T-Mobile to retire Sprint's LTE network in June 2022

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in iPhone edited August 2021
T-Mobile this week announced plans to retire Sprint's LTE network in 2022, with the shutdown due to arrive six months after Sprint's 3G assets are scheduled to cease operations.

T-Mobile, Sprint


Announced in a post to its support website, T-Mobile's planned shutdown of Sprint's LTE services is currently slated for June 30, 2022. The company previously said Sprint's 3G network will be retired on January 1.

T-Mobile confirmed the timeline in a statement to Light Reading.

The shutdown is the next step of T-Mobile's plan to combine its assets with Sprint's following a hard-won $26 billion merger that was finalized in April 2020. With Sprint now under its umbrella, T-Mobile is moving forward with an initiative to build out a sprawling 5G network using spectrum and towers previously owned by Sprint.

"Across the industry, wireless companies are working to retire older network technologies as part of an important progression that will greatly enhance the performance of 4G and 5G, giving customers a better wireless experience," T-Mobile says in the support document. "To ensure all customers can enjoy a more advanced 4G and 5G network, we will be retiring older network technologies to free up resources and spectrum that will help us strengthen our entire network, move all customers to more advanced technologies and bridge the Digital Divide."

T-Mobile previously announced plans to retire its GSM 2G and UMTS 3G networks, though a firm shutdown date has not been set.

The Sprint brand began a wind down process last summer and roughly 33% of existing customers are now on T-Mobile's network, Light Reading reports.

Most Sprint users were able to take advantage of T-Mobile's infrastructure shortly after the merger closed and in April of last year. At the time, T-Mobile said it would allow Sprint subscribers to roam on its LTE towers for free.

Industry rivals Verizon and AT&T are also moving to shutter legacy networks as the shift to 5G continues. AT&T is looking to shut down its 3G network in early 2022, while Verizon plans to do the same a year later, the report said.

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 9
    ArchStantonArchStanton Posts: 200member
    Some people who use Sprint will swear by it. It's conformational bias in action. Sprint coverage and throughputs suck. For anyone holding onto Spring because they've had it a long time and don't want to change, T Mobile is doing you a solid favor by forcing you onto the T Mobile network. 

    Life hack tip: Verizon, At&T (and probably T Mobile) networks are sold by third parties at discount rates. 75$ for a Verizon unlimited talk and text can be had for under 50$ through third party sellers. You are using the exact same network for 33% off. You just don't get the support network and stores, and you usually have to outright own your phone (though some give nice deals - an At&T reseller called Mint was selling iPhone 12 at regular price but offering something like first 6 months of service free. A superb deal). 
  • Reply 2 of 9
    cpsrocpsro Posts: 3,198member
    Not sure how “bridge the Digital Divide” is accomplished by cutting off users who can’t afford to update their gear.
    baconstang
  • Reply 3 of 9
    the1maximusthe1maximus Posts: 89member
    cpsro said:
    Not sure how “bridge the Digital Divide” is accomplished by cutting off users who can’t afford to update their gear.
    What gear would they need to update? All phones made in the last decade work across all providers and are 4G LTE. So they get to keep their devices and take advantage of the newer networks. If that’s not enough, T-Mobile has plenty of free phones that people can take advantage of. For example if you walk into a T-Mobile store and hand them ANY phone in working condition, They will literally give you a 5G phone.
    twokatmew
  • Reply 4 of 9
    mpantonempantone Posts: 2,040member
    Some people who use Sprint will swear by it. It's conformational bias in action. Sprint coverage and throughputs suck. For anyone holding onto Spring because they've had it a long time and don't want to change, T Mobile is doing you a solid favor by forcing you onto the T Mobile network. 

    Life hack tip: Verizon, At&T (and probably T Mobile) networks are sold by third parties at discount rates. 75$ for a Verizon unlimited talk and text can be had for under 50$ through third party sellers. You are using the exact same network for 33% off. You just don't get the support network and stores, and you usually have to outright own your phone (though some give nice deals - an At&T reseller called Mint was selling iPhone 12 at regular price but offering something like first 6 months of service free. A superb deal). 
    Multiple instances of misinformation here. All of the 3G handsets have cellular radio chipsets that cover multiple bands including the ones T-Mobile would continue supports.

    Also Mint Mobile is a MVNO using T-Mobile's network, not AT&T's. Mint Mobile is not an "At&T reseller" [sic].

    None of this MVNO stuff is new. There are tons of companies who have done this over the years and many of them (e.g., Cricket, Virgin Mobile) were acquired by the Big Three. 
    edited August 2021 ronntwokatmew
  • Reply 5 of 9
    libertyforalllibertyforall Posts: 1,418member
    ArchStanton said:
    Some people who use Sprint will swear by it. It's conformational bias in action. Sprint coverage and throughputs suck. For anyone holding onto Spring because they've had it a long time and don't want to change, T Mobile is doing you a solid favor by forcing you onto the T Mobile network. 

    Life hack tip: Verizon, At&T (and probably T Mobile) networks are sold by third parties at discount rates. 75$ for a Verizon unlimited talk and text can be had for under 50$ through third party sellers. You are using the exact same network for 33% off. You just don't get the support network and stores, and you usually have to outright own your phone (though some give nice deals - an At&T reseller called Mint was selling iPhone 12 at regular price but offering something like first 6 months of service free. A superb deal). 
    NO, Mint is on T-Mobile network!
  • Reply 6 of 9
    cpsrocpsro Posts: 3,198member
    the1maximus said:
    cpsro said:
    Not sure how “bridge the Digital Divide” is accomplished by cutting off users who can’t afford to update their gear.
    What gear would they need to update? All phones made in the last decade work across all providers and are 4G LTE. So they get to keep their devices and take advantage of the newer networks. If that’s not enough, T-Mobile has plenty of free phones that people can take advantage of. For example if you walk into a T-Mobile store and hand them ANY phone in working condition, They will literally give you a 5G phone.
    Is that what Dish says in their lawsuit?
  • Reply 7 of 9
    ArchStantonArchStanton Posts: 200member
    libertyforall said:
    ArchStanton said:
    Some people who use Sprint will swear by it. It's conformational bias in action. Sprint coverage and throughputs suck. For anyone holding onto Spring because they've had it a long time and don't want to change, T Mobile is doing you a solid favor by forcing you onto the T Mobile network. 

    Life hack tip: Verizon, At&T (and probably T Mobile) networks are sold by third parties at discount rates. 75$ for a Verizon unlimited talk and text can be had for under 50$ through third party sellers. You are using the exact same network for 33% off. You just don't get the support network and stores, and you usually have to outright own your phone (though some give nice deals - an At&T reseller called Mint was selling iPhone 12 at regular price but offering something like first 6 months of service free. A superb deal). 
    NO, Mint is on T-Mobile network!
    Apologies, my mistake. T Mobile
  • Reply 8 of 9
    ArchStantonArchStanton Posts: 200member
    mpantone said:
    Some people who use Sprint will swear by it. It's conformational bias in action. Sprint coverage and throughputs suck. For anyone holding onto Spring because they've had it a long time and don't want to change, T Mobile is doing you a solid favor by forcing you onto the T Mobile network. 

    Life hack tip: Verizon, At&T (and probably T Mobile) networks are sold by third parties at discount rates. 75$ for a Verizon unlimited talk and text can be had for under 50$ through third party sellers. You are using the exact same network for 33% off. You just don't get the support network and stores, and you usually have to outright own your phone (though some give nice deals - an At&T reseller called Mint was selling iPhone 12 at regular price but offering something like first 6 months of service free. A superb deal). 
    Multiple instances of misinformation here. All of the 3G handsets have cellular radio chipsets that cover multiple bands including the ones T-Mobile would continue supports.

    Also Mint Mobile is a MVNO using T-Mobile's network, not AT&T's. Mint Mobile is not an "At&T reseller" [sic].

    None of this MVNO stuff is new. There are tons of companies who have done this over the years and many of them (e.g., Cricket, Virgin Mobile) were acquired by the Big Three. 
    “Misinformation”? Fine, yes, I erred with which network Mint sells…whoops, I mean resells!

    Umm, trying for some sort of equivocation between Sprint and T Mobile coverage/throughput because “all of the 3G handsets have cellular radio”? I never spoke to handset specs. What I spoke to: due to the support shop i work at being corporate unmanaged for cell phones, we have a mix of cell networks. Two have stubbornly held onto their Sprint. That’s two people who have observed and quantifiably(sic) slower download speeds and poorer coverage.  Of course this can already be confirmed at numerous outlets that provide metrics on the subject of the big 4 carriers (though at least one stopped measuring Sprint as its performance was too different from the other three). 

    How wonderful that you are aware “re”sellers already exist and they aren’t new. Except I didn’t say resellers were new (I guess that’s misinformation on your part?) and my intention was to let others(“life hack tip”), who may not know, be aware of this money saving tip. Calling that misinformation by claiming ‘that’s not new!’ and further, much worse, quoting an iPhone typed capitalization mistake in AT&T? What a sad sac(sic). The internet ‘grammar/syntax correction crowd’, the very best of people. Urgh..

  • Reply 9 of 9
    rayboraybo Posts: 42member
    If you want the ability to call from Canada and Mexico, Cricket ($55 complete with automatic payment) is the ticket. It may be the only discount reseller offering this. They use the AT&T network which has the best coverage in Mexico. 
    edited August 2021
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