3G mobile: will the UK network switch-off affect you?
Vodafone has announced plans to switch off its ageing 3G network next year to focus on using the freed-up spectrum to expand its 4G and 5G networks. Here we explore what impact the move might have.
Launched at the turn of the century, 3G spectrum heralded the start of the transition of the simple mobile phone to the bells-and-whistles smartphones most of the public own today.
From video-calling and accessing services such as banking and online shopping to watching Premier League highlights, 3G spectrum ushered in the mobile enabled-era of the wider digital revolution.
Mobile operators spent a staggering £22.5bn at the auction of the UK spectrum in 2000, as the promise of billions in new revenues from enhanced usage beyond texts and phone calls fuelled a furious bidding war. The Hutchison-owned Three launched the UK’s first 3G network in 2003.
The UK’s 3G networks were state of the art two decades ago, but the technology has been superseded by more powerful and efficient 4G and 5G networks.
As most mobile phone users have upgraded to smartphones over the years, 3G is becoming obsolete. Today less than 4% of the data used by Vodafone customers is on its 3G network, and at BT-owned EE it is just 2%, compared with about 30% as recently as 2016.
Mobile operators are seeking to retire 3G networks and use the spectrum to bolster 4G and 5G services.
BT, which owns mobile brands including EE and Plusnet, has previously said that there are between 2 million and 3 million people using 3G handsets across all UK mobile networks.
Many of these are older phone owners who have preferred to stick with simple-to-use devices rather than be enticed by smartphones. Some have kept a 3G-enabled version as a fallback option in case they lose their main
Read more on theguardian.com
