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The reason for temporarily shutting down 2G is to ensure information needs during the necessary time, enough for businesses and people to promptly overcome the damage caused by storm No. 3. Photo: TK

On September 13, 2024, Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung signed and issued Circular No. 10/2024/TT-BTTTT on "Suspension of the implementation of the provisions at Point a, Clause 2, Article 4 of Circular No. 03/2024/TT-BTTTT and Point a, Clause 2, Article 4 of Circular No. 04/2024/TT-BTTTT" (On stopping the provision of services for subscriber terminals that only support GSM standards for a period of 1 month (from September 16, 2024 to October 15, 2024)). The reason for temporarily suspending the shutdown of 2G waves according to Circular No. 10 is to ensure information needs during the necessary time, enough for businesses and people to promptly overcome the damage of storm No. 3. This is a historic storm that has caused severe damage to network operators and affected customer communications.

Mr. Nguyen Phong Nha, Deputy Director of the Department of Telecommunications, said that currently, mobile network operators are making every effort to convert 2G Only subscribers. As of September 8, 2024, the number of subscribers of network operators is about 3.4 million 2G Only subscribers. Compared to July 2024, within more than 1 month, the number of 2G Only subscribers decreased by more than 5.3 million subscribers. This is a very remarkable result, demonstrating the strong direction of the Ministry of Information and Communications and the seriousness of mobile businesses, to implement the plan to stop 2G technology.

Sharing with VietNamNet earlier, Mr. Bui Duc Nam, Director of the Department of Information and Communications of Hoa Binh, said that the supply of 4G phones is currently scarce. If this problem is resolved, the shutdown of 2G waves in Hoa Binh province will follow the roadmap set by the Ministry of Information and Communications.

Referring to this issue, Mr. Vo Minh Tuan, Deputy Director of VNPT VinaPhone Hoa Binh said that in early 2024, VNPT Hoa Binh had about 9,900 2G Only subscribers. Most of the customers using 2G Only are the elderly, do not need to access the Internet, households with economic difficulties and some customers use 2G "brick" phones as secondary SIMs.

Mr. Vo Minh Tuan shared that the 2G shutdown is being strongly implemented, but is also facing obstacles because there are not enough 4G feature phones on the market to provide to customers. VNPT Hoa Binh also wants to buy these models to support customers to switch to 4G, but currently the sellers do not have enough equipment. Currently, VNPT Hoa Binh is looking for many sources to be able to buy 4G feature phones to provide to customers. If there are enough 4G feature phones, VNPT Hoa Binh will ensure to transfer 100% of 2G Only customers to 4G according to the roadmap set by the Ministry of Information and Communications.

According to Mr. Truong Minh Hoang, Director of Business Development Services of Mobile World, sales of 4G feature phones at this chain of stores have been increasing recently. The number of 4G feature phones sold each day is about 10,000 units.

“For 4G feature phones, there are only a few domestic manufacturers: Nokia, Masstel, Itel and Mobell. Except for Nokia, the remaining 3 suppliers do not have enough production capacity to serve the 2G subscriber migration. If a large number of devices are required in a short period of time, it will also cause difficulties for retailers in not having enough products to sell,” said a representative of Mobile World.

From the perspective of a device manufacturer, Mr. Vu Thanh Trung, Product Director of Oppo Vietnam, said that to meet the demand for low-cost smartphones, from now until the end of the year, the company will launch many smartphone models under 5 million VND.

2G phone users are mainly in mountainous and rural areas with low incomes, so launching a phone model with factors such as good durability and long battery life is always a top priority for Oppo.

At the recent 2G shutdown seminar organized by VietNamNet newspaper in collaboration with the Telecommunications Department, many retail agents and mobile phone manufacturers pledged to try to meet people's needs as much as possible, and not let there be a shortage of devices when 2G is shut down.