A Complete Overview of 2G & 3G Sunsets

Latest update on January 20, 2022

Many of our customers are concerned about the upcoming shutdown of 2G and 3G networks around the world. You are probably thinking about it too. We have compiled all the available information into one article, so you are in the right place.

The shutdown of 2G and 3G networks is commonly referred to as sunsetting. Telecom companies are looking to shut down their 2G or 3G networks because they want to free up resources for the upcoming 5G deployments.

If your module is designed to use 2G or 3G, the phasing out of the network may cause problems for many devices. So it's wise to prepare for a future without 2G and 3G networks.

2G and 3G are still essential for IoT and M2M devices because they are cheaper than 4G modules. In addition, megabyte prices are cheaper and global coverage is reliable. Moreover, the speeds of 4G are not relevant for IoT or M2M devices that send minimal amounts of data. The slow 2G connection is still fast enough for today's standards.

From our side, we can say that for truly global deployments, it does not make sense to commit your device to 2G or 3G only. Or even to have a module that allows you to switch between the two. However, if you are only targeting specific countries or regions where they are still a viable option, we can not stop you.

Below is a list of shutdowns that have been announced or have already taken place.

Africa:

South Africa

Telkom

• 2G shutdown date: March 2020

Vodacom

• 2G shutdown: planned, but no specific dates are given yet

Asia:

Bangladesh

Grameenphone

• 2G shutdown by the end of 2025
• 3G shutdown by the end of 2026

China

• Countrywide 2G and 3G shutdown: planned, no specific dates given

Unicom

• 2G shutdown: end-2021

China Mobile

• 3G shutdown by the end of 2021

Indionesia

XL Excelcom

• 2G shutdown by the end of 2022

India

Airtel

• 2G shutdown by the end of 2023
• 3G shutdown: March 2020

Vodafone

• 3G shutdown sometime in 2022

IDEA India

• 3G shutdown in 2020

Japan

• Nationwide 2G shutdown in 2012

NTT DoCoMo

• 3G shutdown date: March 2026¹
  

KDDI

• 3G shutdown date: March 2026
  

SoftBank

• 3G shutdown date: June 2024¹
  

Hong Kong

All carriers

• 2G phase out from 2020

Macau, SAR        

Hutchison

• 2G Shutdown in June 2015¹

SmarTone

• 2G Shutdown in June 2015¹

CTM

• 2G shutdown in June 2015¹

Malaysia

All carriers due to governmental regulation

• 3G shutdown by the end of 2021

Digi

• 2G shutdown by the end of 2024

Myanmar

• Telenor 2G Shutdown scheduled for 2024
• 3G shutdown planned for 2025

Pakistan

Telenor

• 2G shutdown planned for 2025
• 3G shutdown planned for 2023

Mobilink

• 2G and 3G sunset in 2020

Singapore

M1

• 2G shutdown date: April 01, 2017

• 3G will start shutting down from 2025+¹

  Singtel
• 2G shutdown date: April 01, 2017
• 3G will start shutting down from 2025+¹

StarHub

• 2G shutdown date: April 01, 2017
• 3G will start shutting down from 2025+¹

South Korea

• Countrywide 2G shut down as of July 2021

Taiwan

All carriers due to governmental regulation

• 2G Shutdown: July 1, 2017
• 3G Shutdown: December 31, 2018

Thailand

All carriers due to governmental regulation

• 2G Shutdown: October 31, 2019

DTAC TriNet

• 3G shutdown at the end of 2025

Vietnam

All carriers due to governmental regulation

• Countrywide 2G and 3G shutdown planned for 2022

Caribbean:

Cayman Island  

• Digicel cayman 2G was terminated on July 1, 2022

South America:

Ecuador

CNT

• 2G CDMA was terminated on December 21, 2014

Europe:

Vodafone across Europe

• 2G Shutdown: Not until 2025
• 3G Shutdown: Throughout 2020-2021

Austria

A1

• 3G shutdown at the end of 2025

Bulgaria

A1 (Mobitel)

• 3G shutdown at the end of 2025

Croatia

T-Mobile

• 3G shutdown at the end of 2022

Czech Republic

O2

• 3G Shutdown: November 30, 2021

T-Mobile

• 2G shutdown at the end of 2025
• 3G Shutdown: December 1, 2021

Denmark

Three

• 3G phase out at the end of 2021

TT-Netvaerket       

• 3G phase out starts from 04.2021

Telenor

• 2G phase out at the end of 2025
• 3G phase out  starts from 04.2021

Telia

• 2G phase out at the end of 2025
• 3G phase out starts from 04.2021

TDC

• 3G phase out starts from end-2022

Estonia

Telia

• 2G and 3G phase out in 2025

Finland

DNA

• 2G phase out in 2025
• 3G phase out in 2023

Elisa

• 3G phase out in 2023

TeliaSonera

• 2G and 3G phase out in 2025

France

SFR

• 2G available until 2030

Germany

Deutsche Telekom (T-Mobile)

• 3G shutdown: June 30, 2021

Telefónica / O2

• 3G shutdown: completed by end of 2022

Vodafone

• 2G shutdown in 2025
• 3G shutdown: June 30, 2021

Greece

Cosmote

• 3G shutdown: September 2021

Italy

Vodafone

• 2G shutdown in 2025
• 3G shutdown: June 30, 2021

Ireland

Hutchinson 3G

• 2G phase out by the end of 2021
• 3G phase out starts at 2023

O2

• 2G phase out in 2025
• 3G phase out starts at 2023

Latvia

Telia

• 3G shutdown in 2022

Lithuania

Telia 

• 2G phase out in 2025
• 3G shutdown in 2022

Bite

• 2G shutdown: 2026-2028
• 3G shutdown: 2024-2025

Luxembourg

Post Luxembourg

• 3G shutdown in July 2022

Malta

EPIC

• 2G phase out in 2025

Montenegro

M-Tel

• 2G phase out in 2025

Netherlands

T-Mobile

• 2G shutdown: June 2023
• 3G phase out expected in 2023

KPN

• 2G shutdown until 2025
• 3G shutdown January 2022

Vodafone

• 2G available until 2025
• 3G shutdown since February 2020

Norway

Telenor 

• 2G Shutdown: December 31, 2025 
• 3G Shutdown: December 31, 2021

Com4 

• 2G shutdown in 2025
• 3G shutdown in 2020

Telia 

• 3G phase out in 2021

Poland

T-Mobile

• 2G shutdown: expected in 2024-2025

Portugal

Vodafone

• 2G phase out in 2025
• 3G shutdown: March 2022

Spain

Telefonica Espana (Movistar)

• 3G shutdown: 2025

Vodafone

• 2G phase out in 2025

Slovakia

Slovak Telecom

• 3G shutdown: December 2021

Sweden

• 2G and 3G phase out nationwide in 2025

Switzerland

Swisscom (Switzerland and Liechtenstein) 

• 2G Shutdown: December 31, 2020

Sunrise Communications

• 2G shutdown: end-2022
• 3G shutdown: 2024 (already downsizing frequencies and capacity)

United Kingdom

BT (EE)

• 3G shutdown: 2022

Vodafone UK

• 3G shutdown by 2024

North America:

Canada

• Bell Mobility 2G Shutdown: 31.01.2017-30.04.2019 (depending on the region)
• Telus Mobility 2G Shutdown: 31 May, 2017

Rogers Wireless

• 2G on 1900 MHz Shutdown: March 31, 2021 (will continue to work on 850MHz until December 31, 2021)
• 2G complete Shutdown: December 31, 2021
• 3G on 1900 MHz Shutdown: March 31, 2021 (Continued 3G support on 850 MHz until 2025)

SakTel

• 2G CDMA shutdown July 21, 2017

United States

AT&T 

• 2G Shutdown: January 2017
• 3G Shutdown: February 22, 2022

Verizon

• 2G Shutdown: December 31, 2019 
• 3G available until December 31, 2022

T-Mobile 

• 2G shutdown date: December 31, 2022 
• 3G Shutdown: October 1, 2021
• 3G Shutdown (formerly Sprint): January 1, 2022

Cricket wireless

• 3G shutdown: February 2022

South America:

Ecuador

CNT

• 2G CDMA was terminated on December 21, 2014

Mexico

• AT&T 2G shutdown: 2019
• AT&T 3G shutdown: February 2022
• Telefonica (Movistar) 2G shutdown by January 2021

Middle East:

Israel

Pelephone

• 2G CDMA shutdown date: July 30, 2017

Jordan

Umniah Mobile Company

• 2G shutdown by the end of 2021

Saudi Arabia

STC

• 2G and 3G shutdown sometime in 2022

Zain

• 2G shutdown sometime in 2022

Mobily

• 2G shutdown sometime in 2022

UAE

• Countrywide 2G shutdown by the end of 2022

Oceania:

Australia

Telstra

• 2G Shutdown: December 1, 2016
• 3G Shutdown: March 25, 2019 (turned off 3G connectivity on 2100MHz, continued support for 3G services on 850MHz)
• 3G in 850MHz available until 2030.

Optus

• 2G Shutdown:  August 1, 2017

Vodafone

• 2G Shutdown: March 31, 2018
• 3G Shutdown: March 18, 2019 (turned off 2100MHz, continued support for 3G on 900MHz)

New Zealand

Spark

• 2G CDMA shutdown date: July 31, 2012

2degrees

• 2G shutdown date: March 15, 2018

Vodafone

• 2G shutdown in 2025¹

Sunsets do not have to be the end of your deployment dreams. If you plan properly, you can avoid all the headaches by choosing the right hardware for your deployment region from the start. You can read more about the different modems that support 2G, 3G, 4G and eSIM here.

We will also update this article or make new posts when new announcements are made by telecom companies regarding their 2G or 3G shutdowns around the world.

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References:
1. GSMA Legacy mobile network rationalisation, Experiences of 2G and 3G migrations in Asia-Pacific, May 2020