From Tesla to Jeep: The end of 3G networks is a problem for millions of car owners
Millions of vehicles in the U.S., including Teslas, Audis, Hondas and Nissans, will lose some emergency and convenience features by Tuesday, as AT&T becomes the first telecommunications company to disable its 3G network this year.
The shutdowns – known as network sunsets – affect older cellphones but also other products such as home security systems and vehicles that use 3G networks for updates and remote communication.
The impact for vehicle owners will vary based on their car or truck, millions of which were made during the past decade or so with 3G connectivity. Some owners may not experience any problems, while others could lose automatic emergency response services in the event of a crash and certain infotainment and convenience features such as real-time navigation and smartphone app features such as pre-cabin conditioning.
“This is crazy times, when you think about it. 3G did not come out that long ago and the first sunset is already happening,” said Kenny Hawk, CEO of Mojio, a mobility services company that is partnering with Volkswagen and Audi to maintain emergency services. “You've got a lot of vehicles out there … that had 3G embedded telematics control units, modems and antennas that will only work on 3G networks.”
‘A slow motion disaster'
AT&T is the first major provider to wind down its 3G services, which will be discontinued Tuesday, followed by T-Mobile and Verizon later this year. Other smaller carriers that rely on those networks such as Cricket, Boost and Straight Talk also will be impacted.
The telecommunications companies are conducting the 3G sunsets to free up infrastructure and capital to support newer ones, such as emerging 5G services.
“Since February of 2019, we have worked with automotive manufacturers to help them transition their connected cars to newer technology before 3G services end February 22. Customers have received, and will receive additional, communications as we work with them on this transition, including direct mail, bill messages, emails and text messages,” AT&T said in an emailed statement Monday.
Even though cellular providers have been warning that their 3G networks will shut down permanently for some time, many automakers still installed devices that use the older network until as recently as the 2021 model year.
William Wallace, Consumer Reports' manager of safety policy, described the situation as “a slow motion disaster,” as automakers are either doing nothing or scrambling to maintain services for owners.
“We're talking about millions of vehicles that will lose features that were promised to owners, and that no longer will be delivered,” he said. “In some cases, those features are safety features, things that can help them from dying or getting seriously injured after a crash.”
Consumer Reports has a large list of impacted vehicles by automotive brand. Owners, if they haven't been contacted by automakers already, also can check brand websites to find out if their vehicle is affected.
Auto impact
Solutions from automakers to fix the problems vary greatly. They range from discontinuing some services to offering software and hardware upgrades, some of which require owners to pay one-time fees or enroll in new monthly or annual subscriptions.
“It's hit and miss. Not every automaker's solution is the same,” said Autotrader executive editor Brian Moody.
Tesla, for example, is charging $200 for owners of Model S vehicles built before June 2015 to upgrade their vehicle's modem, according to its website. Without the update, Tesla says drivers will lose several remote capabilities and certain infotainment features, including navigation, maps and live traffic updates.
Owners of some Hondas have until Tuesday to download new software free of charge. Otherwise, they will have to pay upward of $900 for a hardware upgrade or lose certain features, according to Consumer Reports.
“Manufacturers, on a case-by-case, are taking a look at how many people are actually impacted by this shutdown of 3G and as they inevitably do with anything, they're making a decision about are there enough people that are going to be impacted by this to justify developing some sort of upgrade?” said Guidehouse Insights principal analyst Sam Abuelsamid.
Others such as Volkswagen, Audi and Stellantis, which owns the Jeep, Ram and Chrysler brands, are offering third-party alternatives for some services.
Mojio's solution with Audi and Volkswagen is a plug-in device that connects to the vehicle's telematics, or OBD, port to maintain many emergency services. It will be offered free for Audi customers for a certain period before moving to a subscription service, Hawk said.
Wallace criticized some automakers for taking advantage of the situation to try and charge owners for services that were promised to them for free when they purchased the vehicle.
随着 AT&T 成为今年第一家禁用其 3G 网络的电信公司，美国数百万辆汽车，包括特斯拉、奥迪、本田和日产，将在周二失去一些紧急和便利功能。 关闭 - 称为网络日落 - 影响旧手机以及其他产品，例如家庭安全系统和使用 3G 网络进行更新和远程通信的车辆。
对车主的影响将根据他们的汽车或卡车而有所不同，其中数百万辆是在过去十年左右通过 3G 连接制造的。一些车主可能不会遇到任何问题，而另一些车主可能会在发生碰撞时失去自动应急响应服务以及某些信息娱乐和便利功能（例如实时导航）和智能手机应用程序功能（例如客舱前空调）。
“当你想一想时，这是一个疯狂的时代。 3G 很久以前就没有出现，第一次日落已经到来，”Mojio 的首席执行官 Kenny Hawk 说，Mojio 是一家与大众汽车和奥迪合作以维持紧急服务的移动服务公司。 “你有很多车辆……它们有 3G 嵌入式远程信息处理控制单元、调制解调器和天线，只能在 3G 网络上工作。”
“慢动作灾难”
AT&T 是第一家关闭其 3G 服务的主要供应商，该服务将于周二停产，今年晚些时候 T-Mobile 和 Verizon 紧随其后。其他依赖这些网络的小型运营商，如 Cricket、Boost 和 Straight Talk 也将受到影响。
电信公司正在开展 3G 日落，以释放基础设施和资金来支持新的，例如新兴的 5G 服务。
“自 2019 年 2 月以来，我们一直与汽车制造商合作，帮助他们在 2 月 22 日结束 3G 服务之前将其联网汽车过渡到更新的技术。客户已经收到并将收到额外的通信，因为我们与他们合作进行这种过渡，包括直接邮件、账单信息、电子邮件和短信，”AT&T 在周一的电子邮件声明中说。
尽管蜂窝服务提供商一直警告他们的 3G 网络将永久关闭一段时间，但直到 2021 车型年，许多汽车制造商仍安装使用旧网络的设备。
消费者报告的安全政策经理威廉华莱士将这种情况描述为“一场缓慢的灾难”，因为汽车制造商要么无所事事，要么争先恐后地为车主提供服务。
“我们谈论的是数百万辆汽车将失去向车主承诺的功能，并且不再交付，”他说。 “在某些情况下，这些功能是安全功能，可以帮助他们在撞车后免于死亡或重伤。”
消费者报告按汽车品牌列出了大量受影响的车辆。车主如果尚未与汽车制造商联系，也可以查看品牌网站以了解他们的车辆是否受到影响。
自动冲击
汽车制造商解决问题的解决方案差异很大。它们的范围从停止某些服务到提供软件和硬件升级，其中一些要求所有者支付一次性费用或注册新的月度或年度订阅。
“它是命中注定的。并非每个汽车制造商的解决方案都是相同的，”Autotrader 执行编辑 Brian Moody 说。
例如，据其网站称，特斯拉向 2015 年 6 月之前生产的 Model S 车主收取 200 美元的费用，以升级其车辆的调制解调器。特斯拉表示，如果没有更新，司机将失去一些远程功能和某些信息娱乐功能，包括导航、地图和实时交通更新。
一些本田汽车的车主必须在周二之前免费下载新软件。根据消费者报告，否则，他们将不得不支付 900 美元以上的硬件升级或失去某些功能。
“制造商正在逐案查看有多少人实际上受到了 3G 关闭的影响，因为他们不可避免地会做任何事情，他们正在决定是否有足够的人会受此影响以证明开发某种升级的合理性？” Guidehouse Insights 首席分析师 Sam Abuelsamid 说。
拥有 Jeep、Ram 和克莱斯勒品牌的大众、奥迪和 Stellantis 等其他公司正在为某些服务提供第三方替代品。
Mojio 与奥迪和大众汽车合作的解决方案是一种插入式设备，可连接到车辆的远程信息处理或 OBD 端口以维持许多紧急服务。霍克说，在转向订阅服务之前，它将在一段时间内免费向奥迪客户提供。
华莱士批评一些汽车制造商利用这种情况向车主收取购买车辆时承诺的免费服务费用。
