3G and Non-VoLTE Bands for Sierra Wireless Airlink

The Issue

AT&T and Verizon made a few announcements near the beginning of 2022 stating that 3G networks are being decommissioned. As a result previously Ignition-supported Sierra Wireless Airlink routers (RV50/RV50X, RV55/RV55X, the Raven XE, the LS300, and the LX40) will need to be either replaced or re-configured. Under both AT&T and Verizon’s announcements, it was also stated that some LTE devices may also be affected depending on its ability to support HD Voice / VoLTE. 

The two main factors that will cause Airlink routers to stop connecting:

• The Airlink router is provisioned with SIM cards using 3G networks only.
• The Airlink router does not provide VoLTE services.

For more information about Airlink devices that will be affected by the 3G decommission, see the the release notes from Sierra Wireless:

https://source.sierrawireless.com/resources/airlink/software_reference_docs/technical-bulletin/sierra-wireless-technical-bulletin---at-and-t-3g-sunset/#sthash.Dcln7Jt4.dpbs

The Solution

For now, Sierra Wireless has suggested that all Airlink routers powered by ALEOS are updated to 4.16 or higher. 

Routers that are still LTE-capable may need to be reconfigured to avoid using any 3G or 2G fallback. This can be confirmed under ACEManager’s WAN/Cellular tab. Navigate to Cellular > General > and Set Setting for Band to "ALL LTE".

As of this moment, development is currently looking into other SMS solutions and device alternatives.