Today was the deadline set three years ago by AT&T to stop providing service to 3G devices, as many look forward to 5G technology.

As many as two million people, including seniors in New Jersey and all over the country, are directly affected by AT&T’s decision.

Daniel Oppenheim, the CEO of Affiliated Monitoring based in Union, was hoping the White House, along with the Federal Communications Commission, could get a delay of AT&T’s deadline of today in shutting down its 3G service. The reasons why are extensive. 

“These are not phones,” says Oppenheim. “These are alarm systems, medical alert systems, fire alarm systems, about 10% of school buses in the United States have 3G tracking in them for GPS. Ankle bracelets for parolees, crash detection in cars, really any car made before 2015 probably have a 3G device in it.”

All of that is directly affected by the removal of 3G service from AT&T, which set the deadline three years ago.  

“We were on track to get it done but lost a year with COVID and then once COVID started to open up we had a supply chain challenge which has been much covered in the press,” says Oppenheim. “We still think there are about one million seniors in the United States that have 3G connected medical alert monitoring devices.”

If you’re wondering about the other major carriers and their deadlines, T-Mobile is July 1, while Verizon has said it will wait until the end of 2022.