KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City, Missouri, Fire Department warns alarm systems using 3G cell phones will no longer be operative beginning Friday.
“The alarm will still go off, but a notification to the alarm monitoring company will not go through and the alarm company will not know it has been triggered,” KCFD said in a news release.
As of April 1, alarms will be affected due to the 3G technology expiring. Any systems that have already been updated will be unaffected.
“Businesses and property managers who have not had their systems upgraded should use fire guards to monitor their systems until they have them updated,” Deputy Fire Chief and Fire Marshal James Dean said in the release. “It is imperative in the name of public safety that they get their systems upgraded as soon as possible.”
KCFD advises anyone with questions should reach out to their respective alarm company.
The push to phase out 3G technology began in January, according to the Federal Communications Commission.
Cell-phone carriers AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile outlined plans to shut down 3G networks as early as the end of February and as late as July 1, 2022. Other carriers have also considered shutting down such networks.
The FCC explains eliminating 3G technology comes as a solution to “make room for more advanced network services, including 5G."
