After decades of existence, 2G technology has gradually become obsolete. That is why many countries around the world have been gradually shutting down 2G waves to make room for new network technologies.

As of June 2024, about 37 countries have completely turned off their 2G networks. Of these, 25 countries are in the Americas, 7 in Asia, 4 in Europe, and 1 in Oceania. Currently, only Africa has not had any country completely turn off its 2G network.

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Some 2G phone models currently circulating on the market. Photo: Xuan T.D

In Vietnam, the 2G shutdown will be carried out in two phases. In the first phase, the network operator will stop serving subscribers using phones that only use 2G technology (2G only) in September 2024. In the second phase, the 2G system will stop operating in September 2026.

This also means that the 2G brick phone models that are popular in the market will end their life cycle in Vietnam in September this year. However, convincing users to give up a device that they have been used to for many years is not easy.

As the network operator with the most subscribers, Mr. Nguyen Trong Tinh, Deputy General Director of Viettel Telecom, said that in the process of implementing the shutdown of 2G waves, this unit encountered many difficulties.

“ We have contacted many customers using 2G phones. Many people know about the 2G signal shutdown but have not supported it, even though there is a policy of reducing device upgrade prices. This is an ongoing situation ,” said the Deputy General Director of Viettel Telecom.

In fact, about 70% of Viettel customers currently live in rural and mountainous areas. Among them, many are in difficult circumstances, poor households, and cannot afford to pay, so they have difficulty switching to 2G phones.

According to the Deputy General Director of Viettel Telecom, the communication of the policy on shutting down 2G waves is currently being done very well. However, somewhere, users still have certain doubts.

To convince users, in many localities, Viettel has mobilized commune government officials to participate in communicating policies and encouraging people to switch devices. To create favorable conditions, this network has also organized mobile sales points to the commune level.

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Network staff guide and advise people to change their 2G brick phones to 4G. Photo: Viettel

Mr. Bui Son Nam, Deputy General Director of MobiFone, said that the policy of turning off 2G waves is a major policy that directly affects people's use of mobile services.

“ MobiFone is doing its best to support users. If they can afford it, customers can switch their devices to smartphones. For those who cannot afford it, they can switch to a 4G feature phone that is supported for free,” said Mr. Bui Son Nam.

According to VNPT VinaPhone Deputy General Director Le Dac Kien, many mobile phone users, such as fishermen, only need to use feature phones for texting and making regular calls. These are the groups that will be affected when the 2G shutdown is implemented in the near future.

However, a VNPT representative said that in addition to cheap smartphone models, the network operator has also prepared 4G feature phones.

When using these devices, users can rest assured that the experience of using the device is no different from that of 2G Only feature phones that will stop working. Users only need to switch the device to a 4G-enabled model to be able to continue listening, calling, and texting without any problems.

In response to concerns from many mobile users, Mr. Nguyen Phong Nha, Deputy Director of the Department of Telecommunications (Ministry of Information and Communications) emphasized the importance of communication so that people can clearly understand the meaning, thereby creating consensus with the policy of turning off 2G waves.

In fact, when switching from a 2G brick phone to 4G, users will receive much better voice quality than before, while not experiencing any disturbances.

If switching to smartphones, users can also access the Internet and experience new services, including public administrative services in the digital environment. This is an opportunity for people to access digital services, forming a digital society in the future.

Turning off 2G waves: 11 million mobile users must change to new phones According to Deputy Director of the Department of Telecommunications (Ministry of Information and Communications) Nguyen Phong Nha, to turn off 2G waves, converting 11 million 2G subscribers to 4G in the next 2 months will put a lot of pressure on network operators.