Turmoil on the mobile network

The new generation of technologies is known to follow one another at more or less regular intervals. In the case of mobile networks, this phenomenon has taken a rather drastic form this autumn, when the nationwide roll-out of 3G networks began towards the end of October of this year. The roll-out is being carried out on a staggered basis by region, starting with Kanta-Häme and Päijät-Häme. Next in line will be Varsinais-Suomi and Uusimaa, excluding the Helsinki metropolitan area, at the end of November this year, and the rest of Finland during 2024. The most significant leap in terms of impact is likely to take place in January, when South Ostrobothnia, Central Ostrobothnia, Central Finland, Pirkanmaa, Ostrobothnia, Satakunta, and the Helsinki metropolitan area, i.e. Espoo, Helsinki, Kauniainen, and Vantaa, will take their turn. 

Naturally, network shutdown, i.e. network decommissioning, will have a significant impact on the operation of devices and services that require 3G technology. Of course, most of these are likely to be able to use the previous generation of 2G technology, which is still widely used in Finland for the time being. This too is slowly coming to the end of its lifespan, and in many countries, such as the US, 2G networks are also being phased out, leaving 4G and 5G networks. There have also been glimpses of the next generation of 6G networks in the news media. 

From the point of view of our ToloGo service, and the controllers associated with it, the shutdown of 3G networks should not have much of an impact. The majority of our equipment fleet is based on 4G technology, which will continue to be in use for at least another decade in the foreseeable future. There are also some slightly older models of our equipment that still use 3G connections, but even these should continue to operate without problems on the 2G side of the network, as announced by the operators. So all sorts of things happen in the field, and some downtime has also affected our services, but as a general rule, you should be able to access locations as easily as before! 

Sources & more information: 

https://www.dna.fi/tuki/kuuluvuus-ja-verkot/3g

https://corporate.dna.fi/lehdistotiedotteet?type=stt2&id=70042282

https://corporate.dna.fi/lehdistotiedotteet?type=stt2&id=70055089

https://corporate.dna.fi/lehdistotiedotteet?type=stt2&id=70048138