The 3G switch off is underway with Vodafone, EE and Three planning to retire their 3G networks in 2024. O2 are set to follow in 2025. 3G is the technology that led to widespread adoption of smartphones but it’s over twenty years old and it’s become outdated.

4G and 5G networks provide faster and more resilient services. 4G can deliver seven times faster download speeds and 5G can achieve even more with realistic download speeds in excess of 100Mbps. This means that calls, texts and mobile data are better served by the newer technologies.

The retirement of 3G allows the networks to repurpose 3G frequencies to strengthen 4G and 5G services. The vast majority of call and data traffic is carried by 4G and 5G already, and improvements with the quality of 4G and the 5G footprint mean that any impact of the withdrawal will be minimal. Importantly 2G will remain in place so legacy M2M services will continue to function.

If you’re uncertain what the 3G switch off means for you, let us know.