Vodafone UK is killing its 3G network altogether next year or in 2023. It plans to direct its undivided attention to the next generation of connectivity, such as the 4G and 5G networks, which still needs further improvements and expansion.
The logo of British mobile phone giant Vodafone welcomes visitors at their retail shop in central London on January 30, 2018.
Vodafone UK and 3G Network
As per a news story by Tech Radar, Vodafone announced that it is retiring its 3G network after 17 years or nearly two decades of existence, which has been available even with the emergence of the much faster 4G network.
The 3G network has also co-existed with the 5G infrastructure of Vodafone UK.
The logo of British mobile phone giant Vodafone welcomes visitors at their retail shop in central London on January 30, 2018.
But this time around, the United Kingdom telco company is set to retire its 17-year-old network infrastructure as it focuses on the future of connectivity, 5G, and the existing 4G network.
Tech Radar noted in the same news story that the increasing availability of a much faster network and higher capacity infrastructure has significantly affected the demand for the slower 3G network.
Vodafone UK 3G Retirement
As such, Vodafone revealed that only 4% of its customers are now using the 3G network for their mobile internet connectivity, which is significantly lower than the figures in 2017. To be precise, it still comprised about 30% of its customers merely five years away from now.
On top of that, the CEO of Vodafone, Ahmed Essam, also noted that both 4G and 5G networks have lesser strain to the environment when compared to 3G, which is much more inefficient than next-gen infrastructures.
The Vodafone boss plans on "focusing on the technologies that best connect our customers and have the least impact on the environment."
Essam also added that the "future is 4G and 5G" connectivity, noting that both provide more reliable and faster internet connection as most people might have known by now.
Not to mention that the latest smartphones, even the budget low-cost variants, already sports 5G.
In fact, it has become increasingly ubiquitous that some rumors are even implying that Apple is also releasing its low-tier iPhone SE with 5G.
Read Also: 5G Vodafone Report Says It Will Bring in Billions to UK Manufacturing Sector
Vodafone 3G and Affected Customers
According to a report by The Guardian, about two million to three million folks are still using 3G mobile phones in the U.K.
As such, these users would lose their internet connection once carriers start killing the only network that their mobile devices exclusively support.
The Guardian further noted that some consumers who are using the 3G network in the UK are in far-flung rural places, including Scotland.
That said, Vodafone assured that it is working to inform its users about its plan to kill the network completely as early as now.
Related Article: T-Mobile Delays Sprint 3G Network Shut Down For Three Months to Give Customers Time to Switch
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