As the deadline approaches for the disappearance of the 2G mobile network, car manufacturers are seeking to postpone it at all costs. There is a very specific reason for this, we will explain.
THE 2G and 3G mobile networks must disappear. We have known this for several years and the various operators have already taken the lead in preparing for the extinction of these now obsolete standards. The exact date varies. SFR estimates that it will be finished between 2026 and 2028, while Orange will bury 2G in 2025 then 3G in 2028 for example. With 4G soon covering 100% of France and an ever-increasing deployment of 5G, in theory we have little reason to be upset. Yet, an entire industry is campaigning to push back the deadline.
THE Car manufacturers have seized the European Commission so that she can investigate the consequences of the end of the 2G network. For what ? Because it is on it that the eCall system is based, which has been required to equip all vehicles on the Old Continent since 2018. It is an emergency call button allowing you to contact the 112 (European number). It’s very far from being a gimmick. In the United States, Mercedes-Benz had to recall more than a million cars because of a bug in eCall. Automobile Platform (PFA), the main union in the sector to which French manufacturers belong, believes that the service is currently installed in more than 36 million vehicles in Europe. Putting an end to 2G would therefore be extremely problematic.
Car manufacturers fear the disappearance of the 2G network
A Spanish study firm was commissioned by the European Commission and reportedly concluded thatit would be economically viable to maintain 2G in every EU country. When questioned, France indicated that it did not have a fixed position on the question, while recalling thatit cannot legally prevent operators from cutting their 2G and 3G networks. Neither does the European Electronic Communications Code. Especially since 2G frequencies are supposed to be reused for 5Gwhich Europe wants to see almost everywhere by 2030.
Operators and car manufacturers are passing the buck. The former claim to have warned the latter for years, who respond that it is not up to them to propose an alternative solution. In February 2024, Europe published a text requiring the integration of the system NG eCall (“New Generation”), which uses 4G and 5G. New vehicles must be equipped with it from January 1, 2026. But for those who have the old eCall system, what will happen? The Commission does not say this.
Solutions are possible, but they will cost billions of euros
The first possibility is therefore to maintain 2G and 3G networks in Europe while the entire vehicle fleet switches to the new version of eCall. Tony Jaux, director of the Connected Vehicles program at the Automobile Platform, calculates that “if we start from 2026 with the first obligations to implement the new eCall, then the 2G or 3G networks should be maintained until 2041“. The union estimates that even if it stops in 2035, it would cost between 1.2 and 1.5 billion euros per year to all member countries.
Second solution: have the old eCall replaced with the new one. Not to mention the cost of the operation, estimated at 13 billion euros by the PFA, it would be a logistical nightmare for Tony Jaux. “We have to recall all the vehicles, but will people come? And any change to a vehicle in a safety-related system must be approved for its return to the road. This would mean that hundreds or even thousands of vehicle models would have to be approved. Additionally, we have no control over what happens after-sales, so there is no guarantee that the newly installed device is secure.“.
Assuming that one or the other of the possibilities is retained, telephone operators and automobile manufacturers are not prepared to put their hands in their pockets. The question of financing therefore remains unresolved. There remains a third solution, but it is unlikely that it will be favored by the European Union. The idea would simply be to remove the obligation to integrate eCall in vehicles. In any case, it is now up to the Commission to make a decision.
Source: The Tribune