Research to delay 2G mobile shutdown time to around September 2026

This decision is based on the actual situation of the impact of storms and floods, as well as recommendations from telecommunications businesses. “Storm No. 3 has affected access to telecommunications services, and users’ interest in this conversion is no longer high,” Mr. Nha said at the regular press conference of the Ministry of Information and Communications held on the afternoon of September 13.

The leader of the Telecommunications Department also said that the delay in shutting down the signal is to help network operators have time to inform subscribers who need to switch, and at the same time support people with push-button phones integrated with 4G function. The specific time of shutting down the signal will be informed later.

According to statistics, as of September 8, there were 3.4 million 2G subscribers in the market, a sharp decrease compared to the number of 11 million subscribers in May 2024.

Mr. Nha said that after having a new roadmap, telecommunications businesses will base on the actual situation to plan to turn off 2G waves in each area, ensuring to maintain service quality during the transition process, best meeting the needs of maintaining services for users.

Previously, the Ministry of Information and Communications announced a roadmap for shutting down 2G waves. Accordingly, the shutdown of 2G technology will be carried out in 2 phases. Phase 1, in September 2024, will stop serving subscribers using phones that only use 2G technology (2G only).

For the next two years, 2G waves will be maintained to provide support for smartphones that do not have integrated VolTE calling features as well as maintain IoT services such as journey monitoring. By September 2026, the 2G system will be completely discontinued.