AT&T, the carrier that provides the cellular service for the John Deere Modular Telematics Gateway, will sunset its 3G network on December 31, 2021. Any hardware that is not upgraded to 4G will not function after this date. The Modular Telematics Gateway (MTG) connects your fleet to the network for machine monitoring. This will affect your access to JDLink, Wireless Data Transfer, and Service Advisor Remote.
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3G sunset plan
- As technology evolves, mobile network providers have decided to start phasing out the 3G network technology in the coming year. This will allow 3G technology to be used for future 4G network technologies. Producers operating JDLink technology with older Modular Telematics Gateway (MTG) hardware may experience issues such as reduced network coverage, decreased data transmitting performance or even complete loss of function. If a producer has not already started, now is the time for them to upgrade from 3G to 4G hardware.
5G timeline
- Cell carriers have done an excellent job marketing 5G in their recent advertisements. Producers can upgrade to 4G LTE hardware with confidence. In relation to telematics in Agriculture, 5G will not become available for several years.
- 5G is currently being deployed in larger cities and the frequency that is being used is called millimeter wave. The propagation of these frequencies is very short and only useful in urban areas.
- Rural areas may see carriers start their 5G deployment anytime.
- In these same rural areas, carriers will use 4G/LTE frequency bands and update their towers with 5G technology. 4G MTGs will still be working after towers are updated to 5G.
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