Penske Truck Leasing customers that are operating their fleet telematics systems with 3G hardware are advised to begin making arrangements to transfer over to 4G or 5G hardware before the start of 2022.
According to a recent FleetOwner magazine article, U.S. mobile providers will soon discontinue operating on a 3G system.
"Depending on which carrier supports your telematics system, the 3G spectrum will begin to shut down as early as February 2022," explained Bill Combs, Penske vice president connected vehicle strategy and experimentation.
"This will be a 'flip-of-the-switch' outage, not a slow degradation," he continued. "We are advising our customers to begin directly contacting their telematics service providers to make the necessary upgrades now. Carriers have been making, and continue to make, large investments in the current iteration of mobile technology."
For Penske customers who are not yet using telematics, Penske can aid fleets in evaluating service providers. The connected fleet team provides consulting services at no charge. Contact Penske at success@penskeconnectedfleet.com or dial 1-844-376-4099.
By "Move Ahead" Staff