These days phones with 4G LTE support is kind of the standard, and in most developed countries, having access to 4G LTE networks is also expected and is the norm. This is versus many years ago where 3G was the fastest and where many users still largely relied on 2G networks, a network that AT&T has announced that they will be decommissioning by the end of the year.According to AT&T’s CFO John Stevens, AT&T claims that they have already transitioned about 6 million of their customers in the past year or so off their 2G EDGE network, and that by the time the end of 2016 comes around, AT&T expects that they will be able to safely shut the network down as they will no longer have use for it.
AT&T claims that right now, it is mostly connected devices that are still using the network and while the closure will no doubt have an impact on revenue, the carrier thinks that the money they can save and the spectrum benefits will be worth it. According to Stevens, “There still is a lot of cost that is left just to operate even a piece of the 2G network, so we are anxious to capture that savings and use it to continue a strong EBITDA story for our wireless business.”
Stevens also adds that they have actually be repurposed some of its 2G network spectrum in areas where there aren’t as much 2G traffic. They are expected to continue doing this until the entire network has been decommissioned.
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