From Newsgroup: uk.tech.broadcast

On 2026/6/8 18:4:44, Tweed wrote:
[]

I wouldnrCOt take something to landfill as soon as I had purchased it as I donrCOt intentionally buy obsolete products.

Intentionally, no. But you'd be pissed off if you bought something only
for it to go obsolete the next day.

Fair enough, _you_ probably wouldn't, as you're tech-savvy and keep
reasonably aware of what's going on; but Joe Public isn't.

I think it would be reasonable to have some legislation prohibiting the
sale of - at least new - equipment which some pending change is going to obsolete - maybe within six months to a year, and with clear warnings on
it for the year. I remember being surprised, in the week before analogue
TV switchoff, to still see new analogue TVs being sold - and that was in
a major chain (Comet IIRR), not just things like petrol stations and
market stalls.

2G staggers on because thererCOs a lot cellular modems connected to monitoring equipment that needs upgrading. Vodafone has announced a 2030 switch off date and Ofcom require a 2033 end date.

Reasonable I suppose. (Though, again, especially if we know that far in advance, there ought to be prohibition of sale of 2G-only kit, such as
[some models of] dumbphones.)

DAB radios that could not support DAB+ were last on general sale around
2020, so perhaps 2030 seems reasonable as a DAB+ only date.

I hadn't realised they'd stopped selling DAB-only sets. (There will
still be lots on the second-hand market, such as in charity shops [who I
don't blame for not knowing]; in mitigation, _most_ of them will also
receive FM so remain usable to some extent - unless they turn _that_ off
too.)
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()ALIS-Ch++(p)Ar++T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Quantum particles: the dreams that stuff is made of - David Moser
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From Newsgroup: uk.tech.broadcast

J. P. Gilliver <G6JPG@255soft.uk> wrote:

On 2026/6/8 18:4:44, Tweed wrote:
[]

I wouldnrCOt take something to landfill as soon as I had purchased it as I >> donrCOt intentionally buy obsolete products.

Intentionally, no. But you'd be pissed off if you bought something only
for it to go obsolete the next day.

Fair enough, _you_ probably wouldn't, as you're tech-savvy and keep reasonably aware of what's going on; but Joe Public isn't.

I think it would be reasonable to have some legislation prohibiting the
sale of - at least new - equipment which some pending change is going to obsolete - maybe within six months to a year, and with clear warnings on
it for the year. I remember being surprised, in the week before analogue
TV switchoff, to still see new analogue TVs being sold - and that was in
a major chain (Comet IIRR), not just things like petrol stations and
market stalls.

2G staggers on because thererCOs a lot cellular modems connected to
monitoring equipment that needs upgrading. Vodafone has announced a 2030
switch off date and Ofcom require a 2033 end date.

Reasonable I suppose. (Though, again, especially if we know that far in advance, there ought to be prohibition of sale of 2G-only kit, such as
[some models of] dumbphones.)

DAB radios that could not support DAB+ were last on general sale around
2020, so perhaps 2030 seems reasonable as a DAB+ only date.

I hadn't realised they'd stopped selling DAB-only sets. (There will
still be lots on the second-hand market, such as in charity shops [who I don't blame for not knowing]; in mitigation, _most_ of them will also
receive FM so remain usable to some extent - unless they turn _that_ off too.)

Well some charity shops still try to sell VHS video tapes. ThererCOs only a handful of DAB chipsets, and nobody is going to manufacture ones that canrCOt do DAB+ anymore.

Half the time folk moan that DAB produces inferior sound, and then when it
gets updated with a codec that can produce better results they moan that
their old codec based radio wonrCOt be compatible.

The BBC kept 405 line TV going for a long time, perhaps longer than
necessary. But TV receivers were a major outlay and UHF coverage wasnrCOt universal. DAB+ receivers cost very little money these days. They start at around -u20 and even a Roberts branded one can be had for -u40. ItrCOs notable that Classic FM has switched to DAB+ only.

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From Newsgroup: uk.tech.broadcast

On 09/06/2026 13:40, J. P. Gilliver wrote:

On 2026/6/8 18:4:44, Tweed wrote:

2G staggers on because thererCOs a lot cellular modems connected to
monitoring equipment that needs upgrading. Vodafone has announced a 2030
switch off date and Ofcom require a 2033 end date.

Reasonable I suppose. (Though, again, especially if we know that far in advance, there ought to be prohibition of sale of 2G-only kit, such as
[some models of] dumbphones.)

The 2G thing is mandated by the roaming agreements between operators all
over Europe, if not the world. O2 started disabling it for incoming
roamers in July 2025.

It is also being kept here as a fall back in remote areas for emergency
calls where 4G is not reliable enough.

DAB radios that could not support DAB+ were last on general sale around
2020, so perhaps 2030 seems reasonable as a DAB+ only date.

I hadn't realised they'd stopped selling DAB-only sets. (There will
still be lots on the second-hand market, such as in charity shops [who I don't blame for not knowing]; in mitigation, _most_ of them will also
receive FM so remain usable to some extent - unless they turn _that_ off too.)

I doubt it was a pre considered decision, just the result of the chip
makers retooling their lines, so the old chips fell off the price lists.
(The new chips support both codecs) It wouldn't surprise me if the new
chips are pin compatible with the old ones... The RF side is the same,
as are the user controls and displays, barring market led layout changes.
--
Tciao for Now!

John.
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From Newsgroup: uk.tech.broadcast

On 09/06/2026 13:40, J. P. Gilliver wrote:

On 2026/6/8 18:4:44, Tweed wrote:

2G staggers on because thererCOs a lot cellular modems connected to
monitoring equipment that needs upgrading. Vodafone has announced a 2030
switch off date and Ofcom require a 2033 end date.

Reasonable I suppose. (Though, again, especially if we know that far in advance, there ought to be prohibition of sale of 2G-only kit, such as
[some models of] dumbphones.)

Just found this. There is a (voluntary) plan for closing down 2G in the UK.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/2g-switch-off-charter/2g-switch-off-charter
--
Tciao for Now!

John.
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From Newsgroup: uk.tech.broadcast

John Williamson <johnwilliamson@btinternet.com> wrote:

On 09/06/2026 13:40, J. P. Gilliver wrote:

On 2026/6/8 18:4:44, Tweed wrote:

2G staggers on because thererCOs a lot cellular modems connected to
monitoring equipment that needs upgrading. Vodafone has announced a 2030 >>> switch off date and Ofcom require a 2033 end date.

Reasonable I suppose. (Though, again, especially if we know that far in
advance, there ought to be prohibition of sale of 2G-only kit, such as
[some models of] dumbphones.)

The 2G thing is mandated by the roaming agreements between operators all over Europe, if not the world. O2 started disabling it for incoming
roamers in July 2025.

It is also being kept here as a fall back in remote areas for emergency calls where 4G is not reliable enough.

DAB radios that could not support DAB+ were last on general sale around
2020, so perhaps 2030 seems reasonable as a DAB+ only date.

I hadn't realised they'd stopped selling DAB-only sets. (There will
still be lots on the second-hand market, such as in charity shops [who I
don't blame for not knowing]; in mitigation, _most_ of them will also
receive FM so remain usable to some extent - unless they turn _that_ off
too.)

I doubt it was a pre considered decision, just the result of the chip
makers retooling their lines, so the old chips fell off the price lists. (The new chips support both codecs) It wouldn't surprise me if the new
chips are pin compatible with the old ones... The RF side is the same,
as are the user controls and displays, barring market led layout changes.

The DAB tick mark scheme was an attempt to drive DAB+ support (amongst
other things)

https://getdigitalradio.com/industry/

It would be interesting to know what proportion of DAB receivers in
*active* use are unable to receive DAB+. Clearly Classic FM didnrCOt feel switching to DAB+ was going to lose them a significant number of listeners.


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From Newsgroup: uk.tech.broadcast

John Williamson <johnwilliamson@btinternet.com> wrote:

On 09/06/2026 13:40, J. P. Gilliver wrote:

On 2026/6/8 18:4:44, Tweed wrote:

2G staggers on because thererCOs a lot cellular modems connected to
monitoring equipment that needs upgrading. Vodafone has announced a 2030 >>> switch off date and Ofcom require a 2033 end date.

Reasonable I suppose. (Though, again, especially if we know that far in
advance, there ought to be prohibition of sale of 2G-only kit, such as
[some models of] dumbphones.)

Just found this. There is a (voluntary) plan for closing down 2G in the UK.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/2g-switch-off-charter/2g-switch-off-charter

One of the bigger issues is the number of phones that canrCOt manage VOLTE
for voice calls. ie they arenrCOt very good 4G devices. They used to fall
back to 3G for voice, but now thatrCOs gone they rely on 2G.

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