Will 3G mobile: Will the British network stop you?

Vodafone plans to delete your service next year to focus on 4G and 5G, which could affect the coverage.

Vodafone has announced its intention to extinguish its 3G network aging next year in order to focus on the use of the released spectrum to extend its 4G and 5G networks.We are explored here the impact that this decision could have.

What is 3G?

Launched at the beginning of the century, the 3G spectrum marked the start of the transition from the simple mobile phone to the bell smartphones that most people have today.

Whether it is video calls, access to services such as banking services or online purchases or even viewing the best moments in the Premier League, the 3G spectrum marked the start of the eramobile as part of the digital revolution.

Mobile operators spent the astronomical sum of 22.5 billion pounds sterling during the auction of the British spectrum in 2000, because the promise of billions of new income from increased use beyond texts andTelephone calls fueled a furious auction war.Three, owned by Hutchison, launched the first 3G network in the United Kingdom in 2003.

Why was this network disabled?

The 3G networks of the United Kingdom were at the cutting edge of technology twenty years ago, but it was replaced by 4G and 5G networks, more powerful and more efficient.

Like most mobile phone users have gone to smartphones over the years, 3G becomes obsolete.Today, less than 4 % of the data used by Vodafone customers go through its 3G network, and at EE, owned by BT, this figure is only 2 %, against around 30 % as recently as in 2016.

Mobile operators seek to remove 3G networks and use the spectrum to strengthen 4G and 5G services.

Who will be touched?

BT, which has mobile telephony brands, notably EE and Plusnet, has already said that between 2 and 3 million people used 3G handsets on all British mobile networks.

Many of them are older phones who preferred to keep devices that are easy to use rather than allow themselves to be seduced by smartphones.Some have kept a 3G compatible version as a withdrawal option in case they lose their main phone.

In 2017, the popularity of simple phones experienced a revival, the 3310 3G of Nokia having sold 13 million copies worldwide, which made it the third most popular phone brand in the United Kingdom thisyear.

Will 3G deactivation affect coverage of mobile phones in the United Kingdom?

According to the coverage data, around 2.2 % of the United Kingdom is only covered by a 3G signal.These are mainly distant regions such as rural Scotland, certain parts of northern Norfolk, Wales and Cornwalls.

However, all of these places still have a basic 2G signal, which makes it possible to make voice calls but offers extremely limited access to internet data, which are not disabled.However, EE said that it hoped, as the coverage of 4G and 5G is able to deactivate the 2G networks from 2025 as the deployment of 4G and 5G..