My wife read some article on the internet (so it must be true) that once 5G is fully operational non-5G phones will be obsolete. As in not able to even use.
Anybody able to debunk or confirm such a notion?
I need a new phone but do't want to buy something that is useless before I have managed to destroy it like my current & past phones.

5G is backward compatible so you won't have issues.

I don't see the mobile operators giving up a significant piece of their market by deprecating 2G, 3G, and 4G support. They probably will get flakier as resources shift to the more lucrative technology, but not so much so that the dinosaurs will be forced to evolve.

I suspect the author of the article was trying to imply that 5G is so insanely great that nobody could possibly want anything less. To my mind, that is a stretch.

I, for one, would love to see a ubiquitous high data rate wireless network available at a reasonable cost, especially if it means IPv4 and IPv6 to the device. I don't think 5G will get us to that point. That doesn't mean you're better off sticking with your flip phone.

The basic reality is that technology is changing faster in the mobile space than anywhere else (except maybe electric vehicles). Expecting to retain any kind of long-term value in a device is a chimera.

https://www.cnet.com/news/no-5...-lte-phone-obsolete/

No, 5G isn't going to make your 4G LTE phone obsolete
This transition is different from earlier cellular generation shifts, which means 4G could be useful a lot longer.

5G buzz is everywhere. Billboards display the latest, fastest gadgets like Samsung's Galaxy S10 5G, TV ads tout the benefits of the fast speeds and carriers are jockeying for title of best 5G network. But with 5G networks in the US only a few months old, your 4G phone isn't destined for the junk heap yet. In fact, the ramp-up to 5G means your 4G phone may actually get better.

5G is touted as a game-changing technology, with the ability to dramatically boost the speed and coverage of wireless networks. It can run between 10 and 100 times faster than your typical 4G cellular connection today. It's quicker than anything you can get from a physical fiber-optic cable in your house. And latency, the amount of time between when your phone pings the network and when it responds, is faster than what Wi-Fi provides.

But 5G also has limitations. The higher-frequency bands rolled out first by Verizon and AT&T, called millimeter wave, provide super-high speeds, but the signals travel only short distances. Things like trees and double-pane glass block millimeter wave signals. T-Mobile, Sprint and most carriers in Europe and Asia have opted to build their broader 5G networks using sub-6GHz or mid-band spectrum, the lower-frequency airwaves that are more stable but slower than millimeter wave. They travel longer distances, but speeds can be similar to what you find with some LTE connections, not the dramatic leap you get with millimeter wave.

"Right now there are huge compromises with 5G in terms of design, coverage and cost," IHS Markit analyst Wayne Lam said. "4G LTE and 5G will coexist for a very, very long time."

There are some unique features of the shift to 5G that can help the operators move quicker than before -- without forcing everyone onto the faster network at once. Here's how 4G and 5G will coexist for years to come:


The move from 4G to 5G is different from past network upgrades. 5G isn't replacing 4G, like how 4G overtook 3G. Instead, 5G is building on 4G LTE, using updated radios and software. Right now, if you have an early 5G phone phone and upload videos to Google Photos, you're actually using a 4G LTE connection for that uplink.

"This is the first time so many aspects of [the old and new network] are shared," said Gordon Mansfield, AT&T vice president for converged access and device technology. "Some things we'll do for 5G are inherently backward compatible and will lift the capabilities of 4G."

By 2025, 15% of mobile connections in the world will be on 5G, according to a 2019 report by GSMA Intelligence, the research arm of the mobile operator group that hosts Mobile World Congress. But LTE usage will be about 59% by the same year, up from 43% in 2018. (In North America, the split will be more even, with about 47% of 2025's connections on 5G and 44% on 4G). Even if 5G becomes an even bigger part of the market by 2025 than estimated today, "it will complement rather than replace LTE," GSMA said in a separate report from last year.

"For operators in many parts of the world, LTE is and will be the foundation for the next 10 years at least," the GSMA report said. "LTE speeds are improving, which makes 5G less compelling without new services such as AR/VR."

The first 5G connections still need 4G
Right now, 5G networks in the US are something called "non standalone." They need 4G as the anchor to make that initial handshake between a phone and network before passing the device along to a 5G connection. Using non standalone technology allows carriers to roll out 5G more quickly than if they had to completely overhaul their entire networks with new hardware.

"With non standalone mode, [carriers] retain the same 4G core network and simply add 5G radios," said Durga Malladi, Qualcomm's head of 5G.

Thanks for the info.

quote:

Originally posted by architect:
I don't see the mobile operators giving up a significant piece of their market by deprecating 2G, 3G, and 4G support.

I believe 2G has finally been shut down in the US, though used in other countries. I also seem to recall that 3g is on the chopping block sometime in the near future (2022), for AT&T anyway, and perhaps others.
 
Link.

quote:

I believe 2G has finally been shut down in the US, though used in other countries.

It has, a few years ago. I had a luggage tracker that operated on this and got notice from them that they were discontinuing service because of that.