Security Sales & Integration August 2021 - 24

SMARTS & PARTS
Fireside Chat by Shane Clary
Industry Pleads
for AT&T Sunset
Delay
These events
combined may
be forming a
perfect storm,
in which a
number of 3G
units on the
AT&T network
may not be
able to be
converted
prior to Feb.
22, 2022.
▶ AT THE TIME that this article is being written,
2021 is half over and the Fourth of July is
being celebrated. Before we know it, the holiday
lights will be going up. Speaking of the winter
holidays, there is a pressing issue approaching that
may have a profound eff ect on the alarm industry,
both for fi re alarm systems as well as intrusion
detection and PERS. Th is is the sunsetting of the
3G cellular networks. While this is certainly not
new news, events that have taken place during the
past year have changed the calculus.
Th e fi rst of the sunsets comes up on the AT&T
3G network, which is to occur on Feb. 22, 2022.
Under normal circumstances, the conversion of
3G units to 5G units would have been tight, but
most probably achievable.
Th e year 2020 was hardly normal, and 2021
Shane Clary, Ph.D., has
more than 45 years of
security and fi re alarm
industry experience. He
serves on a number of
NFPA technical committees,
and is Vice President of
Codes and Standards
Compliance for Concord,
Calif.-headquartered Bay
Alarm Co.
24
has brought with it a new challenge. In 2020 the
industry had to maneuver around the minefi elds
of COVID-19. Just as it appeared that there was
a light at the end of this tunnel, the alarm industry
was made aware of a global shortage of chips
that are used in the manufacturing of equipment
and components. With COVID-19, entrance to
a large number of locations was denied, both on
the commercial and residential side. With the
shortage of integrated circuit chips, the production
of control panels are being delayed.
Th ese events combined may be forming a perfect
storm, in which a number of 3G units on the
AT&T network may not be able to be converted
prior to Feb. 22, 2022. Th is is a concern of a
number of providers of fi re alarm, intrusion detection
and PERS. Th is is also a concern of Th e
Monitoring Association (TMA) and the Alarm
Industry Communications Committee (AICC).
Th e alarm industry has reached out to AT&T
to request that they hold off on the sunset until
Dec. 31, 2022, which is the same date that Verizon
is set to sunset their 3G networks. At the
time that this article is being written, AT&T is
not willing to move the date.
AT&T has expressed that once the date was
Security Sales & Integration AUGUST 2021
smclary@bayalarm.com
set, it would be diffi cult to amend the date due
to equipment costs, logistics and contractual obligations
that they have in regards to the 5G network.
In some areas, the 5G network cannot be
activated until the 3G network is down.
Th e AICC is working on several fronts to compel
AT&T to delay the date until Dec. 31, 2022.
A petition for emergency relief was fi led with the
FCC on May 10. Th e relief being requested is
the extension of the AT&T 3G sunset until Dec.
31, 2022. Th e principal reason for the request is
the time lost during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Th e petition estimated that there are nearly six
million 3G radios that need to be converted prior
to the sunset. Th e petition mentions the following
concerns:
▶ Installer unavailability
▶ Pandemic-related alarm resource drain
▶ Staffi ng issues
▶ Travel restrictions
▶ Global microchip shortage
Th e AICC has also lobbied members of the
House of Representatives and the United States
Senate in regard to the AT&T sunset date. A
number of Senators, including Joe Manchin,
Cory Booker, Elizabeth Warren Kirsten Gillibrand
and Patrick Leahy sent a letter to John
Stankey, CEO of AT&T on April 19. Within the
letter, these senators asked a number of questions
related to the sunset. Th ey included:
▶ How will the 3G shutdown impact access
to public safety and 911 services?
▶ How will the 3G shutdown impact
non-cellular devices and other devices and
systems that are not mobile phones on your
network? How many devices of these devices
will be impacted in each state?
A response to this letter was sent to the Senators
on May 7 from Timothy P. McKone, executive
vice president - federal relations. Th e letter did
not address the concern of the industry regarding
the ability of being able to transmit vital life safety
signals from a location if the present 3G transmitter
cannot be exchanged for a 5G transmitter by
Feb. 21, 2022 (read more details about the letter
in the online version of this column).
Th ere are two trains heading down the same
tracks in opposing directions. Hopefully a switch
will be thrown before there is a collision and that
all of the conversions of AT&T 3G cellular transmitters
may be made so that there is no loss of
life-safety services.
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Security Sales & Integration August 2021

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