Creating a 2G Sunset ‘Plan of Action’ for Alarm Communications
As dealers are faced with upgrading large numbers of 2G customers, they must consider questions and complaints, future upgrades needed, and the ever-changing communications landscape when determining their approach.
The 2G communications sunset has already begun with reports of cellular carriers shutting down service of 2G towers (GSM and GPRS technology) in certain areas of the country. Many dealers have already been affected by these incidents — forcing them to upgrade customers as service is shut down. However, with AT&T’s announcement that it will cease all 2G communications by approximately Jan. 1, 2017, and other cellular carriers expected to follow, many dealers have a significant job ahead of them planning for massive upgrades without losing their customers or breaking the bank.
“If we ignore this, if we get bombarded with existing customers wanting an upgrade at the last minute, we physically won’t be able to meet our customers’ needs with staff or equipment and their systems may be down for a month before we get to them,” says Shooter Stein, president of National Certified Alarms (NCA), Nashville. As soon as 3G units became available from Stein’s manufacturer of choice, NCA stopped selling and installing 2G units and returned all 2G inventory to the vendor. Still, Stein estimates that NCA will need to update about 3,000 customers with 2G cellular communicators before the sunset.