3G networks are shutting down soon. A scramble to get users to upgrade is underway
CNN
Aaron Hommell bought his 3G iPhone 5 in 2014 and kept it for more than seven years, holding onto it even after the screen cracked and a long list of faster models hit the market. Then a year ago, AT&T began sending him emails that the company would be shutting down its 3G network and moving its subscribers to its higher-speed 4G and 5G networks.
"I kept putting off [upgrading] since it was not my primary phone," said Hommell, who used the iPhone as a work device for his Gulfport, Mississippi, law firm. "Eventually, a letter came saying they would be sending me a phone in a few weeks. I just waited and boom, there it is on my doorstep."
Hommell, who was sent a new iPhone XR from AT&T (T) in October, is among the small segment of 3G holdouts who've received a free 4G phone from AT&T, which owns CNN's parent company, ahead of its 3G network shutting down later this month.