Singapore will no longer support 3G mobile communications after July 31, 2024. The country’s major telcos M1, Singtel, and Starhub all announced that they will be closing down outdated voice, messaging, and data services employed through the third-generation cellular network from the second half of 2024.
The 3G shutdown will clear up spectrums that telcos will utilize for 5G degradations. Infocom Media Development Authority (IMDA) said that the development of newer generations of cellular communications means 3G will be replaced by 4G, while the latter will be replaced by 5G.
But still, there are many who are using 3G services and some of them have only 3G-supported devices. So, operators will use a year’s period in migrating their existing 3G customers to newer mobile networks.
To make an uncompromising transition, operators will migrate their 3G users to 4G under the conditions that customers’ mobile services won’t be interrupted.
Not just telcos in Singapore, but many operators and stages have already announced their plans to phase out legacy networks.
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Singtel promises a better mobile experience
Singtel, Singaproe’s leading operator reasoned very few users are on the legacy 3G network currently for its shutdown. In a statement, it said that as users embrace newer technologies such as 4G and 5G which bring better network speeds and coverage, 3G services will be retired and “help our subscribers migrate to a better mobile experience.”
With 3G being phased out, those on 3G SIM cards or devices won’t be able to use voice, data, and SMS services. And for those who use 4G SIM cards or a phone without VoLTE call support, they won’t get voice service however, SMS and mobile data will be available.
3G steadily grew in prominence since 2005 however, has become more irrelevant with the advent of 4G and the more recent 5G wireless communication standard. Besides, the next-generation 6G network is expected to be commercially rolled out before 2030.