Verizon has confirmed that it will no longer activate 3G-only phones on its CDMA network ahead of a 2019 shutdown as the telecom migrates nearly all of its traffic over to its 4G LTE network. The news, reported earlier today by DroidLife, is now official, following months of rumors that this summer would be the cutoff for 3G phones on Verizon.
Verizon has stopped activating phones that don’t support LTE on its network
The telecom plans to shut down its CDMA network in 2019
The telecom plans to shut down its CDMA network in 2019
is a Senior Producer on Decoder. Previously, he reported on the technology and gaming industries for more than a decade.
The company released a statement to DroidLife outlining the thought process behind the move:
For several years we’ve been been publicly saying that our 3G CDMA network will remain available through the end of 2019. Virtually all traffic on our network is on our 4G LTE network. To facilitate a smooth transition to 4G LTE capable products and services, we are no longer allowing devices that are not 4G LTE capable to be activated on our network.
Verizon confirmed last year that it plans to shut down its old CDMA network by the end of 2019, but we didn’t know exactly when the 3G activation deadline would be. Unfortunately, for those who want to go back in time to a pre-LTE era, you’re out of luck — at least with Verizon.
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