End of 2G and 3G: after SFR and Orange, Bouygues’ turn to announce its dates

The operator has just presented its timetable for stopping EDGE and 3G services on French territory. Rest assured, the end clap is not expected for several years.

The 3G network will soon be ancient history in France, replaced by 4G, which is now hegemonic, and 5G which, slowly but surely, is beginning to find a place for itself and to grab market share, driven by manufacturers. of smartphones and the renewal of terminals.

Game over in 2029 for Bouygues Telecom’s 2G

Bouygues Telecom will therefore put an end to its old 2G and 3G networks. The mobile operator’s BtoB market director, Jean-Christophe Ravaux, gave the information to our colleagues atDigital Factory and announced that the 2G network will be deactivated in 2026. The 3G antennas will be decommissioned 3 years later, in 2029.

The free frequencies will be reallocated to the operator’s 4G and 5G frequencies, thus decongesting an already congested network and providing more coverage in rural areas.

These few years of delay will allow companies that use the operator’s 2G network to adapt and modify their equipment. Mr. Ravaux recalls in this interview that Bouygues Telecom is the number 1 operator among lift manufacturers, and its 2G frequencies are used for emergency calls. Maintenance and update operations to change SIM cards and network equipment will therefore have to be carried out, hence the early announcement of this shutdown.

France exclusively covered in 4G/5G by 2030

A few days earlier, SFR had presented a similar schedule, with 2G frequencies extinguished in 2026, then in 2028 for 3G in order to switch exclusively to 4G on this date.

Orange is the operator that will hasten the end of 3G the fastest, with a planned shutdown from 2025. The EDGE network will be supported until 2030. The incumbent operator, formerly owned by the State, prefers to play the watch and again guarantee that equipment connected to the network, for example alarm systems for individuals or cash dispensers, remain usable until they are replaced by new 4G-compatible models.

Source : Digital Factory