It may seem like a long way off, but with AT&T (News - Alert) and other carriers around the world declaring their intention to turn off their 2G networks, it is no longer a question for enterprises that have implemented 2G solutions of whether to make the change to 3G and 4G networks, but where and when.

Yes, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” now has an expiration date. 

Of course, companies that continue to lean on 2G networks because they work (and have always worked) may put off making the decision, choosing instead to ignorantly (blissfully?) draw on the lyric from that Cat Stevens classic “Father and Son” (1970): “It’s not time to make a change.” Make no mistake, though, the time is coming.

With regard to “where,” it is easy to fall into the thinking that migration should be to the latest technology and, hence, 4G LTE (News - Alert) is the way to go. It is the rare carrier, however, that will be willing to meet the minor traffic requirements of M2M with beneficial structures. Their LTE networks were built to meet the need for speed, and frankly many M2M solutions are the equivalent of putting a human relay race onto a NASCAR speedway. In addition, much of the initial outlay for the LTE networks has yet to be recovered so implementations often have to take the full burden of development.

On the 3G side, advantages can be found in offering price reductions on existing solutions, and favorable pricing for some implementations that represent incremental traffic requirements. However, here the legacy and the carrier migration plans may indicate that implementing 3G is nothing more than kicking the can down the street for another few years.

Will a new alternative be available that makes legacy problems a thing of the past with regard to software? Will software-defined radios bring us an alternative model for module deployment? Should Wi-Fi or some other spectrum choices be incorporated to ensure the connection happens with AnyG? All of these questions are possible answers to the issue of “where.”

Now, regarding “when,” could it be that you are too much like the father in the Cat Stevens song, certain that by the time the problem comes around you will have moved on? I suggest that it does not hurt to listen and to think about migration, and I think you will come to your migration plan simply by being informed…oh, and by joining Huawei and Numerex’s webinar “M2M Solutions: Protecting your business when transitioning from 2G to AnyG,” which I am moderating on Oct. 7 at 1 p.m. EDT. On the off-hand chance that you cannot join us, I remind you that the webinar will be recorded. 

As a famous spiritual advisor once said, “If not now, when? If not me, then who?” And as long as we are mulling proverbs and the like, there really is no time like the present (though for now your presence on Oct. 7 would be just fine).