3G network switch off - Effect on used cars with in-car SIMS

[dino_jr]

I have had Three notify me they will switch their 3G network soon. I imagine other operators will follow.

What happens to cars with 3G SIMs installed for diagnostics and other features - Need a 4G/5G SIM upgrade?
Also, how can we find out which used cars may have 3G SIMs which may stop working?

[mmm-five]

In the case of BMWs with the 3G SIM, there is only the 2G backup for simple services. I suppose the same will happen when 4G/5G disappears.

In the US, there were some retrofits done to the telematics unit / in-car SIM as part of a soft recall...but no such thing in the UK/EU.

BMW will still happily sell you an over-the-air navi package or connected drive package that they must know will be next to useless.

I just use CarPlay and Waze instead.

But surely it would be simpler/cheaper for car manufacturers to offer an option to use your own phone data so that it can be continually upgraded as you change phones/networks/generations.