The Elevator Federation has just warned that tens, even hundreds of thousands of devices could be shut down, in accordance with the law… But this is not due to a breakdown or their obsolescence.
When the elevator in your building breaks down, it’s often a hassle! Some people with reduced mobility or the elderly are forced to remain confined to their homes, to avoid having to go down and up the stairs. For those who live on several floors, the task becomes even more complicated, especially when we have decided to go do some shopping. Not to mention young parents, for whom going down the stairs with a baby in their arms and a stroller is far too dangerous. To avoid taking any risks, we wait patiently for this to pass and for the fault to be quickly repaired. But according to the Elevator Federation, tens of thousands of cabins could be shut down in the coming years, and this has nothing to do with a power outage, nor their wear and tear!
What is missing is none other than the emergency call system which allows emergency services to be alerted in the event of a problem. In question? The abandonment of 2G and 3G by telecommunications operators, BFMTV announced on October 9. Concretely, between 2025 and 2026, 2G could be deactivated, and for 3G, operators are counting on 2028 and 2029. And it is precisely thanks to these telecom networks that the alerts work. “It is estimated that it will be necessary to update, or even replace, 232,000 2G communicating systems (…) and 58,000 3G communicating systems,” specifies a press release from the Elevator Federation.
The Federation is calling for a delay of at least two years to give co-owners time to modify the alarm system of their cabins before the disappearance of these two networks, which are still essential to daily life. The organization also reminds that if the alert system does not work, the elevator must legally be stopped. But for the moment, no deadline has yet been granted, which means that elevator manufacturers will have to update quickly before these networks are shut down.