Challenges for the 2G shutdown roadmap

SGGP 02/10/2023 09:51

The Ministry of Information and Communications has issued a document requiring that the phasing out of 2G mobile communication technology nationwide be completed no later than September 2024.

Mobile businesses need to implement solutions to encourage subscribers to switch to 4G and 5G smartphones, striving to achieve the goal of having less than 5% of subscribers using 2G by the end of 2023.

According to statistics from September, the Ministry of Information and Communications reported that there are still 23.1 million 2G subscribers nationwide, a decrease of nearly 3 million compared to the same period in 2022. Of these, over 50% are active subscribers who pay their fees in full to their mobile network operators. These include the elderly, retired officials, farmers, and people in remote areas who only need basic calls and text messages on their old "feature phones." In addition, some customers want to keep their premium phone numbers or use expensive phones like Mobiado or Vertu. Therefore, ensuring the rights and changing the usage habits of this customer segment is something that mobile network operators need to carefully consider.

Currently, with a mobile network operator deploying the new 5G technology, maintaining too many parallel technologies like 2G, 3G, and 4G would be very costly and inefficient. Around the world , some countries shut down 2G networks, while others shut down 3G networks first. Vietnam has chosen to shut down 2G to promote the achievement of the goals in the national digital transformation program approved by the Prime Minister for 2025 and 2030, which is to popularize 4G and 5G mobile networks and smartphones to every Vietnamese citizen.

To prepare for the shutdown of 2G networks, the Ministry of Information and Communications has issued national technical standards for terrestrial mobile communication terminal equipment. Accordingly, mobile communication terminal equipment manufactured or imported into Vietnam must support 4G technology or higher. Currently, some network operators have also begun gradually shutting down 2G base stations in areas with good 3G and 4G coverage and low demand for 2G.

In recent times, the Ministry of Information and Communications has guided users to proactively switch to smartphones; mobile companies have developed plans and supported users in this transition… aiming to achieve the common goal of phasing out older technologies; and at the same time contributing to the goal of smartphone普及 and accelerating the national digital transformation process. However, the story of phasing out 2G with over 23 million 2G subscribers also presents a major challenge in this roadmap.

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