When the 2G and 3G networks are shut down, 100,000s of cars will be disconnected from the important safety system eCall, and several functions will stop working.
On cars manufactured from April 2018 onwards, the eCall system must work, otherwise they risk being banned from driving. Even so, brand new cars are still being sold that rely on the old technology.
Now they have held a crisis meeting about the issue, reports Carup.
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Cars can be banned from driving
According to Carup, virtually all car manufacturers still use the 2G or 3G network for the eCall system, and the country’s car dealers have been poor at informing their customers about this.
Information about the impending problems has been poor at the country’s car dealers – Photo: Fredrik Sandberg
Therefore, the car industry is now being taught homework by the Swedish Consumer Agency, which requires that information be produced on which cars will be disconnected from the eCall system.
– When the 2G and 3G network is switched off, the eCall function does not work in some cars. Then you have to sit down and think about how best to handle this, says Calle Beckvid at Mobility Sweden to Carup.
Crisis meeting about 2G and 3G
After receiving bans from the Swedish Consumer Agency, the car industry held a crisis meeting, and promises to improve.
– The answer is yes, the Swedish Consumer Agency is very clear that vehicle manufacturers, importers and dealers must provide consumers with relevant information, if you buy a new or used car you must receive information if something stops working in 2027, says Calle Beckvid to Carup.
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The cars need new hardware
Had the problem been solved by simply updating the software in the car had
This is unfortunately not enough, but all affected cars must be updated with new components for the eCall system to continue working.
– It is not enough to have software, you must have hardware as well. It is generally not enough to do a software update, if it had been, this would have been manageable, says Calle Beckvid to Carup.
Telia has promised to keep its old network alive until the end of 2027.
At the beginning of the summer, the Swedish Transport Agency estimated that 300,000 cars risk being banned from driving when the 2G and 3G networks are shut down.
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