2
In France, Orange is giving itself six years to turn off 2G and 3G networks that are less and less used, in favor of 4G and 5G. In the rest of Europe, the signal will be completely cut off by 2030.
© Getty – Martin Schutt
It’s the end of an era in the world of telecoms. Indeed, Orange presented its roadmap at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona to begin the gradual shutdown of its 2G and 3G networks in Europe. The closure of the latter will take place in several stages, between 2025 and 2030.
In France, the French operator is giving itself six years to turn off these two less and less used networks, in favor of 4G and 5G. Thus, the shutdown of 2G is planned by the end of 2025, while that of 3G is planned for 2028. both mobile technologies must have migrated to 4G or 5G networks to ensure the continuity of their services.
2G stopped in 2030 throughout Europe
In the rest of Europe, 3G will be discontinued by 2025 in Belgium, Spain, Luxembourg, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. As for 2G, it will be phased out between 2025 and 2030. “The radio frequencies currently used for 2G and 3G will be used to improve the capacity and coverage of 4G and 5G networks, both in urban and rural areas”specifies Orange.
By unveiling the stages of the shutdown of 2G and 3G in Europe, Orange is sending a signal more to businesses than to individuals, who have mostly acquired a terminal equipped with 4G or 5G in recent years. years. It is mainly companies that manage elevators or payment terminals affected by this announcement. These now know the deadlines for switching their infrastructures to the latest generation mobile networks.
The end of the copper network, the other Orange project
In addition to stopping 2G and 3G, Orange will also stop its investments in its aging network of copper telephone lines, on which the xDSL technologies still used by a majority of French people are based. The dismantling of its historic network must be completed in 2030. In total, Orange agents will have to remove and prepare for recycling more than a million kilometers of cables.
The resale of the metals will allow Orange to partially finance the operation, knowing that other indirect gains are at stake: the operator estimates the maintenance bill for this aging network at 500 million euros per year, while fiber consumes on average three times less energy than the old network. This will be so much money saved when the entire infrastructure of the country is based on fiber optics.