Global leap to 4G and 5G would cut off phone access for millions of vulnerable people.
- Telecom companies aim to profit from the 2G-to-5G transition as governments worldwide face pressure to free up mobile spectrum.
- Vietnam is the latest country to shut down 2G by offering free 4G phones to the poor.
- India and South Africa have expressed concern that the strategy would cut off phone access for millions of vulnerable people.
While I agree with you in principle, that’s a hard sell to somebody with an embedded 2G medical device.
Setting “companies” aside, I don’t see why it couldn’t be some sort of DIY project. Like, a small computer with a both a 2G and 5G modem, a set of antennas for each, and some middleware…
In fact, there are some phones that support both networks… So why couldn’t a spare phone be used? They technically already have all the hardware to make it work.
Because it’s the cellphone equivalent of creating a pirate radio station, to put it in terms better understood. In all developed nations that is outright not allowed.
You’re saying to create a 2g cell tower which then retransmits on 5g. That 2g portion needs to emit as if it were a real cell tower, it’s not just a phone-to-phone connection.
What I’m saying is those medical device companies just need to upgrade hardware. Not the user.