The great 3G switch off
Mark Poveda, Managing Director – KOREC Group Ireland and Group Commercial Director, KOREC Group
IF you’re a regular reader of the news, you’ll no doubt have seen a number of stories recently on how the 3G switch-off is already affecting the way we go about our daily routines. In particular, the Sunday Times recently featured an article about the growth of parking apps (regular visitors to our cities can have to deal with 30 different ones) as parking machines are removed.
These machines are disappearing because the mobile phone operators are switching off the 3G data networks used to process card payments. According to the article, Vodafone switched off its 3G network in Plymouth and Basingstoke on 28 February and will switch of the entire network by the end of the year. EE’s 3G network will be closed by early next year with Three to follow by the end of 2024.
This is a serious inconvenience and indicative of the type of changes we can expect a whole lot more of during 2023. The geospatial industry, as reliant as it has become on phone networks for GNSS receivers, loggers and general field/office comms, is going to be no exception and we’re already hearing anecdotal evidence of performance issues from customers who have noticed changes in service availability where they have previously worked without problem.
Preparing for 4G and 5G
Simply, if you are using any manufacturer’s loggers or receivers not compatible with 4G or above, the chances are you will be affected at some point. However, it’s important to remember that this won’t happen overnight but will be phased in subject to each mobile provider’s personal timetable.
Mobile providers are switching off the 3G networks to make room for the more advanced 4G and 5G networks. 4G and 5G give customers better, faster and more reliable services and therein lies our opportunity.What happens will very much depend on where you are working in the UK and Ireland. In areas where good 2G coverage remains (although this is scheduled to also be switched off by 2033), it is uncertain how reliable this coverage will be and how well it will perform. However, the one thing that is certain is that you will be challenged with the slow speeds of a 2G network.
As a distributor for Trimble survey and mapping solutions, here at KOREC, we’re in exactly the same position as everyone else and consequently having to plan ahead for these inevitable changes. We are already investing in and upgrading our solutions to meet this new demand and would urge all users of any manufacturer’s geospatial systems to look ahead as well so that they are not caught out unexpectedly on site.
Nobody wants to disappoint a client, lose revenue, deal with frustrated surveyors in the field or fail to deliver a project on time.
With inconvenience comes opportunity
Mobile providers are switching off the 3G networks to make room for the more advanced 4G and 5G networks. 4G and 5G give customers better, faster and more reliable services and therein lies opportunity. Customers, whether they are surveyors or engineers, are asking for a better-connected site. A 5G network will assist this by enabling data to flow even faster and more efficiently than previously.
For example, 3G can reach speeds of 8MB per second. 5G speeds will eventually run in excess of 1GB per second, up to a maximum of 20GB.
In geospatial terms, that means a 5GB laser scanning project that took two hours to download on the 3G network can be downloaded in just 35 seconds on 5G.
Additionally, reports are stating that 5G can support one thousand more devices per square metre than 4G – a welcome upgrade for an ever-connected world where even your fridge can communicate with you on food expiry and usage.
When 3G networks first came online in 2002, it was like trading a tape measure for a 3D laser scanner and when the first iPhone was launched in 2007, little did we imagine that there would be over 34 iterations to date with the first 3G version only released in 2008.
Similarly, when the 5G network is fully active, its potential is hard to imagine but I believe that if we prepare now, then 5G is another fantastic opportunity for our tech-savvy, expanding industry to become even better, more effective and of course, more profitable too.
Mark Poveda, Managing Director – KOREC Group Ireland and Group Commercial Director, KOREC Group
