Killing 3G network, US carriers give iPhones and Galaxy Notes to customers using old phones

In parallel with the development of 5G technology in the past few years, many countries and carriers around the world have been planning to “kill” old network technologies such as 2G and 3G. This frees up the bands that old technology is using to switch to new technologies, and also helps motivate users to upgrade to newer devices with more features.

According to the roadmap, the largest US carrier, AT&T, will officially stop providing 3G services from February 2022. After this period, users of older devices that do not support 4G will no longer be able to make calls, receive messages or access the Internet.

To assist users with the transition, AT&T has sent its customers new phones for free. It is worth mentioning that the phones that this carrier sends to customers are not as bad as what we would expect from a “0 dong” phone.

A user received a Galaxy Note9 from AT&T

Specifically, via Twitter or Reddit, many users said they had received a Galaxy Note9 to replace the smartphone they were using. Galaxy Note9, although not the latest model, is still Samsung’s “top” in 2018 and is still a good smartphone at the moment. The value of the Galaxy Note9 is still around $300.

Some other users said they received the Galaxy S9, another high-end smartphone from Samsung in 2018. Meanwhile, antique iPhone users were upgraded to the 2nd generation iPhone SE.

Of course, AT&T doesn’t “give away” such expensive smartphones without a good reason. Since most Americans have contracts with carriers and have to pay a monthly subscription fee, giving away free smartphones is actually a measure to keep customers using their services. .

In Vietnam, the Ministry of Information and Communications said, the Ministry has submitted to the Prime Minister for consideration a plan to stop 2G old mobile technology by 2022. Because domestic carriers do not apply the subscription contract model, people users will have to spend money to upgrade the terminal.