (e.g. WhatsApp, Facebook) can continue to be used via 2G (Edge) even after June 30, 2021 - eCall (automatic emergency call system in the car) also possible via 2G.
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yes, that is correct, 2G will likely be supported in most of europe for 5+ years, and there is therefore no reason to worry. (unlike usa, australia, and several others, where 2G is already dead or dying very soon, and 3G is dying in the near future for some or all providers)
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Here 3 (hutchinson) never had a 2G net, so they will have to keep 3G or roam in other networks, but I never read they will switch off 3G.
At the end of 2019 2/3 smartphones were not able to use VoLTE. In Germany I am sure it is another lobby move to make people throw away their working devices and force them to buy new junk.
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It is not about forcing people to buy new phones or embedded devices with WWAN (like emergency phones in elevators). If they would want to force old devices out of the market, they would turn of 2G first. It is about cost saving and more efficient usage of the available spectrum. If a provider turns 3G off, he can reuse those frequencies for more efficient technologies like 4G/5G (If the regulator allows it, but it is common to license frequencies for “mobile communication” and not a certain technology), and he also saves on maintenance and operation costs.
The Swiss providers are doing it the other way, they turn off 2G first, because this is the oldest technology still in use. This really forces people to retire their old Nokia 3210 or similar old devices.
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2G is still widely used in eg. security where coverage and availability is more important than amount of data to be sent in second. Most of home/office security devices (i.e. security alarms) uses 2G to communicate. So as long as people don’t upgrade to newer devices it will be supported by providers. I think it is a strong lobby. And this process of mass upgrading has not started yet actually, so I am calm about it.
P
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2G is still widely used…as long as people don’t upgrade to newer devices it will be supported by providers
japan, usa, switzerland, canada, australia, hong kong, south korea, taiwan, singapore, south africa
all have already shut down their 2G services, or will within a year
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Here, big IOT users like the power meter company still get 2G, but ordinary users can’t. It’s not available for cellphone use. (or for IOT if you are a small user)
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That is not true.
There are barely any 3G networks left in Germany today since most of the bts have been converted to 4G already.
However, there is a bright 2G coverage (near 100%) in Germany. I barely recognize my phone falling back to 3G networks for calls even today but switching to 2G instead (e.g., it’s not possible to send whatsapp when a call is in progress).
Therefore, no hassels, we will be able to use our Jollas even when 3G was switched of. I read they will keep 2G in place till at least 2024 (or maybe 2028, as I read elsewhere).
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I consider it for not practicable for providers to kick off every old device, that is not a brand new VoLTE capable device. There are a lot of older devices out in the field, that cannot be replaced in short time. I think of telematic devices, alarm systems, grandma’s big display senior phone, devices build in inaccessible in luxury cars, and so on.
Maybe providers will replace their old 3G base station equipment with new 4G equipment to use full spectrum or all the expensive radio channels they bought in the auctions, for 4G, but this radio equipment in the base stations nowadays always works as direct sampling SDR receiver or A/D conversion is made after the first mixer of the receiver. The whole rest is a great big SDR (Software defined receiver), that can easily be downwards-compatible to 3G/2G.
Remains the problem, that spectrum usage is best using 4G, but only under best receiving conditions. As radiowave propagation conditions goes worse, 4G gets no more connection. In such a situation, switching back manually to 3G is helpful and connection will be reestablished.
A 2G connection has a range of 120 km around a base station. Important e.g. at sea…
They can’t switch off this, I think, but please correct me if I am wrong.
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i wish you were in charge of the world’s telecoms, but sadly we live in the world where 2g support and 3g support have already been completely dropped in several large markets, and more will follow soon.
I hope, with services like 4G and 5G voice and data services will eventually be unbundled completely. Like with landline phones there is no technical reason for still requiringd a landline number to have internet in your home, still some telcos are holding on to this anachronism. For any practical reason I could live with telcos offering just data SIMs and any service on top of that would just use unbundled IP like it’s been with landlines for quite a while.
I haven’t really followed the topic. Any news on this? Or Jolla abandoned VolTE support after all? T-Mobile users will have to switch away from Sailfish seemingly.
While I would like to see VoLTE on SFOS myself there are probably like 5 or so other SFOS users who will be affected, means I can also see why this may not really be a priority for Jolla.
literally every sailfish user in the United States will be unable to make calls. granted, the USA is not jolla’s target market, but its not “5 people affected”.
soon, in many countries, users will be forced to 2G for calls if there is no VoLTE, which can be a large service degrade. many users will also be forced to switch carriers in the near future, and the 3g-available carrier may not be in their specific location.
and every other sailfish user also has to choose between VoLTE (which is really really nice) and SFOS.
its a stupid feature not to be investing in TWO YEARS AGO
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shmerl, i am HOPING i can switch to AT&T before the january cutoff, which will allow me to use sfos for one more year, although T-Mobile is both cheaper and better where i live. also, im not certain at&t will work since their rules with unlocked phones are more draconian.
Does not matter if it’s 5 or 10 users in the US, it still does not make any economic sense at all for Jolla.
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…did you read the rest of my comment? VoLTE is a dangerous feature not to support these days.
They will certainly implement VoLTE as soon as Rostelecom announce plans to abandon 3G. Why should they care about a few people outside Europe whose contributions to their business are all but marginal.
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allow me to be more clear; VoLTE is a great feature that literally every SFOS user would benefit from.
some users in ACTUAL markets (not the USA) that jolla supports will also experience large problems and may have to switch providers, etc.
again, you are responding only to the FIRST LINE of my comment, the entire point of which is that the problems USA faces are not the only reasons to implement VoLTE support. you will note that i in fact already pointed out what you said “the USA is not jolla’s target market”.
what point are you trying to make…? that russia is the linchpin of jolla’s business model? we know
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