I appeared for the 3G nonetheless working in North America

It is robust to recollect now given the fixed barrage of expertise information, however within the late 2000s, individuals talked about 3G the best way we’re used to listening to about 5G right this moment. Carriers and cellphone makers bragged about it as cutting-edge, a means of enabling issues by no means earlier than dreamt of on a cellphone. They usually had been proper, to a level — on 2G, looking the only webpage might be excruciating, by no means thoughts utilizing an app like Google Maps. With out 3G, smartphones would’ve been little greater than Palm Pilots past Wi-Fi vary. Palm Pilots had been PDAs, for these of you underneath 30. And no, PDA does not stand for “private shows of affection” on this case.

You have most likely observed that 3G is more and more uncommon or absent in fashionable life, even whenever you drive down rural roads the place 5G may as properly be a delusion. Sooner or later, you will have additionally obtained a notification that your provider was winding down its 3G community. However is 3G actually lifeless and gone without end in North America? I went looking for the reality this week, and found a couple of surprises within the course of.

It seems that it is nonetheless lingering like a phantom — regardless of having first burst onto the scene in mid-2002, earlier than lots of you had been born, not to mention knew what a smartphone was. Carriers aren’t inquisitive about deliberate obsolescence. If something, they have been reluctant to let 3G go, notably in Canada and Mexico.

The state of 3G in the USA

Ghosts, solely ghosts

Successfully, 3G is lifeless and gone within the US, no matter the place you journey. AT&T started phasing out 3G in February 2022, in keeping with the Federal Communications Commission. T-Cellular accomplished the method in July that 12 months, having already killed off Dash’s previous 3G CDMA community in March (T-Cellular acquired Dash in April 2020). The slowest of the Massive Three carriers was Verizon, which wrapped up the transition on December 31, 2022.

There are, in fact, many smaller carriers within the nation, starting from Appalachian Wi-fi to Viaero Wi-fi, and a few better-known manufacturers like C Spire, Increase Cellular, and Cricket Wi-fi. However even these seem to have transitioned to 4G (also called LTE) at a minimal, and realistically, none of them have the infrastructure to supplant the Massive Three. Your cellphone will inevitably find yourself speaking to a tower owned by AT&T, T-Cellular, or Verizon sooner or later. Some carriers are Cellular Digital Community Operators (MVNOs), relying solely on a kind of networks. Others are pre-paid sub-brands of the Massive Three, meant to snare your corporation in case you possibly can’t afford an costly post-paid plan. Cricket is owned by AT&T, for instance. Metro belongs to T-Cellular, and so forth.

Why would US carriers collectively resolve to remove 3G? The main reply is bandwidth. Shutting it down frees up the radio spectrum for higher 4G and 5G connectivity. 4G protection has additionally change into (comparatively) low cost and widespread, so there is not any want to supply a slower various, notably when there’s not a lot you are able to do with it on a state-of-the-art smartphone or pill. 3G was acceptable for telephones in 2005, however in 2025, most app and web site builders take 4G with no consideration. One thing as primary as a calorie-counting app would most likely take without end to load diet information over 3G. As I lately found, 4G is already holding some apps again, specifically navigation instruments like Google Maps and Apple Maps. You would be shocked at how a lot smoother 5G navigation might be.

The opposite incentive for the transition is price. 3G is not as environment friendly as 4G and 5G when it comes to spectrum or energy consumption, and to maintain any community working, appropriate tower radios want common inspection and upkeep. It does not make any monetary sense to maintain 3G infrastructure lively, which is why carriers have been keen handy out free cellphone upgrades to individuals nonetheless clinging on to 2G/3G-only units. A $200 4G or 5G cellphone is a drop within the bucket subsequent to paying a technician to repair a malfunctioning 3G tower.

What about Canada and Mexico?

The final bastions

This is the place issues stunned me somewhat. As I found, 3G is quickly evaporating in Canada, however that is solely a current growth. Rogers, Fido, and Vidéotron all ended their assist on July 31, 2025, which is nearly surprising if you understand how a lot Rogers pushes its 5G service. Fido has change into 4G-only — in reality, one of many causes my spouse and I jumped ship to Freedom Cellular is that Fido shut down my spouse’s service prematurely, considering she had a 3G-only machine. She really had an iPhone SE, which has all the time been outfitted for 4G.

If you wish to connect with 3G for some motive, you possibly can nonetheless do this through Bell, Telus, and SaskTel, however they’re liable to discourage you. Bell goes to start phasing out private 3G on October 31, and enterprise connections by the top of 2025, reassigning a part of that spectrum to 4G earlier than totally terminating 3G someday sooner or later. Telus and SaskTel have not set something in stone but, however the writing is on the wall — I doubt any 3G can be working in Canada by the point 2027 rolls round, together with each pre-paid and post-paid carriers.

The one true haven for 3G is Mexico. Telcel continues to assist it, regardless of the rising attain of 4G and 5G networks, and rivals Movistar and AT&T Mexico shutting off 3G in direction of the top of 2024. It is a sensible necessity, since there are areas the place no main provider has 4G but, not to mention the newest expertise. A transition ought to occur sooner or later — however solely as soon as 4G penetrates deeper into the countryside. Conceivably, there are components of the world that may already be adopting 6G by then.