3G has already gone or going fast. Now the 2G network is shutting down around the globe. In the UK and Germany, the intention is to phase out 2G services by 2033 at the latest but other regions including the Netherlands, France, Nordics are ahead of that timeline. The USA has almost completely shutdown 2G and 3G already. The pitfalls some companies encountered there remind enterprises with IoT devices and solutions to prepare for network sunsetting and have their 2G migration plans ready. Failing to do so could result in disruption or loss of service when networks are switched off.
When 2G shutdown in the US: lessons to learn
According to James Brehm & Associates, consulting and market intelligence firm, some IoT solutions in the US “went dark” when 2G shut down.
Despite warnings from mobile network operators that the service was being discontinued, one producer of industrial and agricultural equipment fell prey to 100,000 of its devices ceasing communication. Meanwhile, a city in North Dakota lost the ability to monitor and manage water meters and installations and a trucking company had to pay out hundreds of thousands to terminate lease contracts early. The sunset also impacted multiple automobile original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) as millions of vehicles lost connectivity, and it affected services for millions of customers of home security and alarm companies.
What went wrong? A number of things. Firstly, companies often procure connectivity services through third parties such as mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs), resellers or channel partners and not directly from the network operators who were sunsetting their networks. Alternatively, companies’ connectivity may come as a solution bundle from solution providers or device OEMs.
The MNO communicates to its customer, in this case the MVNO, reseller, TSP or OEM, not necessarily direct to the enterprise customer at the end of the chain. Failures in what can be complex chains of communication could have been at the heart of some instances when things went wrong.
In other cases, enterprises simply failed to act when they should have done. They may have seen previous instances of decommission dates being pushed back and were complacent that the same thing would happen again. They simply thought there would be more time and when there wasn’t, it meant a mad scramble to try and catch up.
Lastly, there were some issues with device inventory. While companies may have had a good grasp of the location and characteristics of their deployed devices, those in the pipeline were another matter. When devices were at distributors, in storage in local offices, or enroute to installations it was hard to account for them in a deployment audit for a 2G migration plan. Additionally, supply chain issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic only exacerbated the availability of replacement devices.
Planning your 2G migration
To avoid the same pitfalls, companies with IoT solutions must inventory their devices thoroughly, identify the cellular technologies they use, document the cellular module vendor name and part number, and note the physical locations of devices.
Then, they should go through the audit and assign a priority rating to the installations. This helps plan the order of migration. Services that impact public safety, for example traffic or building control functions, will take priority over, for example, office beverage dispensers.
Next, companies should think about current and future connectivity needs for their devices and solutions. Is data transmitted continuously or in bursts? Is mains power available or battery or solar the better option? Where are devices located, both geographically and inside/outside, above or below ground? Do devices transmit on the move or are they stationary? Is data only transferred or do they send voice or SMS?
The answers to all of these questions, and a few more besides, will help to determine a cellular technology that is the best fit. Options include LTE Cat-1 BIS, an established 4G/Long-Term Evolution (LTE) service present in every network’s technology stack across the globe. LTE Cat-1 BIS is eSIM compatible and can support global connectivity with a single SIM stock keeping unit (SKU) where appropriate roaming agreements are in place.
Alternatively, there is LTE-M and NB-IoT, for low power IoT devices. LTE-M supports cell to cell roaming while NB-IoT has the deepest reach into deployments below street level and supports long lifecycles where data traffic is low and transmitted intermittently.
The longer you leave it, the steeper the climb
There are a range of considerations to take into account when planning a 2G migration, but the most important thing is to make a plan, prepare well and get advice.
To avoid potential disruption or loss of service, companies should take stock of their current and future IoT plans, audit their deployments and device inventory and be clear about the characteristics of their solutions including device locations, type and amount of data exchanged, and power needs.
Then they should talk to their MNO, MVNO or other connectivity provider about their options to develop a clear strategy that will help them navigate the 2G sunset successfully.
Author: Iain Davidson, Senior Product Marketing Manager, Wireless Logic
