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3G network shutdowns affect more than cellphones

a cellphone
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Cellphones that operate only on 3G networks have not been manufactured in more than a decade.

Alarm systems, other devices may use the old technology

Old cellphone networks are being shut down and more than old phones will be affected.

On Tuesday, AT&T switched off its old mobile technology known as 3G. Other carriers including T-Mobile and Verizon plan to follow suit later this year.

While there may not be a lot of old 3G-only phones still in use, experts warn that home alarm systems, e-book readers and other devices that use cellular modems may need to be upgraded or replaced.

WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill spoke with Tom Kamber, Executive Director of Older Adults Technology Services.

Paul Tuthill is WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief. He’s been covering news, everything from politics and government corruption to natural disasters and the arts, in western Massachusetts since 2007. Before joining WAMC, Paul was a reporter and anchor at WRKO in Boston. He was news director for more than a decade at WTAG in Worcester. Paul has won more than two dozen Associated Press Broadcast Awards. He won an Edward R. Murrow award for reporting on veterans’ healthcare for WAMC in 2011. Born and raised in western New York, Paul did his first radio reporting while he was a student at the University of Rochester.