Lawsuits over 3G shutdowns start piling up

Ford and Volkswagen are the latest carmakers to face lawsuits stemming from the shutdown of 3G networks in the US.

As noted by the ClassAction.org website, a new lawsuit claims that Ford and Volkswagen did not warn buyers of some car models between 2014 and 2019 that the connected services on their vehicles would be "rendered obsolete" after AT&T shuttered its 3G network. That shutdown happened in February.

AT&T has a sizable connected car business. Following the operator's 3G shutdown, Ford motorists could no longer use their vehicles' MyFord mobile app to start, lock, unlock or locate their vehicles remotely, according to the lawsuit.

The suit also alleges that Ford and Volkswagen refused to pay for 4G upgrades to their customers' cars. Officials from Ford and Volkswagen didn't immediately respond to questions from Light Reading about the allegations.

The lawsuit builds on a similar one against BMW and Porsche, as noted by InsideTowers. And it may not be the last.

"What if you have a device that cannot be switched over – like a car or medical device? In these situations, legal recourse may be necessary," wrote the lawyers at Colson Hicks Eidson in a post to the firm's website. The post essentially serves as an advertisement to litigious 3G users. "If you have a product that will be affected by this switch, contact the litigation attorneys at Colson, Hicks, Eidson to go over possible legal recourse," the firm advises.

Shutdowns and complaints

Verizon is scheduled to shutter its 3G network on January 1, 2023. It will be the last big US wireless network operator to do so.

AT&T turned off its 3G network on February 22, despite warnings from home security companies, alarm operators and others that use it. T-Mobile dismantled Sprint's 3G CDMA network on March 31 and its 4G LTE network on June 30. The operator then shuttered its own 3G UMTS network on July 1.

Figure 1: (Source: Holmes Garden Photos / Alamy Stock Photo)

T-Mobile's efforts to dismantle Sprint's operations after acquiring the company in 2020 have already generated one lawsuit. Just weeks after closing its acquisition of Sprint, T-Mobile began deactivating the Sprint 5G network that covered parts of 13 US cities, affecting an estimated 75,000 customers. That move sparked a lawsuit earlier this year.

Already, tens of thousands of customers have been affected by AT&T and T-Mobile's 3G shutdowns. Indeed, in recent weeks Verizon disclosed that its new TracFone prepaid business lost 402,000 customers in the second quarter of 2022 and another 102,000 in the third quarter due to "the shutdown of our competitors' 3G networks."

Verizon closed its purchase of TracFone last year. TracFone's prepaid MVNO brands operate across all the country's big wireless networks.

However, the mounting 3G lawsuits haven't stopped other network operators from planning their own network shutdowns. Wisconsin-based Cellcom said it plans to discontinue data services on its 2G and 3G networks by March 31, 2023. The company said voice calling on the networks will also be retired by December 1, 2023.

"Cellcom is directly contacting its customers who will need a new device and encouraging them to take action as soon as possible," the company wrote on its website.

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— Mike Dano, Editorial Director, 5G & Mobile Strategies, Light Reading | @mikeddano