On January 1, 2023, the US telecom operator Verizon announced that its 3G network was officially shut down.

So far, the three largest operators in the United States, AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile, have all shut down their 2G/3G networks. At the same time, some small operators are also canceling their 2G/3G networks across the country. We only focus on the construction and operation of 4G and 5G .

Why do these operators have to turn off the 2G/3G network? There are several reasons:

1. At present, 2G and 3G networks occupy high-quality spectrum resources of 900-1800MHz. If this part of resources is released for 4G and 5G, it can provide users with more advantageous services, so operators want to release them.
2. There are fewer and fewer 2G and 3G users, and everyone has begun to migrate to 4G and 5G, and 2G/3G are parallel, which leads to an increase in operating costs. Everyone shuts down 2G and 3G networks, which can save a lot of manpower and material resources.

So not only the United States, according to GSA data, 142 operators in 56 countries or regions around the world have completed, planned or are shutting down 2G/3G networks.

In China, although the three major operators are also planning to clear the 2G/3G network in an orderly manner, they have not really completed the clearing yet. At present, the three major operators are all 2G/3G/4G/5G four-network parallel.

As for why, the biggest problem is not mobile phone users, but IoT users. At present, the vast majority of mobile phone users have migrated to 4G/5G, and there are quite a few mobile phones that only support 2G/3G, which can basically be ignored, so mobile phone user migration is not a problem.

However, due to the long history of domestic 2G and 3G network development, there is currently a large-scale infrastructure using 2G/3G networks.

For example, gas meters, water meters, metering instruments, etc. all use 2G/3G networks. The service life of these meters is very long, even as long as 10 or 20 years.

These meters are currently using 2G/3G networks, and it is difficult to migrate to 4G/5G, because users do not have the need to change meters, nor can they force users to change meters directly, resulting in the operator’s 2G/3G withdrawal progress is not particularly smooth .

But it is undeniable that for the rational use of spectrum, resource saving, and better development of 5G, 6G, 7G, etc., network technologies such as 2G, 3G, and 4G will develop step by step as before. Step by step retreat, no one can stop it, it’s just a matter of time.