Verizon Wireless Verizon to sunset 1X in three years.

Well, seeing as Verizon plans 5G in 2017, it would make sense to get rid of old technology. About time people got rid of those flip phones. (LOL)

 

I wonder if they are shutting down the 3G as well, or only the 2G?

 

I completely agree with your assessment. It is similar to AT&T dumping AMPS and (subsequently) TDMA. But 3G is still active. When we take a look at PhoneScoop or PhoneArena's listings of current phones (for example, the Galaxy S6), for AT&T that phone is backwards compatible with GSM (3G). The same phone on Verizon is compat backwards to CDMA and GSM. As much as the carriers want us to believe that their whole network is current technology, it isn't.

 

I would think a lot of their "Pay As You Go" phones are 3G

 

ATT has another issue that will probably force them to keep 3G for some time. The 3G Micro Cell. A femtocell used to place voice calls over your high speed data network when the over the air signal is weak/non existant (like my house).
Verizon and Sprint may have the same issue with their femtocells.

 

@rjniles: I completely forgot about those (femtocell). I have an acquaintence that uses AT&T in the same town (as me) but lives in a dead-zone area. I helped him get a free micro cell. I guess AT&T will just have to upgrade all those people for free. (yeah, right). LOL

 

An up date on the AT&T 3g Microcell. I read this on the AT&T wireless forum:

The official end of life for the MicroCell will be at the end of this year (2017). AT&T will stop selling the MicroCell except at Corporate Stores who still have them in stock. However, AT&T will continue to support the MicroCell for an unspecified period of time next year. Of course that will mean that most of the "support" will be trying to convince customers to upgrade their phones to WiFi-C capable phones.