2016 is 2 years away
That said, the 2016 date isn't a scheduled or calendar event...it's no different than the AMPS sunset. All it means is they're stopping support on the network and it may or may not be functional for a period of time afterwards, even years, because historically, that's what happened with the AMPS network.
Uplink offers the correct cable which would, IMHO be a better solution rather than bashing the connector together.
The issue, at least in my area of the country, is everyone is hung up on 4G this and that....it must be 4G and there's a host of issues that come into play when you're not in a saturated 4G market. The coverage is generally limited to the greater metro areas and still varies widely. That factually affects the performance as the cells end up switching back and forth. Many hours on the phone with Uplink, Honeywell and C24 about this issue.
Not saying it's not coming, but the price offset is pretty large when comparing devices. I know it's a gamble, but I broach the subject on the installs I do...either they buy X or Y. The "guarantee" that Uplink offers, by the time you factor the time involved and costs associated, you're at the price of essentially a new unit anyhow.