In celebration of the dumb phone, a rare sanity-saving gadget
https://www.theverge.com/23662032/smartphone-dumb-phone-tik-tok-instagram-mental-health
This article gives the shutdown dates for each UK operator’s 3G networks.
After more than a 20 year run, these networks are set to be switched off. In December 2021, the UK operators committed to a government plan to switch off their 2G & 3G networks by 2033. This includes EE, Vodafone, Three & O2.
However, many operators have brought forward the turn-off dates of their 3G networks to ten years before the deadline:
https://streetwave.co/digital-strategy/when-will-3g-be-shut-down-in-the-uk/
@ecksmc Morning Eric 🙂 My husband and my BIL use 3G dumbphones only. As the phone "expert" in the family I'm not looking forward to it. I'll have to find them 4G dumbphones as neither will cope with anything smart. *sigh*
@Mandypar morning Mandy :)
yeah gonna affect some people that's for sure
I prefer using my dumb phone these days when out and about
@ecksmc It's definitely safer to do that. Sadly my husband can function with mainframes, servers, Unix (and similar) and database management systems but not tablets and phones. (and he has no interest in learning) 🙂 But my BIL has the attention span of a goldfish (on a good day). I once got him a simple smartphone, set it up and I've had it back for almost 2 years now 🤣
@ecksmc I've been debating getting just a basic flip phone for about a year now. The only social media I allow on my phone is counter social.
@Tattoomonkey29 less distraction with a dumb phone 👍
@ecksmc Absolutely, I was the one in my friend group that took the longest to get a smart phone to start with ! I hate what they have done, I go to see my friends and they are stuck in tiktok and fakebook and they don't even seem to want to talk much anymore I have CoSo, Guardian, Waffle,Stitcher and Squaredle . as well as bank stuff but feel like I'd be happy to go back because I still end up dinking around too late at night!
ICYMI
The UK's 3G/2G mobile services are being phased out in the next few years, starting in early 2023. The 3G networks have been around since 2003 and are used to deliver calls, texts, and lower speed data services.
(some Dumb phones will be affected)
Virtual networks, such as Giffgaff, Tesco Mobile and Smarty, piggback off one of the Big Four networks. As such, their 3G services will end in line with the parent network
table below to see what this means for virtual providers: