The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) issued a reminder last week to truck drivers about upgrading their 3G reliant ELDs soon. Major mobile carriers are phasing out the 3G technology and moving to 5G network services in 2022. FMCSA encourages drivers to switch as early as February 2022 to avoid potential ELD violations.
Once a 3G network is no longer supported, it's highly unlikely that any ELD relying on that network will be able to meet the minimum requirements set by the ELD Technical Specifications and can potentially trigger a malfunction code on the driver's ELD. FMCSA says, if that occurs, the driver will have 8 days to get the malfunction code resolved or get a newer ELD device.
Is Your ELD Device Affected?
The Mobile carriers sunset dates are below. These are the dates they plan on completing the shutdowns.
- AT&T 3G: February 22, 2022
- Sprint 3G (T-Mobile): March 31, 2022
- Sprint LTE (T-Mobile): June 30, 2022
- T-Mobile 3G: July 1, 2022
- Verizon 3G: December 31, 2022
NOTE: Some Mobile carriers could retire 3G networks sooner.
If you are unsure if your ELD device relies on a 3G network, call your ELD provider. To find out more, visit the FMCSA website.