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The true GSM 2G is far more reliable than 3G which due to USA lobbying (Qualcomm mostly) was based on the inferior USA 2G CDMA-1.
No cell breathing and if you only need lower data rates for meter reading, traffic light status and home alarms etc then the range and spectrum efficiency is good too. It uses only 0.2 MHz channels vs the 5 MHz for 3G/HSPA etc. Though originally it was only 14.4K bps or 28.8 k bps (using 2 channels), it can now do about 240 k on many masts, though a better signal is needed. Whereas 3G has severe cell breathing and management issues. The 4G can run in 5MHz, 10 MHz or 20 MHz channels. The 5G is mostly about telco paid access instead of WiFi at hotspots and line-of-sight on higher bands for stadiums, race courses etc.
But anyway even for Cell/Mobile only Kindles the only issue is Time/Date setting if the battery is flat. A jail break and USB network connection allows that to be set. The ebooks bought from Amazon can be Sideloaded / USB. The batteries are available and easy to replace on the old models.
However even a Kobo Libra is only about the price of ten non-discount paper books in a local shop and even if the Kindle is dead the serial number works to remove DRM so you can read your old ebooks on a new ereader.
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