Will the end of 3G impact my business?

What is the 3G network still used for?

There have been dozens of innovations in mobile telephony. Today, it’s mainly 5G applications that are creating new opportunities. When we look at the most important evolutions of the last few years, it quickly becomes clear that businesses really appreciate these continuous improvements. Fewer and fewer customers are still using 3G devices, and the volume of voice calls and data traffic on our 3G network is only a fraction of what it once was.

This underuse of the 3G network is a global trend and explains why mobile operators in Belgium, the rest of Europe and Asia are systematically phasing out their 3G networks. The US already switched off its 3G network completely last summer.

What will Orange do?

Orange is also slowly abandoning 3G. This frees up a lot of network capacity that will be used to develop more advanced 4G and 5G technologies. Besides a faster connection, higher-quality phone calls and more reliable connectivity, these networks offer a lot of additional opportunities to your business.

What does the 3G switch-off mean for your business?

Most likely, you and your employees won’t notice the switch-off, as most devices are already 4G and 5G compatible. If you still have an older device, it will automatically switch to the 2G network, which will remain in use until at least 2028. This means you and your employees can still be reached at all times even with an older 3G device.

If you use your mobile network a lot for work, you may well want to switch to a 4G or 5G device. 2G surfing speeds are a lot slower, which doesn’t always benefit productivity.

Even if you want to keep using IoT applications that are still connected to the 3G network, we recommend migrating to a faster 4G or 5G variant, particularly if those applications need to process a lot of data.

When will 3G be phased out?

You still have some time before the migration: the phase-out of the 3G network in Belgium will not start until January 2024. The shutdown will also happen in stages, region by region, until 3G is completely switched off some time in 2025.

In anticipation of a possible migration, we advise you to quickly check the network compatibility of your mobile devices.