I have, for the last few months, been talking about Verizon's "3G" network being retired, and how my wife's "4G LTE" phone isn't acceptable to Verizon's vision of the future, and how Verizon keeps telling me I have to spend a whole lot of money to earn the privilege of continuing to pay them for cellular service.
The latest missive arrive a day or two ago, and I'll quote the relevant passages FYI:
One or More of Your Devices Will Stop Working on January 1, 2023. We're Here to Help.
In order to make way for more advanced and reliable cellular services, older 3G networks are being decommisshioned by U.S. wireless carriers. At Verizon, our 3G network will be shut down by December 31, 2022.
This means that beginning January 1, 2023, any Verizon device (and network externder) that does not support our newer network technologies will lose the ability to call, text, or use data, including the ability to make 911 emergency calls.
We don't want to see your service disrupted. We have many options to keep you connected, including free phones.
Now, I'm as anxious as the next guy to retain the ability to dial 911 if the occasion arrises, although I am kind of miffed that Verizon chooses to try to shame me with the fact that they're willing to risk the loss of life or limb in order to make more obscene profits.
I like relizble cellular networks, too, although one is about as reliable as any other, or about one-tenth as reliable as a copper pair from the Central Office to my home. What happed, Verizon, to the copper pairs?
As for "any Verizon device," well, my wife has a device that says "4g LTE" *AND* "Verizon" on it, so I think that qualifies it as a "Verizon device." I don't know why a phone labelled "4G LTE" would be unable to work after the end of this year, just after the Novemeber elections in the U.S., but I'd guess that it has something to do with generating more income for Verizon.
A few weeks ago, Someone commented that some phones are labelled "4G" but only have "4G" data capabilities, and only "3G" voice capabil- ities. My wife's phone, IIRC, is an LG 930 AT - what Verizon calls an "LG Spectrum 2" in the lists of devices I own that are going to stop working at the end of this year, right after the elections in the U.S.
As for "network externders" stopping, well, that's kind of weird: you see, I own a network extender, which is a tiny cell site sitting on my shelf next to my Internet cable modem and my router, and it converts whatever kind of cell signal my wife's phone puts out into IP packets that are routed to Verizon over the Internet connection that I pay for, so it seems really odd to me that the network extender would stop working at the same time Verizon's cell towers stop offering "3G" service. After all, the network extender is still working, at least within a few feet of my home, and my wife's phone could stil use it if both were left alone. I assume is has something to do with generating more income for Verizon.
THose are topics for further debate, but the biggest item on my list of things-they-are-getting-wrong is the claim that Verizon has many options available to keep me connected, including a free phone. You see, I called Verizon's customer service department, and I told them I was interested in having the privilege of paying them $73 pre month if they would provide me with the 'free phone' their letter mentions.
I spent over 15 minutes on hold, and endured endless claims that "someone" would be with me, and an offer to sell me a new cellular phone for "only five dollars a month," but I never, even once, heard anything from anyone who could supply me with a free phone to replace the "4G LTE" phone my wife has.