As of now, the discontinuation of 2G and 3G services is mostly occurring in Europe and North America, but developing countries are quickly catching up as user habits shift towards faster connections like 4G and 5G.

In the Asia-Pacific region, the first wave of 5G has appeared in the Philippines, South Korea, China, Australia, and New Zealand, followed by Indonesia, India, Thailand, and Malaysia.

According to ABI Research, telecom operators in the Asia-Pacific and Oceania regions will lead in shutting down 2G and 3G networks. Analysts estimate that between 2019 and 2030, 13 telecom operators in the region will discontinue 3G services, followed by four in Europe, two in Africa and South America, and one in North America.

For 2G networks, nine operators in the Asia-Pacific and Oceania regions are expected to shut down services before 2030. Meanwhile, three operators in Africa, North America, and Europe and one in South America will do the same.

Jake Saunders, Vice President of ABI Research, explained that the foundational technologies in developing markets are evolving rapidly due to subscriber demand. This can be seen in the number of deployed 5G networks.

2G/3G devices are becoming less profitable while 5G devices are dropping in price. Saunders noted that telecom operators want to consolidate infrastructure assets, and regulators aim to repurpose spectrum to improve services. The 2G (900MHz and 1800MHz) and 3G (2100MHz) frequencies are useful for indoor and wide-area coverage.

Old technologies like 2G, which is 30 years old, and 3G, nearly 20 years old, are outdated and need modernization. 4G, 5G, and the upcoming 6G represent the next evolution in mobile networks, offering faster speeds, larger capacities, and better operational efficiency. 2G and 3G were designed for basic data and voice services, but today’s technologies far exceed these capabilities and support high-speed data applications like video streaming and emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT).

Nguyen Trong Tinh, Deputy General Director of Viettel Telecom, shared that shutting down 2G provides many benefits for both the public and the telecom operator. Viettel started shutting down 3G in 2022 and completed the process by Q1 2023.

Nguyen Van Son, Director of Viettel Telecom’s Mobile Center, confirmed that nearly all Viettel's network no longer has 3G subscribers, with only a few hotspots remaining to support transmission.

“Viettel is actively transitioning 2G customers to 4G. By the end of 2024, Viettel’s customers will only be 4G and 5G subscribers,” Son added.

Responding to VietNamNet's inquiry about the 3G shutdown timeline, Nguyen Phong Nha stated that during policy development, all telecom operators discussed with the Ministry of Information and Communications and agreed that the global trend is to discontinue older technologies like 2G and 3G. However, to support the transition and minimize user impact, a gradual transition plan is necessary.

Specifically, 2G technology will be phased out in two stages. For 3G, users can continue to use it until September 2028. Besides Viettel, which has already shut down 3G, other operators like VinaPhone and MobiFone will stop 3G services in areas where there are no 3G subscribers or traffic. However, they will maintain their 3G networks to ensure users with 3G devices or 4G devices without VoLTE can still access the network.

“The joint effort to phase out old technologies like 2G and 3G with a relatively long transition period until 2028 will allow users to gradually switch to 4G. This also gives telecom operators time to allocate resources, invest, and optimize their networks, transitioning their subscribers to 4G and 5G. This policy has received unanimous support from telecom operators. I hope the transition plan will be successfully implemented,” Nha said.

Thai Khang