this post was submitted on 07 Mar 2025
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267
Why most countries are struggling to shut down 2G. (restofworld.org)
submitted 2 days ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
77 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Global leap to 4G and 5G would cut off phone access for millions of vulnerable people.

  • Telecom companies aim to profit from the 2G-to-5G transition as governments worldwide face pressure to free up mobile spectrum.
  • Vietnam is the latest country to shut down 2G by offering free 4G phones to the poor.
  • India and South Africa have expressed concern that the strategy would cut off phone access for millions of vulnerable people.
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[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

What I'm saying is those medical device companies just need to upgrade hardware. Not the user.

That is a valid perspective, but it doesn't take into account the burden on end users. Would you still feel that same way if you were the user, and the "update" required literal surgery on your body - not because the device failed, or expired, but simply because network standards have changed?

Because it's the cellphone equivalent of creating a pirate radio station, to put it in terms better understood.

Why not use the analogy of a Wi-Fi repeater or extender that can handle multiple Wi-Fi standards simultaneously?

For that matter, it should be rather simple to limit it to only "listen" for connections from known medical devices (though it's not like there are a bunch of 2G phones running around these days).

I'm listening, but so far, I haven't seen anything that explains why this would actually be a bad idea, or how it could cause any harm.

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago

Can you give me an example of a medical implant with 2g embedded? I'm not sure that's a thing. They usually use other RF signals to talk to something outside the body.