Consumer Confidential: As 5G wireless arrives, older phones are about to become roadkill

Wireless customers nationwide can look forward to a big upgrade in service next year — and possibly some major headaches as millions of older phones become obsolete.

The wireless industry's transition to super-fast, more reliable 5G networks will be finalized over the next 12 months. To free up bandwidth for the switch, older 3G networks are being shut down.

The big catch for consumers: As many as 10 million 3G cellphones now in circulation will be useless.

And while some wireless providers are offering new phones free of charge to customers, those handsets may not be the same as what you now have.

Alvin Tobias discovered this after receiving