A page will turn in a few years at SFR. 2G and 3G networks will be turned off. Orange, before him, announced a similar schedule.
The twilight of 2G and 3G has come. These networks will belong to the history books shortly, including in France. Mobile phone operators are reorganizing their use of radio frequencies, essential for telephoning or surfing the net with your smartphone. This revision goes through the abandonment of the oldest generations.
At SFR, the decision was made to turn off the 2G and 3G networks respectively in 2026 and 2028. In a press release sent on January 25, the operator explains that it wants to reallocate the frequencies occupied by these two standards for the benefit of its connections. the most recent — 4G, which is now ubiquitous, and 5G, which is being rolled out across the country.
Networks that will be over 30 years old when they die
In hollow, SFR considers that 2G and 3G have had their day: these two networks will be more than thirty years old at the time of their extinction (2G dates from 1991 and 3G from 2000). Above all, this will be for the benefit of the public: the recycling of frequencies from 2G and 3G to 4G and 5G “ [apportera] more throughput and [améliorera] still responsiveness and voice quality. »
Frequency reallocation is a common process in the telecom industry. Over the past decade, carriers have won the right from mobile phone regulators to use particular bands for 4G that were once used for earlier generations. This is how the 1800 MHz band became a 4G band.
SFR is the second operator to publicly mention the death of 2G and 3G. At the start of 2022, Orange also set its timetable: 2025 for 2G and 2028 for 3G. It too will recover the released bands to beef up the range and capacity of its 4G and 5G networks. Sooner or later, Bouygues Telecom and Free Mobile will also be there.
What consequences?
In the case of the general public, the disappearance of 2G and 3G in three and five years will be invisible: 4G has been operational since 2011 (4G coverage of the population and territory exceeds 99 and 91% respectively). By the deadlines set by the operators, these thresholds will have increased further – the same for 5G, which has been deployed since the end of 2020. In addition, the average renewal of a smartphone is around two to four years.
For industrial and professional uses, more particular attention will be necessary to take this turn. There are still terminals and equipment based on these generations. For example, the end of 3G in the United States, triggered earlier, has repercussions on the connectivity of Tesla cars (2G was killed in 2017).
The switch to all-4G and 5G raises questions about the sustainability of certain questions, since devices have been launched on generations before. For SFR, there is no reason for the transition to go wrong. The operator says it will support its customers, individuals and professionals, while pushing solutions to take over.
In addition, the operator is also betting on the ” natural cycle of renewal “, which pushes the market to seek newer products. It remains to be seen whether this cycle will align well with the first deadline set by SFR, which arrives in three years.
Help us build the future of Numerama by answering this survey!